There was an extra man on the bench during the Georgia Women’s basketball game on Tuesday. That man was Doug Penning, or as so many in the Bulldog nation know him, Doug Dawg.
He is a lifelong Georgia fan that doesn’t miss a women’s basketball game. He is always seen behind the home bench yelling and cheering for the Dawgs. Head coach Joni Taylor hosted a raffle for her Beyond basketball program where whoever guessed her due date, they would get the opportunity to be a guest coach and join the team for a game. His mother guessed the right date, and Doug got the opportunity of a lifetime.
“… There is a program I have that’s called Beyond Basketball. And we had a raffle earlier this year, and it was if you could guess the due date; then you got to win as the guest coach. His mom actually guessed the correct due date, and so he became our guest coach for tonight. And he came to shoot around. So he is involved in knowing the game plan, he was at the pregame meal with us. His role on the bench tonight, he kept stats, so we gave him rebounds, and I think 3 point shots. And then he came in at halftime. So just him really being around the team,” Joni Taylor said. “He goes to every game, he stands behind our bench, he yells, and he’s a fan we love and our team loves to see him there. So really this was to appreciate him and let him kind of see, you know what goes on, on the inside of our program on gameday.”