CULTURE

    Coach Mike White is entering his second year as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team. When White took the reins of this team, he inherited a program in a multiple year NCAA Tournament drought that also lacked an overall winning culture. Tom Crean, the previous head coach, landed flashy recruits like Anthony Edwards and Kario Oquendo, but he was never able to build a winning culture. He finished his last season in Athens with an overall record of 6-26, including one conference victory.

     Rather than searching for the previously mentioned flashy recruits, White went to the transfer portal to bring in players such as Justin Hill and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, both talented players with Division 1 experience. The Bulldogs finished their first season under White with a final record of 16-16 with six SEC wins. Even though that isn’t where most teams would like to finish the season, the program took a big leap compared to where they were the previous season.

    This year’s roster, with the addition of transfers such as Noah Thomasson and Russel Tchewa, consists of seven freshman players. Within those freshmen, Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain have both proven to be the most effective at this point in the season. Demary Jr., a starter for White’s Bulldogs, is averaging 8.6 points per game. As for Cain, he has the fourth best three-point percentage on the team at 34%. Coach White’s ability to get these young players in the game alongside the veteran transfers will only pay dividends to the program’s future seasons.

‌IDENTITY

    One of the most important qualities of a competitive team in any sport is finding your identity, and finding it early, especially with a team that is trying to get used to playing together. There is no better way to accomplish that than scheduling four ACC opponents (Wake Forest, Miami-FL, Florida State, Georgia Tech), as well as NCAA tournament-caliber teams such as Oregon and Providence in their first 10 games. In those six games mentioned, the Bulldogs accomplished a 3-3 record, highlighted by a 17-point comeback win on the road against Florida State and a double-digit win over Georgia Tech in Stegman Coliseum. Scheduling these difficult games will have the Bulldogs battle-tested and prepared as they await an SEC schedule that will continue to challenge them all winter.

LEADERSHIP

     While this Georgia team has its fair share of transfers and veterans, it doesn’t feature any players that have been around the program for a while, except for senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim. Abdur-Rahim transferred to Georgia in 2021 after his freshman year at Virginia, meaning his first year in Athens was a six win season under Tom Crean. He appeared in all 32 games, including three starts, which gave him plenty of in-game, SEC basketball experience. Now, after going through a full season in Coach White’s system last year, he is a consistent starter for the first time in his college career. This will allow Abdur-Rahim to not only use his experience, but also his commitment to the University of Georgia as a leader on a team that is looking to make noise in the SEC this year.

Keep up with Matthew’s Hoop Dawgs’ coverage this season at bulldawgillustrated.com

Remaning Schedule

Dec 20 – 7:00 p.m. – Mount St. Mary’s – Athens, Ga.

Dec 22 3:00 p.m. – North Florida – Athens, Ga.

Dec 30 – 6:00 p.m. – Alabama A&M – Athens, Ga.

Jan 6 – 1:00 p.m. – Missouri – Columbia, Mo.

Jan 10 – 9:00 p.m. – Arkansas – Athens, Ga.

Jan 13 – 12:00 p.m. – Tennessee – Athens, Ga.

Jan 16 – 9:00 p.m. – South Carolina – Columbia, S.C.

Jan 20 – 6:00 p.m. – Kentucky – Lexington, Ky.

Jan 24 – 6:30 p.m. – LSU – Athens, Ga.

Jan 27 – 12:00 p.m. – Florida – Gainesville, Fla.

Jan 31 – 6:30 p.m. – Alabama – Athens, Ga.

Feb 3 – 1:00 p.m. – South Carolina – Athens, Ga.

Feb 7 – 9:00 p.m. – Mississippi State – Starkville, Miss.

Feb 10 – 6:00 p.m. – Arkansas – Fayetteville, Ark.

Feb 17 – 1:00 p.m. – Florida – Athens, Ga.

Feb 21 – 8:30 p.m. – Vanderbilt – Nashville, Tenn.

Feb 24 – 6:00 p.m. – Auburn – Athens, Ga.

Feb 27 – 7:00 p.m. – LSU – Baton Rouge, La.

Mar 2 – 6:00 p.m. – Texas A&M – Athens, Ga.

Mar 5 – 7:00 p.m. – Ole Miss – Athens, Ga.

Mar 9 – 6:30 p.m. – Auburn – Auburn, Ala.