Will We Be Dancing Dawgs After All?

If someone had come up to you on January 3rd after our Hoop Dawgs had just finished a very disappointing 6-6 non-conference schedule and said the following - we're going to end up winning 2/3 of our SEC games and will have at least an outside shot at an NCAA bid - you would have thought they were crazy, right?

Well, that's exactly what has happened. Hell, even on Feb. 1st, after hitting a 3-game skid, most folks would have still thought you were crazy to think that UGA would finish the season on a tear with an 8-2 record. But that is exactly what has happened. I'll have to agree with Tyler Dawgden, Mark Fox should at least have some consideration for SEC coach of the year. And with this impressive turnaround, he is assured at least one more year in the Classic City. And that, I think, is a good thing.

But how likely is it that Georgia will make the Big Dance? Honestly, it's still a bit of a stretch. Our RPI and SOS numbers just aren't where they need to be; however, you couldn't have scripted our spot in the SEC tourney any better, in my opinion.

First off, since we did finish in the top-4 (3rd seed), we will be getting a double bye. Who might we play in our first game? Either Vandy, Miss. St., or Ole Miss. I'd prefer State, but it'll probably end up being Ole Miss, a team we did beat during the regular season.

So, let's say we get past that first game. Then, we'd be most likely looking at having to take on Kentucky without an outside chance of maybe LSU. But probably Kentucky. That would be a tough one, but I'd rather deal with that crowd than Florida. So, for the sake of argument, let's say we find a way to get past the Wildcats. We would then be 20-12 and our RPI and SOS numbers would be much improved. Chance are, we would lose to Florida in the championship game the next day and that would put us at 20-13. Would that be enough? It's hard to say since there will be so many moving parts (what other teams do that are on the bubble, what teams that we've lost to end up doing, teams we've beaten for that matter, etc. etc.)

My gut tells me that two SEC tourney wins barely gets us what may end up being the final spot in the field. But, we've got to win two. There's no doubt about that. So I guess we'll just see what we see. At worst, we would be a lock for the NIT and the Dawgs would enjoy their first post-season tournament appearance and first winning season since 2011. And it looks as if Williams will be the only guy we're losing after this year, so the future does seem fairly bright for the Hoop Dawgs. Can't wait til Friday night. GO DAWGS!

Another Big Win for the Hoop Dawgs

*via Sic'em Dawgs

Our Hoop Dawgs have been somewhat of a mystery this year. After a disappointing and unimpressive opening non-conference start, the Dawgs proceeded to win 4 of their first 5 SEC games only to then go on an underwhelming three game losing stretch. But now, with today's exciting 61-60 win over Ole Miss, UGA finds itself the owner of a 4 game winning streak and have now improved to 14-10 on the season (8-4 in SEC play).

The big question is this: have the Dawgs truly turned the corner. Is this team, like some of us thought they might be by this point in the season, a team that could finish with 18 or so regular season wins and have the ability to make a run in the SEC tourney? I think the short answer on that is...quite possibly.

Obviously our guard play is some of the best in the league: Gaines and Mann are just flat out ballin!" And while not having a true big man is hurts a bit, we are seeing really good forward play out of Thorton, Williams, and Djurisic. I still think this is a team that can accomplish some things as long as they can put the ball in the hoop. They seem to be doing better with that.

Sorry for the layoff here lately, but I'm back! Here's some recaps from the last few games by the ultimate UGA Hoops Dawg blog, Hoop Dawgs:

• MSU game
• A & M
• LSU 

 GO DAWGS! 

The Sunday Treatment: 1/12/14

It's a beautiful day in Georgia! Hope all is well out there. I was hoping by this point in January to be back up to a least 2 or 3 posts a week but that has not yet happened. Hopefully soon. A few things to cover for the week that was...

How 'Bout Them Hoop Dawgs! 

Big, big win for our Hoop Dawgs last night: 66-58 over the Tide; huge games by Mann and Gaines. Perhaps not as big an actual game as our surprising and thrilling victory over MIZZOU earlier in the week, but because it now has us at 2-0 in SEC play, this one really means a lot. Gaines and Mann are both such ballers! Throw in guys like Thorton, Williams, and Djurisic and you've got the key components for a very good basketball team. We knew going in that it would take awhile before it all came together. I think it is coming together! But as a friend of mine who really knows his basketball said last night, there are some consistency issues with some of these guys. And let's not even get started on the foul shots (although that seems to be improving), but man, what a way to start league play! The Dawgs are now 8-6 overall. 

It's the End of Lakatos, and I Feel Fine

I'm inclined to agree with Tyler over at GA Sports Blog. But I'll take it a step further. I think it is a good thing he is gone. There were deficiencies that needed to be addressed. And while I don't think he was forced out, I think the "personal reasons" thing is not entirely accurate. And he himself has said that he expects to be coaching somewhere next year. I think there's more to this story that we probably won't know, but that's cool - as long as we get someone in that can coach up these DBs and safeties, that's all I care about. 

A Final Goodbye to the 2013 UGA Football Season








National Championship Game 

That was one hell of a game. My hat's off to FSU. Great team, great game. I tip my hat to Auburn as well. They really brought it. I was honestly surprised with how well they played.

A few thoughts:

• After "Miracle on the Plains" versions I & II, many thought Auburn was a team of destiny. Monday night was a good reminder that things don't usually work out that way. College football, and life, has a way of reminding you of that.

• Winston is one amazing player. He might be bat-shit crazy, but he's incredible.

•   I still say that Jimbo Fisher is one weird dude. He's such a freak! 

  It's kind of a Catch-22 for us Dawg fans, I think. Sure as hell didn't want Auburn to win, but in terms of recruiting, a victory by a FSU team that runs a similar offense could be just as tough to overcome. There really was no good scenario. I was just glad that it was a good game. 

I'll definitely have some more thoughts later in the week. Hope everyone is having a good Sunday. 

The Sunday Treatment & A Trip Around the Dawgosphere: 12/29/13

Greetings. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Man, time kind of got away from me this month. The posting has been light in December and basically non-existent for the past few weeks. For that, I apologize. I manage a package store and obviously the Holiday season is crazy for us. It's yet another reason why I have so much respect for so many of my fellow Dawg-bloggers for being so prolific and consistent with their posting. My hats off to those folks, for sure.

I'm just basically going to combine the Treatment and Dawgosphere sections with this one: 

Definitely been some Dawg news going on the past few weeks. A few suspensions have got many of us wondering about our secondary in the Gator Bowl, but I think we'll be alright. Also in that story from Emerson is news that we'll be losing Christian Lemay after this season as he plans to transfer. Can't say that I blame the young man. With Bauta coming on strong and Ramsey having the skills he does, I think Lemay wouldn't crack the top-3 once again this year. He is reportedly planning on enrolling at Jacksonville St. where he might be looking at a starting job. Speaking of Faton Bauta, he is looking more and more like a player that can really contribute. I enjoyed watching him in the closing minutes of the Kentucky game.

The Hoop Dawgs had a nice little run going there for awhile, albeit it against inferior opponents (W. Carolina, Lipscomb, Gardner-Webb, UT-Chattanooga), but that streak ended last night at the hands of a very good Colorado team.  I still think our Dawgs could end up as a pretty decent team this year. We've got some serious players and some pretty good depth. I still say we're going to surprise some folks.

This probably made the rounds a few days ago but I didn't see it until an Auburn friend of mine (of all people), posted it on my FB page yesterday. When you see stuff like this, it makes you proud to be a Bulldog and that Mark Richt is our coach. Such a wonderful thing. Thought and prayers are with that young man.

After New Year's I'll be back on a more regular basis. Hope everyone has a wonderful 2014!

GO DAWGS!

Hoop Dawgs Lose a Heartbreaker; Thoughts on UGA vs. UK

 Hoop Dawgs Lose a Heartbreaker

After a less than impressive showing against Davidson Thursday night, the Hoop Dawgs brought it against Temple in the 2nd round of the Charleston Classic. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Owls hit a 3 with seven seconds left to beat us 83-81. Gaines and Mann, our starting guards, had huge nights with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Big guys Thorton and Williams had good games as well and Djurisic had a big night off the bench with 10 points. The Dawgs outshot the Owls and were basically even in most other phases of the game. We limited turnovers and we got the ball around pretty good. It just wasn't quite enough. As I've mentioned earlier, I still feel good about this team and think we can surprise some folks and have a decent year.

UGA vs. UK

Well, here we are, the last home game of the season. This is always a mixed bag for me. I'm excited to get to see one more Between the Hedges but I'm always kind of sad because I know it will be a pretty long while before I'll see another one. Tonight is Senior night and we'll be saying farewell to many a Damn Good Dog including the most prolific QB in SEC and UGA History, Aaron Murray.

As for the game itself, I'm thinking our Dawgs will be ready. It would be easy to overlook Kentucky as they are the worst team in the SEC, but I think our boys are up for the challenge and will bring it pretty hard today. No emotional hangover from last week and no looking ahead to the NATS. I think the Dawgs are going take out some frustration tonight. I'm with Bernie, we need to be fast and aggressive on D and just do our thing on offense.

I sure hope we don't see a storm of events - 6-4 record, bad weather, bad opponent - keep folks away from Sanford tonight. I'd hate for there to be only about 70 - 80,000 folks in the stands during the Senior night festivities . Them boys deserve better than that. Let's pack it out tonight!

GO DAWGS!

Hoop Dawgs in Action Today

Our Hoop Dawgs take on Davidson today in the first round of the Charleston Classic in Charleston, SC. Tip-off is set for 5PM and the game will be carried by ESPNU.

The Dawgs come in 1-1 and Davidson is 0-3. This should be, and really needs to be, a win. The Southern Conference Wildcats, at first glance, might not seem like a very good ball team, but this crowd did play the 25th ranked team in the country, Virginia, pretty darn tough a few days ago.

We'll need for our starting five to play well in addition to our key bench guys. Look for Gaines and Mann to have big games and look for J.J. Frazier to impress off the bench as well. And we'll need for our big guys to continue their impressive rebounding numbers and add some quality points, too. Remember last year's early season tournament, the Progressive Legends Classic, in which we lost to Youngstown St. and Southern Miss before losing the games we were supposed to lose - that tournament really killed us, I think. It set the tone for a season that had moments of success but ultimately became a real disappointment. We really need to take care of business today.

Again, that's a 5PM tip on ESPNU. GO DAWGS!

The Hoop Dawgs Have Hit the Hardwood

As you may or may not have noticed, and judging on attendance at games - you probably haven't - but the 2013-2014 version of the Hoop Dawgs have hit the hardwood.

These Dawgs - our Dawgs - are hungry and ready to play. With the loss of KCP, it looks to be a lean year, but I just have this feeling that these hoop Dawgs might surprise a few folks. And honestly, if Mark Fox wants to keep his job, he might need for that to happen.

After winning their opener vs. Wofford, the Dawgs ended up losing to the NATS this past Friday. Not too worried about that - Tech looks to be pretty strong this year. It was good game that showed some promise for our team. For the 2013-14 edition of the Hoop Dawgs to be successful, we will need for our marquee players to really produce: guards Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann with some points and dishes along with our starting forwards Djurisic and Dante Williams putting up some points and grabbing some boards. Off the bench, we will need some key contributions from guys like Cameron Forte and especially J.J. Frazier who I think may well end up as our key sixth guy.

You know, the tickets are so cheap and the atmosphere is always so much fun - you should really try to attend a few games and support the program.

Here's the 2013-14 schedule.

The roster.

And to get info on tickets.

UGA Basketball Page at ESPN

GO HOOP DAWGS!