UGA MBB
Hoop Scoop: Top 100 Countdown: #68 Georgia
“Projected Rotation:
PG: Justin Hill (8.6 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 2.9 Ast)
SG: Noah Thomasson (Niagara 19.5 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 3.5 Ast)
SF: RJ Melendez (Illinois 6.0 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 0.9 Ast)
PF: RJ Sunahara (Nova Southeastern 18.9 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 1.5 Ast)
C: Russel Tchewa (South Florida 11.1 Pts, 8.6 Reb, 0.9 Ast)
6: PF Jalen DeLoach (VCU 9.7 Pts, 6.9 Reb, 1.0 Ast)
7: SG Jabri Abdur-Rahim (7.1 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 0.2 Ast)
8: PG Blue Cain
9: SF Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe (5.5 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 0.8 Ast)
10: SG Silas Demary
11: C Frank Anselem (2.9 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.3 Ast)
12: PF Dylan James
13: SF Mari Jordan
Georgia has to replace many talented players they lost this offseason and they’ve done so with a mixture of transfer portal and high school players. In terms of returners, Mike White and Co bring back players such as Justin Hill, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe, and Frank Anselem. Justin Hill should take on the full time starting point guard role that Terry Roberts held last season. Hill had a decent year in his first season with Georgia, but he needs to improve in certain areas such as shooting. Abdur-Rahim has been a pretty consistent player in his Georgia career. He’s improved his game year after year and could be due for another improvement again. Alexander-Moncrieffe is a great defensive piece off the bench. He also rebounds really well and plays hard. Finally, Frank Anselem projects more as a backup center yet again. He provides some solid depth that could maybe give about 15 minutes per game.
Georgia brought in 5 transfers and all of them could be some of the best players on the team next season. RJ Melendez from Illinois is a player bursting with potential. The Puerto Rican guard proved that he can compete at the high major level in his 2 seasons with Illinois. He has great size and length for the position and is constantly improving each season. Georgia also added transfer guard Noah Thomasson out of Niagara. Thomasson is a high volume scoring guard that had a lot on his plate when he was at Niagara. In a role where he could play more off the ball, he could still have immense success. Thomasson averaged nearly 20PPG this past season and nearly 4APG as well. He also shoots a career 38% from 3 which can add a ton of value to the Bulldogs team this season.
Georgia also added a few transfer bigs to the team this season. The most notable being Nova Southeastern transfer RJ Sunahara. The 6-8 210lb forward and D2 player of the year also won a D2 national championship last season with the Sharks. Sunahara is a do it all player with impressive numbers. He put up 19PPG on a national championship winning team while shooting 60% from the floor overall and 40% from 3. He should slot into a starting role for the Bulldogs this upcoming season. Another PF that Georgia added this offseason is VCU transfer Jalen DeLoach. He put up 10PPG and 7RPG this past season as a sophomore at VCU. He could also be the best defender on the Bulldogs team next season. There’s also a chance he starts, but with the Sunahara addition he likely plays the 6th man role with starter level minutes. Georgia also added South Florida transfer Russel Tchewa to be their starting center next season. Tchewa is going into his 5th season after previously spending time at Texas Tech in addition to South Florida. The 7 footer averaged nearly a double double last season for the Bulls and will be an excellent interior defender for Georgia next season.
Georgia also added 4 highly ranked freshman to the team this offseason. All of them could have a chance to compete for rotational minutes. Blue Cain is a true point guard that is ranked #72 in the country. The former Georgia Tech commit is probably the player that competes for minutes the earliest. Silas Demary is a SG that is ranked #69 in the 247 sports rankings. The former USC signee is great at getting to the bucket and finishing at the rim. Dylan James is another top 100 player the Bulldogs added coming in at #84 in the 247 ranks. He adds solid depth to the other Bulldogs interior players. Mari Jordan is the only Georgia signee ranked outside the top 100 and he comes in at #163 in the 247 rankings. He could be a great prospect for the future and could even possibly crack the rotation this season.
Georgia and Mike White did a lot in the offseason in order to improve the team and become more competitive in the SEC conference. Some of the additions they made will be immediate impact players that will aid in the Bulldog turnaround. I believe that Georgia will improve on their record last year both overall and in conference. They may be a game or so under .500 in conference but they should improve upon their 6-12 conference record last season. The SEC is very competitive next season, but there is a chance Georgia isn’t in the basement and an NIT bid could be a possibility if all goes well. The NCAA Tournament should be in the future but Mike White has a bit more rebuilding to do in Athens.”
SEC Basketball
Mississippi State
Rocco Miller: The Mississippi State update gives the Bulldogs six neutral court games and a true road game. Following the same model as Florida.
Chris Jans and Todd Golden bringing a fresh approach to SEC resume building from the non-power ranks
College Basketball
Norlander CBS Sports: Candid Coaches: Who was the best high-major coaching hire of the 2023 offseason?
https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...gh-major-coaching-hire-of-the-2023-offseason/
BYU
Kansas transfer Marcus Adams Jr. announced earlier today that he has committed to BYU.
The 6’8” SF was a top 50 recruit in the class of 2023. Was previously committed to Gonzaga before re-entering the portal.
Charleston
Hoop Scoop: Top 100 Countdown: #66 Charleston
Florida Atlantic
Marquette
Mercer
Rocco Miller: Mercer and South Alabama will start a new home-and-home series this upcoming season in Macon.
The date is set for Wednesday, December 6th. Return game to be played in Mobile during the 24-25 campaign.
Miami
Rivals.com: Miami lands four-star scoring machine Austin Swartz. He chose Miami over UConn, Georgia, Clemson, Florida State, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.
“Swartz is UM’s first commitment of the 2024 class, but he certainly won’t be the last. The Hurricanes are players for five-star guard Jalil Bethea and five-star wing VJ Edgecombe in addition to four-stars Billy Richmond, Gicarri Harris, Nicolas Codie and others. Miami is set to get four-star Khani Rooths on campus for an official visit later this month, but Jim Larrañaga’s program feels like it’s on the outside looking in as the aforementioned visit draws closer. If UM lands just one more of the aforementioned prospects, the foundation for a hyper-impressive class will have been laid.”
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/miami-lands-four-star-scoring-machine-austin-swartz
New Mexico State
Wake Forest transfer Davion Bradford has been added to the New Mexico State roster.
The 7’0” junior center appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 2.5 points, and 2.0 rebounds.
Previously played at Kansas State for 2 seasons.
Providence
Rothstein: Providence's Devin Carter (thumb) will be fully cleared for all basketball related activities when practice officially begins later this month, per Kim English.
DNP on the Friars' recent foreign tour.
Averaged 13 PPG and 4.9 RPG last season.
Mississippi State transfer and Providence signee Will McNair Jr. has re-entered the transfer portal.
The 6’11” grad transfer center appeared in 34 games last season, averaging 3.3 ppg, and 3.3 rpg.
McNair previously played at New Mexico State.
St. John’s
Rothstein: Daniss Jenkins has been academically cleared to play the upcoming season at St. John's as a graduate transfer, per Rick Pitino.
Jenkins played for Pitino last season at Iona and averaged 15.6 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.4 RPG.
UAB
Hoop Scoop: Top 100 Countdown: #67 UAB
Wake Forest
AP: Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes will keep coaching while aiding his wife’s recovery from a stroke
https://apnews.com/article/wake-forest-steve-forbes-wife-stroke-e34cf10037fb17bbf8d63346de791837
History
Hoop Scoop: Top 100 Countdown: #68 Georgia
“Projected Rotation:
PG: Justin Hill (8.6 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 2.9 Ast)
SG: Noah Thomasson (Niagara 19.5 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 3.5 Ast)
SF: RJ Melendez (Illinois 6.0 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 0.9 Ast)
PF: RJ Sunahara (Nova Southeastern 18.9 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 1.5 Ast)
C: Russel Tchewa (South Florida 11.1 Pts, 8.6 Reb, 0.9 Ast)
6: PF Jalen DeLoach (VCU 9.7 Pts, 6.9 Reb, 1.0 Ast)
7: SG Jabri Abdur-Rahim (7.1 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 0.2 Ast)
8: PG Blue Cain
9: SF Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe (5.5 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 0.8 Ast)
10: SG Silas Demary
11: C Frank Anselem (2.9 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.3 Ast)
12: PF Dylan James
13: SF Mari Jordan
Georgia has to replace many talented players they lost this offseason and they’ve done so with a mixture of transfer portal and high school players. In terms of returners, Mike White and Co bring back players such as Justin Hill, Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe, and Frank Anselem. Justin Hill should take on the full time starting point guard role that Terry Roberts held last season. Hill had a decent year in his first season with Georgia, but he needs to improve in certain areas such as shooting. Abdur-Rahim has been a pretty consistent player in his Georgia career. He’s improved his game year after year and could be due for another improvement again. Alexander-Moncrieffe is a great defensive piece off the bench. He also rebounds really well and plays hard. Finally, Frank Anselem projects more as a backup center yet again. He provides some solid depth that could maybe give about 15 minutes per game.
Georgia brought in 5 transfers and all of them could be some of the best players on the team next season. RJ Melendez from Illinois is a player bursting with potential. The Puerto Rican guard proved that he can compete at the high major level in his 2 seasons with Illinois. He has great size and length for the position and is constantly improving each season. Georgia also added transfer guard Noah Thomasson out of Niagara. Thomasson is a high volume scoring guard that had a lot on his plate when he was at Niagara. In a role where he could play more off the ball, he could still have immense success. Thomasson averaged nearly 20PPG this past season and nearly 4APG as well. He also shoots a career 38% from 3 which can add a ton of value to the Bulldogs team this season.
Georgia also added a few transfer bigs to the team this season. The most notable being Nova Southeastern transfer RJ Sunahara. The 6-8 210lb forward and D2 player of the year also won a D2 national championship last season with the Sharks. Sunahara is a do it all player with impressive numbers. He put up 19PPG on a national championship winning team while shooting 60% from the floor overall and 40% from 3. He should slot into a starting role for the Bulldogs this upcoming season. Another PF that Georgia added this offseason is VCU transfer Jalen DeLoach. He put up 10PPG and 7RPG this past season as a sophomore at VCU. He could also be the best defender on the Bulldogs team next season. There’s also a chance he starts, but with the Sunahara addition he likely plays the 6th man role with starter level minutes. Georgia also added South Florida transfer Russel Tchewa to be their starting center next season. Tchewa is going into his 5th season after previously spending time at Texas Tech in addition to South Florida. The 7 footer averaged nearly a double double last season for the Bulls and will be an excellent interior defender for Georgia next season.
Georgia also added 4 highly ranked freshman to the team this offseason. All of them could have a chance to compete for rotational minutes. Blue Cain is a true point guard that is ranked #72 in the country. The former Georgia Tech commit is probably the player that competes for minutes the earliest. Silas Demary is a SG that is ranked #69 in the 247 sports rankings. The former USC signee is great at getting to the bucket and finishing at the rim. Dylan James is another top 100 player the Bulldogs added coming in at #84 in the 247 ranks. He adds solid depth to the other Bulldogs interior players. Mari Jordan is the only Georgia signee ranked outside the top 100 and he comes in at #163 in the 247 rankings. He could be a great prospect for the future and could even possibly crack the rotation this season.
Georgia and Mike White did a lot in the offseason in order to improve the team and become more competitive in the SEC conference. Some of the additions they made will be immediate impact players that will aid in the Bulldog turnaround. I believe that Georgia will improve on their record last year both overall and in conference. They may be a game or so under .500 in conference but they should improve upon their 6-12 conference record last season. The SEC is very competitive next season, but there is a chance Georgia isn’t in the basement and an NIT bid could be a possibility if all goes well. The NCAA Tournament should be in the future but Mike White has a bit more rebuilding to do in Athens.”
Top 100 Countdown: #68 Georgia - Hoop Scoop Media
2022 Record: 16-16 (6-12) Head Coach: Mike White (Career Record 259-144) (UGA Record 16-16) Projected Rotation: PG: Justin Hill (8.6 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 2.9 Ast) SG: Noah Thomasson (Niagara 19.5 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 3.5 Ast) SF: RJ Melendez (Illinois 6.0 Pts, 3.5 Reb, 0.9 Ast) PF: RJ Sunahara (Nova...
hoopscoopmedia.com
SEC Basketball
Mississippi State
Rocco Miller: The Mississippi State update gives the Bulldogs six neutral court games and a true road game. Following the same model as Florida.
Chris Jans and Todd Golden bringing a fresh approach to SEC resume building from the non-power ranks
College Basketball
Norlander CBS Sports: Candid Coaches: Who was the best high-major coaching hire of the 2023 offseason?
https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...gh-major-coaching-hire-of-the-2023-offseason/
BYU
Kansas transfer Marcus Adams Jr. announced earlier today that he has committed to BYU.
The 6’8” SF was a top 50 recruit in the class of 2023. Was previously committed to Gonzaga before re-entering the portal.
Charleston
Hoop Scoop: Top 100 Countdown: #66 Charleston
Top 100 Countdown: #66 Charleston - Hoop Scoop Media
2022 Record: 31-4 (16-2) Head Coach: Pat Kelsey (Career Record 234-114) (Charleston Record 48-19) Projected Rotation: PG: CJ Fulton (Lafayette 10.4 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 5.0 Ast) SG: Reyne Smith (10.8 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 1.3 Ast) SF: Bryce Butler (West Liberty 22.4 Pts, 7.6 Reb, 3.6 Ast) PF: Frankie Policelli...
hoopscoopmedia.com
Florida Atlantic
Marquette
Mercer
Rocco Miller: Mercer and South Alabama will start a new home-and-home series this upcoming season in Macon.
The date is set for Wednesday, December 6th. Return game to be played in Mobile during the 24-25 campaign.
Miami
Rivals.com: Miami lands four-star scoring machine Austin Swartz. He chose Miami over UConn, Georgia, Clemson, Florida State, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.
“Swartz is UM’s first commitment of the 2024 class, but he certainly won’t be the last. The Hurricanes are players for five-star guard Jalil Bethea and five-star wing VJ Edgecombe in addition to four-stars Billy Richmond, Gicarri Harris, Nicolas Codie and others. Miami is set to get four-star Khani Rooths on campus for an official visit later this month, but Jim Larrañaga’s program feels like it’s on the outside looking in as the aforementioned visit draws closer. If UM lands just one more of the aforementioned prospects, the foundation for a hyper-impressive class will have been laid.”
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/miami-lands-four-star-scoring-machine-austin-swartz
New Mexico State
Wake Forest transfer Davion Bradford has been added to the New Mexico State roster.
The 7’0” junior center appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 2.5 points, and 2.0 rebounds.
Previously played at Kansas State for 2 seasons.
Providence
Rothstein: Providence's Devin Carter (thumb) will be fully cleared for all basketball related activities when practice officially begins later this month, per Kim English.
DNP on the Friars' recent foreign tour.
Averaged 13 PPG and 4.9 RPG last season.
Mississippi State transfer and Providence signee Will McNair Jr. has re-entered the transfer portal.
The 6’11” grad transfer center appeared in 34 games last season, averaging 3.3 ppg, and 3.3 rpg.
McNair previously played at New Mexico State.
St. John’s
Rothstein: Daniss Jenkins has been academically cleared to play the upcoming season at St. John's as a graduate transfer, per Rick Pitino.
Jenkins played for Pitino last season at Iona and averaged 15.6 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 4.4 RPG.
UAB
Hoop Scoop: Top 100 Countdown: #67 UAB
Top 100 Countdown: #67 UAB - Hoop Scoop Media
2022 Record: 29-10 (14-6 CUSA) Head Coach: Andy Kennedy (Career Record 344-194) (UAB Record 78-25) Projected Rotation: PG: Eric Gaines (11.5 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 4.3 Ast) SG: Alejandro Vasquez (Salt Lake CC 18.4 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 2.9 Ast) SF: James White (Ole Miss 4.0 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast) PF: Yaxel...
hoopscoopmedia.com
Wake Forest
AP: Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes will keep coaching while aiding his wife’s recovery from a stroke
https://apnews.com/article/wake-forest-steve-forbes-wife-stroke-e34cf10037fb17bbf8d63346de791837
History
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