SB Nation: 2024 SEC Basketball Exit Survey
“The conference again experienced heavy roster churn, but hefty NIL budgets helped programs maneuver in the portal and lure a slew of proven vets back to campus.
Georgia Bulldogs
30.85
29.22
24.96
28.03
27.31
27.54
31.65
On a positive note, Georgia constructed an intriguing frontcourt.
The quartet starts with Asa Newell, a five-star prospect who epitomizes what teams covet in a modern big. The lefty’s at ease stepping out and playing in pick-and-pops or squeezing the trigger on trail 3s. Newell also has enough vertical pop to be a lob threat. Newell’s frame needs some more bulk, and finishing in traffic will be a development point. But he supplies the Bulldogs with a two-way big the roster has lacked the past couple of years.
Coach Mike White also made off with a nice haul this spring. A coaching change at Kentucky prompted Somto Cyril to return to the open market. The Overtime Elite product’s frame is college-ready, and he’s a plug-and-play rim protector. But UGA also landed a pair of seasoned hybrids — Clemson’s R.J. Godfrey and Appalachian State’s Justin Abson — as insurance on the glass and defending the rim.
Now, about the backcourt.
Tyrin Lawrence arrives from Vanderbilt ferrying four seasons of SEC experience, but his boost in productivity came as part of two undermanned rosters. The stat lines for Dakota Leffew and De’Shayne Montgomery look appealing, but they also suited up for the eighth-place squad in the nation’s seventh-weakest conference. For all three, the question is whether their collective output translates to winning. We’ll find out soon enough.
The likelier bellwether is the collective strides Blue Cain and Silas Demary Jr can make as sophomores. Demary’s metrics don’t move the needle, but that’s not unexpected for a freshman starting 36 games at the point in a high-major conference. For his part, Cain found some modest traction as an off-ball threat, knocking down 35.7 percent of catch-and-shoot looks behind the arc. Progression from that tandem would allow White to plug in Lawrence while allowing Leffew and Montgomery to scale up their production as depth pieces efficiently.
We also can’t omit questions about White, either. Entering his tenth season as an SEC coach, White’s record in conference play is just better than break even and an average finish slightly outside the KenPom top 50. His teams also go dancing every other year. Put simply, his model constructs squads that live on the bubble.
Is that a mortal sin? No. Frankly, the powerbrokers at UGA might deem it sufficient. What is mildly concerning, however, is how his past two teams staggered and collapsed during the run-in. In regular season games played after Feb. 1, the Bulldogs went 4-16 over the past two seasons.
So, even if White does have a roster that could poach a bid, can it get over the hump? And if it doesn’t, the thesis behind letting him parachute from Gainesville looks less tenable.”
https://www.rockmnation.com/missour...fseason-review-recruiting-transfers-nba-draft
“The conference again experienced heavy roster churn, but hefty NIL budgets helped programs maneuver in the portal and lure a slew of proven vets back to campus.
Georgia Bulldogs
- Record: 20-17, 6-12
- KenPom: No. 84
- Recruiting Rank: No. 17 (Avg. Recruit: 94.29)
- Transfer Class: No. 52
- NBA Draft: None
- Transfers Out: Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Frank Anselem-Ibe, Jalen DeLoach, Justin Hill, Mari Jordan, RJ Melendez, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe
- Graduation: Russell Tchewa, Noah Thomasson
- Returners: Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr., Dylan James, R.J. Sunahara
- Freshmen: Asa Newell (No. 11), Somto Cyril (No. 44), Jordyn Kee (No. 297), Savo Drezgic (NR)
- Transfers: R.J. Godfrey (No. 75/Clemson), Tyrin Lawrence (No. 201/Vanderbilt), Justin Abson (No. 238/Appalachian State), De’Shayne Montgomery (No. 562/Mount St. Mary’s), Dakota Leffew (No. 575/Mount St. Mary’s)
- Open: None
30.85
29.22
24.96
28.03
27.31
27.54
31.65
On a positive note, Georgia constructed an intriguing frontcourt.
The quartet starts with Asa Newell, a five-star prospect who epitomizes what teams covet in a modern big. The lefty’s at ease stepping out and playing in pick-and-pops or squeezing the trigger on trail 3s. Newell also has enough vertical pop to be a lob threat. Newell’s frame needs some more bulk, and finishing in traffic will be a development point. But he supplies the Bulldogs with a two-way big the roster has lacked the past couple of years.
Coach Mike White also made off with a nice haul this spring. A coaching change at Kentucky prompted Somto Cyril to return to the open market. The Overtime Elite product’s frame is college-ready, and he’s a plug-and-play rim protector. But UGA also landed a pair of seasoned hybrids — Clemson’s R.J. Godfrey and Appalachian State’s Justin Abson — as insurance on the glass and defending the rim.
Now, about the backcourt.
Tyrin Lawrence arrives from Vanderbilt ferrying four seasons of SEC experience, but his boost in productivity came as part of two undermanned rosters. The stat lines for Dakota Leffew and De’Shayne Montgomery look appealing, but they also suited up for the eighth-place squad in the nation’s seventh-weakest conference. For all three, the question is whether their collective output translates to winning. We’ll find out soon enough.
The likelier bellwether is the collective strides Blue Cain and Silas Demary Jr can make as sophomores. Demary’s metrics don’t move the needle, but that’s not unexpected for a freshman starting 36 games at the point in a high-major conference. For his part, Cain found some modest traction as an off-ball threat, knocking down 35.7 percent of catch-and-shoot looks behind the arc. Progression from that tandem would allow White to plug in Lawrence while allowing Leffew and Montgomery to scale up their production as depth pieces efficiently.
We also can’t omit questions about White, either. Entering his tenth season as an SEC coach, White’s record in conference play is just better than break even and an average finish slightly outside the KenPom top 50. His teams also go dancing every other year. Put simply, his model constructs squads that live on the bubble.
Is that a mortal sin? No. Frankly, the powerbrokers at UGA might deem it sufficient. What is mildly concerning, however, is how his past two teams staggered and collapsed during the run-in. In regular season games played after Feb. 1, the Bulldogs went 4-16 over the past two seasons.
So, even if White does have a roster that could poach a bid, can it get over the hump? And if it doesn’t, the thesis behind letting him parachute from Gainesville looks less tenable.”
https://www.rockmnation.com/missour...fseason-review-recruiting-transfers-nba-draft
