Three Observations
- Senior point guard J.J. Frazier and junior power forward Yante Maten established themselves last year among the top players in the SEC. With the majority of the top players from last season leaving the SEC either to graduation or going to the NBA, look for Frazier and Maten to be the best 1-2 punch of any in the SEC this year outside of anything on Kentucky's roster. Frazier and Maten combined to average 33.4 points per game last year, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them build on that this year. The bigger news for the Bulldogs with those two returning is not just do they give Mark Fox serious production on the stat sheet, but they are both great leaders. They will be great guys to have leading the locker room, but it will also be a huge benefit for the younger guys on the team to be able to learn from their example.
- Derek Ogbeide's freshman didn't go as many had hoped. He had moments where showed exactly why he was ranked as a 4-star prospect coming out of high school, but he struggled to find a comfort zone after missing the early part of the season due to a shoulder injury. As a result of the injury and missed time on the court, his conditioning never got to where it needed to be the whole season and it limited how consistent he could be as a player. After seeing practice before the team left for Spain in July, Ogbeide looks like he's a much improved player, both from a skill and conditioning standpoint. He along with Yante Maten will give Georgia a frontcourt that will cause a lot of problems for other teams. Ogbeide will likely be among the most improved players in the SEC and maybe even the whole country this season.
- Georgia's incoming recruiting class featured two in-state, four-star prospects in Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris. If the trip to Spain showed anything, it's that those two are talented enough to help Georgia right away in the backcourt. Crump, who will likely see most of his minutes at point guard this season, is an elite scorer who will challenge J.J. Frazier for the best shooter on the roster. Harris will play more on the wing for the Dawgs and he too is a talented scorer and arguably the best overall athlete on Georgia's roster right now. There is no doubt that Crump and Harris are talented enough to help Georgia immediately, but how quickly they pick up Fox's offense and how quickly they learn to play team defense to Fox's satisfcation will determine the minutes they get this season.
- Georgia's freshman class from last season all had their moments, but none of them ever really sustained any success over a long stretch, which isn't out of the norm for freshman. As mentioned above, Derek Ogbeide appears ready to take off. But with the departure of Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines, Georgia needs some guys to step up in their absence. Can Turtle Jackson and E'Torrion Wilridge get to the point where Fox can count on them every night? Can Mike Edwards solidify the frontcourt by being a quality third post player to spell Maten and Ogbeide for a breather or if foul trouble hits? The answer to those questions could be the key to this season.
- Juwan Parker has been battling an ankle injury for almost two years now. Last season, he took a medical redshirt, so he comes back this season as a redshirt junior for the Dawgs with his degree already in hand. This summer, he looked to be practicing and playing with no limitations on his ankle. Can Parker step up and produce in one of the starting spots vacated by Mann and Gaines graduating? If he can, that would be a big boost for the Dawgs. It's not that he needs to be a star, but if he can hit open jump shots created by the attention Frazier and Maten will draw and play good defense, that will be more than enough.
- I believe Georgia returns to the NCAA Tournament this year after missing the Big Dance last season. Teams with two upperclassmen as talented as J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten usually find a way to win a lot of games, particularly when one of those guys is a point guard. Outside of those two, there are a lot of question marks on the roster, but I believe there is enough talent around those two that Mark Fox will find a way to get this team on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday.
