Tag: georgia basketball news

Georgia basketball loses leading scorer to transfer portal

The Dawgs lose their second player in as many days to the transfer portal…

Georgia basketball has lost Kario Oquendo, the team’s leading scorer in 2021 (15.2 ppg), to the transfer portal, according to Rivals.

That marks the second transfer in as many days after small forward Dalen Ridgnal entered the portal on Monday.

The sophomore guard transferred to Athens from Florida SouthWestern where he was named first-team All-Southern Conference in 2020.

Oquendo flourished under Tom Crean, but that didn’t turn into wins as Georgia finished last in the SEC and set a league record for losses in a season (17). The Bulldogs finished 6-26 and fired Crean this offseason.

Mike White was hired from Florida earlier this month and spoke on how players may leave due to coaching changes.

“First and foremost, before you even get a chance to make your staff evaluations, you’ve got to get a staff, right? And then when you do that, we’ve got to figure out what these guys want, you know? Who knows what the aspirations are with some of these guys. If there’s a player that doesn’t necessarily want to be here or has got one foot out the door, you want them to pursue what’s best for them, what’s in their best interest. It’s that simple.”

You can expect more roster changes this offseason as White and the Bulldogs begin their revamp of the program.

 

Georgia basketball loses SF Dalen Ridgnal to transfer portal

UGA’s Dalen Ridgnal to transfer…

Georgia basketball has lost small forward Dalen Ridgnal to the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.

Ridgnal joined Georgia prior to the 2021-22 season after the Kansas City, Mo., native began his collegiate career at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kan.

In 2021, Ridgnal played in 28 games with one start and averaged 2.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Georgia fired head coach Tom Crean this offseason after four season with the Bulldogs, finishing with a record of 45-75.

UGA brought in Florida head coach Mike White earlier this month to fill the void.

White spoke on the possibility of players leaving with the coaching change.

“First and foremost, before you even get a chance to make your staff evaluations, you’ve got to get a staff, right? And then when you do that, we’ve got to figure out what these guys want, you know? Who knows what the aspirations are with some of these guys. If there’s a player that doesn’t necessarily want to be here or has got one foot out the door, you want them to pursue what’s best for them, what’s in their best interest. It’s that simple.”

You can expect more roster fluctuation through the offseason as White rebuilds.

Georgia basketball hires College of Charleston Associate HC

Georgia basketball has hired JD Powell, a longtime College of Charleston assistant coach.

Georgia basketball has hired longtime College of Charleston coach JD Powell to come join Tom Crean’s staff in Athens.

Powell has been on staff at College of Charleston for the last seven years and will replacing Jake Thelan as the director of recruiting and operations. Powell spent the last two seasons as associate head coach in Charleston.

Powell has over two decades of collegiate coaching experience, and will be coaching outside of South Carolina for the first time in his career.

Powell’s coaching history:

Furman (2002-04)

Charleston Southern (2004-10)

The Citadel (2010-14)

College of Charleston (2014-21).

“I am very excited to join Coach Crean and the Georgia Basketball family,” Powell said. “It is a tremendous opportunity to learn and grow in a tremendous program and the nation’s best basketball conference. Our family cannot wait to be a part of the UGA and Athens community.”

While at College of Charleston, Powell helped the Cougars to 92 wins in four years and saw NBA Draft selections in both 2019 and 2020.

Crean on Powell:

“J.D. Powell brings a wealth of experiences and responsibilities into our recruiting and operations director position,” Crean added. “His organizational abilities, coaching and recruiting acumen and passion, energy and work ethic really stood out to me. Again, like Wade Mason, he comes recommended from people I’ve worked with and people I respect. He will bring a vast background into our program and we are excited about it. We also welcome Kerri and their three boys, Jack, Tucker and Hampton, to UGA and the Athens community.”

Georgia basketball lands Gonzaga PG via transfer portal

Georgia basketball and coach Tom Crean have added another player through the transfer portal. Details here…

Georgia basketball has added another player from the transfer portal. Aaron Cook, who spent four years at Southern Illinois and the last year at Gonzaga, has chosen to play in Athens.

Cook (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) was a pivotal bench contributor for the 2021 NCAA championship runner-up Bulldogs, averaging 4.2 points and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 50% from the floor.

Cook is the fifth player added through the transfer portal after Georgia lost nine players from the previous season to the portal, including four of five starters.

Georgia basketball’s K.D. Johnson transfers to Auburn

Former Georgia Bulldogs guard K.D. Johnson has transferred within the SEC to play basketball with the Auburn Tigers.

Former Georgia Bulldogs guard K.D. Johnson has transferred to the Auburn Tigers. He will be immediately eligible. Johnson was named to the coaches’ SEC All-Freshman team for his efforts throughout the 2020-2021 college basketball season.

The rising sophomore was Georgia’s second-leading scorer at 13.6 points per game. The Bulldogs will miss his scoring ability.

Georgia and Auburn both struggled last season. The Bulldogs finished the year 14-12. The Tigers went 13-14. Both teams finished with 7-11 records in SEC play.

K.D. Johnson is from Atlanta, Georgia and is a former four-star recruit from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has several other incoming transfers including: Walker Kessler (UNC), Desi Sills (Arkansas), and more. The Tigers will look to return to the NCAA Tournament once again in 2022.

Feb 2, 2021; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard K.D. Johnson (0) goes up for a shot against the Auburn Tigers during the second half at Auburn Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

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Georgia basketball adds commitment from 3-star PG

The Georgia Bulldogs have added a commitment from three-star point guard Christian Wright out of Milton High School.

The Georgia Bulldogs have added a commitment from three-star point guard Christian Wright, who is a member of the class of 2021. Wright was previously committed to Rick Pitino and Iona basketball.

Now, Christian Wright will get a chance to be closer to home. Wright played basketball for Milton High School before joining The Skill Factory Prep.

Wright’s commitment is huge for Tom Crean and Georgia backetball, who are struggling with enormous amounts of roster turnover this offseason. Georgia basketball will have a new look in 2021.

The three-star point guard announced his decision via his Twitter account:

Christian Wright’s decision coincides with Sahvir Wheeler’s pending transfer. Wheeler put his name in the NCAA transfer portal to be closer to home and has entered the 2021 NBA Draft, but has not hired an agent, so Wheeler can return to school (if not drafted).

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Two key Georgia basketball players announce transfer destinations

Georgia basketball’s Toumani Camara and Tye Fagan have announced their new transfer homes.

Two important members of Georgia basketball’s rotation have announced their new transfer homes. Tom Crean and the Georgia Bulldogs are losing Toumani Camara and Tye Fagan this offseason.

Georgia will have to look for incoming transfers to replace some of the lost production. The Bulldogs may lose more players in the transfer portal, but there are a number of players in the NCAA transfer portal. Georgia basketball’s recruiting class is lowly ranked at the moment, so that is why the Dawgs may be reliant on the transfer portal to add talent.

Keep your head up, Dawgs fans. Georgia women’s basketball is returning two star players, Jenna Staiti and Que Morrison, after being a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia basketball’s K.D. Johnson named to SEC All-Freshman team

Georgia basteball guard K.D. Johnson was named to the SEC All-Freshman team today by league coaches. Details here.

Georgia guard K.D. Johnson was named to the coaches’ SEC All-Freshman team today.

The freshman is the Bulldogs second-leading scorer at 13.6 points per game behind sophomore guard Sahvir Wheeler, who also received league honors. Wheeler was named second-team All-SEC after averaging 14 points per game and leading the league in assists per game (7.2).

Johnson, from Atlanta, Ga., signed with the Bulldogs as a four-star recruit from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., in the Bulldogs No. 33 ranked recruiting class of 2020.

Johnson only played 15 games, but was an absolute firecracker for the Bulldogs and recorded the most 20-point game performances in the SEC this season, including a 24-point game versus No. 8 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Via Georgiadogs.com:

It’s an honor and I’m very happy that I made the team, but I’m focused on the team and the game that’s ahead of us on Thursday,” Johnson said. “I’m excited about the award, but I’m more excited about the run we’re about to try to go on to get to ‘March Madness.’ We’re just taking it one game at a time.”

Johnson and the Bulldogs are the 10th seed in the 2021 SEC Tournament and are set to face seventh-seeded Missouri on Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Georgia upset then No. 20 Missouri 80-70 on Feb. 16 in Athens.

 

Check out the “UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton” podcast here! J.C. is joined by Georgia legend Rennie Curran in this special episode.

 

 

Former UGA basketball star Nic Claxton drops career-high vs. Spurs

Former Georgia basketball star Nic Claxton is breaking out for the Brooklyn Nets. Details here.

Former Georgia basketball center Nic Claxton put up a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 17 minutes played as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 on Monday night.

Just last week, Claxton made his season debut after missing the Nets’ first 32 games due to knee tendinopathy, now, the Greenville, S.C., native is making a serious impact.

Claxton followed Monday night’s career-best performance with another big game in a win versus the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

In just 16 minutes played, the Nets’ 2019 second-round pick put up 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added eight rebounds.

Claxton’s efficiency of late is hard to ignore and it’s great to see the former Bulldog back in action after battling injuries the last two seasons.

In his time at Georgia (2017-2019), Claxton averaged 8.4 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game, while earning second team All-SEC honors in 2019, when he led the SEC in blocks (81) and blocks per game (2.5).

You can catch Claxton and the Nets next game at home on Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. versus the Boston Celtics.

 

 

Georgia vs South Carolina: Sahvir Wheeler makes UGA history in loss

Sahvir Wheeler made Georgia basketball history in the South Carolina vs UGA basketball game.

Despite Georgia guard Sahvir Wheeler setting Georgia’s single season record for assists, the South Carolina Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs by a score of 91-70 on Saturday in Athens.

Georgia moves to 14-10 (7-10 SEC) following the game, which marks the Bulldogs’ 10th straight loss to the Gamecocks.

 “I did a poor job letting these guys know the level of fight and toughness that would be needed in this game,” head coach Tom Crean said. “When no one is in the fight, that falls back to the head coach.”

Wheeler recorded five assists on Saturday, giving him 170 on the season. That moves him past Pertha Robinson (169, 1994-95 season) for the most assists in a single season in UGA history.

Aside from Wheeler making UGA history, it was a day to forget for the sophomore guard out of Houston, Texas. Wheeler shot just 2-of-13, including 0-for-4 from three. He finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Georgia led South Carolina for a short period midway through the first half.  South Carolina quickly put an end to that via a 13-0. The Gamecocks would never look back and led the entire second half.

The Bulldogs return to the hardwood next Saturday against Alabama in Athens. Tipoff is set for 2pm.