Tag: georgia basketball news

Nations No. 1 PF, Georgia native Jabari Smith to announce commitment Friday

Jabari Smith of Tyrone, Georgia is set to make his college decision this Friday, choosing between UGA, Auburn, LSU, UNC and Georgia Tech.

5-star power forward Jabari Smith is set to commit between Georgia, Auburn, LSU, Georgia Tech and UNC on Friday, according to reports by TiptonEdits and later  confirmed by ESPN.

Smith is rated as the No. 1 power forward and the No. 1 recruit in the state of Georgia in the 2021 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean has experience in keeping star basketball players in-state and signing them to play for the Bulldogs.

Possible 2020 NBA No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards did just that for the Bulldogs last year when the Atlanta native signed with Georgia and was named SEC Freshman of the Year in his one season with the Bulldogs.

247Sports currently predicts Smith will sign with Auburn.

Check back here Friday for updates on Smith’s commitment.

Lakers’ Anthony Davis: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ‘saved us’

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis credited former Georgia Bulldog Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for helping win game one of the NBA Finals

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis credited former Georgia Bulldog great Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for helping the Lakers win game one of the NBA Finals. Los Angeles defeated the Miami Heat 116-98 in a disastrous game for the Heat. Miami lost and suffered several key injuries to Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Goran Dragic.

Before the Lakers took a comfortable lead, Miami raced out to a 23-10 lead in the first quarter. Los Angeles looked lost offensively and LeBron James checked out of the game for his usual rest.

Needing a spark offensively, some open looks fell to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who buried a pair of threes and scored a few points in the paint. KCP helped stave off Miami’s initial onslaught.

Los Angeles, led by the dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James, didn’t look back from there. The Lakers outscored the Heat 55-25 for the rest of the first half. The Heat never cut the Lakers lead to single digits for the whole second half.

Following the game, Anthony Davis credited Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He said that:

“KCP saved us.”

Davis and the Lakers will look to defeat the Heat next on Friday night. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has a large role on the team and plays the third-most minutes for LA. He doesn’t have to shoulder a massive scoring burden, but the team looks for him to step up in some big moments.

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NBA Draft: Will Georgia’s Anthony Edwards go No. 1 to the Timberwolves?

Last night the Minnesota Timeberwolves received the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Will they take Anthony Edwards?

Thursday night the Minnesota Timberwolves were given the No. 1 pick of the 2020 NBA Draft during the annual NBA Draft Lottery, which is a random drawing of the top draft spots for the league’s upcoming draft.

The draft order is especially important to guys like Georgia basketball’s Anthony Edwards, a potential No. 1 pick.

DawgNation may have wanted to see the Atlanta Hawks in the No. 1 spot, but with Atlanta receiving the No. 6 pick – Edwards will most likely be off the board by the time the Hawks pick, barring a sizable trade.

Many mock drafts have Edwards and LaMelo Ball currently a top their big boards.

Melo took a more untraditional route to the draft than Edwards, electing to play in the AAU circuit in the States before going overseas for the past year to meet the NBA’s one-year out of high school draft requirement.

While Ball played well overseas, Edwards dominated the SEC as a freshman in 2019.

Edwards finished 2019 with 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and was named the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year – the first Bulldog to win the award.

We will have to wait until the October NBA Draft to see what the Timberwolves do with the No. 1 pick, but it may come down to who Minnesota thinks will be the best fit for their team in the long run.

Ball is a skilled point guard for sure, but with the Timberwolves adding star point guard D’Angelo Russel last season, they may elect to take Edwards at shooting guard, who is a more plug and play prospect with his explosiveness on both ends of the floor.

 

 

 

 

Watch: Georgia basketball’s Anthony Edwards talks NBA Draft, possibility of playing for Hawks

Anthony Edwards sits down with Bleacher Report to discuss the NBA Draft and how he should be the No. 1 overall pick.

The NBA will be holding its annual Draft Lottery this Thursday, August 20 at 8:30 pm and we will be watching to find out which teams will have a shot at drafting Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards as he tries to become UGA’s first-ever No. 1 NBA draft pick.

Edwards was a one-and-done for the Bulldogs, but his dominant play was something DawgNation will be able to look back on with pride.

He led the Bulldogs in 2019 with 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and was named the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year – the first Bulldog to win the award.

Here’s Edwards as he sits down with Bleacher Reports Taylor Rooks to talk about the upcoming draft and how he would feel about possibly staying home in Georgia to play for the Hawks.

Watch the interview here.

Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards joins Lebron James, signs with Klutch Sports Group

Per Klutch Sports Group’s Twitter account, Georgia basketball star Anthony Edwards has signed with the agency who also represents Lebron.

Former Georgia basketball star, 2019-20 SEC Freshman of the Year Anthony Edwards, has signed with Klutch Sports Group, according to their Twitter.

Klutch Sports Group is a sports agency founded by Rich Paul – known most famously as agent to NBA superstar Lebron James – and has been in the news most recently for the signing of Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young and now Edwards, the potential No. 1 pick of this year’s NBA Draft.

Rich Paul and Klutch Sports Group also represents NBA players like Anthony Davis, John Wall, Ben Simmons and Draymond Green with Edwards now being the youngest athlete signed.

Edwards was a one-and-done at Georgia. In 2019, he was the nation’s leading freshman scorer at 19.1 ppg and was named second-team All-SEC by both the coaches and the AP.

DawgNation, mark your calendars for October 16, as Edwards looks to become the first Bulldog drafted No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft.

Georgia basketball player picks transfer destination

Georgia Bulldogs basketball player Mike Peake has selected a transfer destination.

Georgia basketball sophomore Mike Peake entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to a report from Dawgnation.

At 6 feet, 8 inches, 220 pounds, Peake signed late in last year’s class. He played high school basketball at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas.

Peake was gracious for his time at the University of Georgia, but is now transferring to Austin Peay. Austin Peay went 21-12 last season. Peake is now a little bit closer to home.

Peake played in 24 total games last season. He averaged 9 minutes per game with 2.3 points and 2 rebounds.

He scored a career-high 8 points in Georgia’s season opener against Delaware State.

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Georgia coach Tom Crean named one of college basketball’s 100 most influential people

Georgia coach Tom Crean was named as one of college basketball’s 100 most influential people last week.

Last week, Silver Waves Media named Georgia coach Tom Crean as one of college basketball’s 100 most influential people.

Entering his third year as coach of the Bulldogs, Crean was joined by eight other SEC head coaches. Some of which included: John Calipari (Kentucky), Cuonzo Martin (Missouri), Ben Howland (Mississippi State), Rick Barnes (Tennessee) and Frank Martin (South Carolina).

“It’s always nice to be recognized amongst your peers and other leaders in the game,” Crean said, per DawgNation. “If it doesn’t impress my daughter Megan, though, then it’s very short lived around our house.

“I live with a tough crowd.”

One player who benefited greatly from Crean’s hiring at Georgia was former UGA big man Nic Claxton, who was able to leave UGA after one season with Crean.

“Coach Crean just brought everything out of me and my skill set,” Claxton said in the UGA release. “He brought things out of me I didn’t even know I had at the time, (and) had me doing things I didn’t even know I could do. (Crean) instilled that confidence in me and coached me really hard. “That year with Coach Crean, it was special. I really appreciate him.”

Crean has been a head coach since 1999, when he took over at Marquette.

Report: Georgia basketball player enters transfer portal

Per reports, Georgia basketball player Mike Peake has entered the NCAA transfer portal

Georgia basketball sophomore Mike Peake has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to a report from Dawgnation.

At 6-foot-8, 220-pounds, Peake signed late in last year’s class. He played his high school basketball at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kans.

Peake appeared in 24 games last season. He averaged 9 minutes per game with 2.3 points and 2 rebounds.

He scored a career-high 8 points in Georgia’s season opener vs. Delaware State.

Georgia basketball lands forward PJ Horne, its third graduate transfer

Georgia basketball has secured Virginia Tech graduated transfer PF PJ Horne for the upcoming 2020 season.

Tom Crean has landed yet another transfer to play for Georgia in 2020.

PJ Horne, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech, has decided to take his talents to Athens and join the Georgia Bulldogs.

Horne is originally from Tifton, Georgia, and was the No. 208 overall player in the 2017 class, according to 247Sports.

Horne, the 6-foot-6, 230 pound power forward, averaged 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season with the Hokies.

Only six UGA players are returning from the 2019 season, which has left a lot of work for Crean in the recruiting department.

Just a week prior to Horne choosing the Dawgs, Andrew Garcia, a shooting guard graduate transfer from Stony Brook University in Long Island, New York, signed with Georgia.

April 26th was the day of the first graduate transfer signing for Georgia with George Mason University transfer shooting guard Justin Kier putting pen to paper.

The Dawgs now have eight new faces joining the roster.  That’s more players than are currently on the team. Five of those eight will be incoming freshman, along with the three graduate transfers.

UGA now has the No. 29 recruiting class in the country, and No. 8 class in the SEC.  You can view the full list of Georgia basketball’s 2020 recruiting class here.

Report: NCAA to allow voluntary football, basketball workouts

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, the NCAA voted Wednesday to allow athletes back on campus. Dates and details here

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, the NCAA voted Wednesday to allow athletes back on campus starting June 1 for voluntary football and basketball workouts.

Thamel wrote:

“An NCAA vote Wednesday cleared the return of student-athletes to campus in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball on June 1 through June 30, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports.”

The decision ends the COVID-19 lock-down on athletic activities on campuses through May 31 and is, though just a small step towards normalcy, great news for sports fans and athletes around the country.

Sources reportedly told Yahoo Sports that the Division 1 council will vote on other sports besides football and basketball as soon as possible.

As far as testing procedures, it will be up to the individual school’s and state’s procedures and guidelines, according to Yahoo Sports’ sources.

“It will be up to the schools and political decision-makers to develop protocols on the tests, which cost approximately $100 each,” Thamel added. ““No one wants to get into that,” said a source. “They want to leave it to your own campus and state.””

The 2020 college football season is set to begin August 29 and Georgia football is scheduled to start its season in Atlanta versus Virginia on Sept. 7. What that will look like remains to be known. Last week, NCAA President Mark Emmert said:

“All of the commissioners and every president that I’ve talked to is in clear agreement: If you don’t have students on campus, you don’t have student-athletes on campus. That doesn’t mean [the school] has to be up and running in the full normal model, but you have to treat the health and well-being of the athletes at least as much as the regular students. … If a school doesn’t reopen, then they’re not going to be playing sports. It’s really that simple.”

If the season does go on, most likely there will be a very limited number of people involved and judging by Emmert’s comments and the NBA’s reported plan of resuming their season without fans, we could also see a start to the football season without people in attendance.