Tag: nba draft 2020 top pick

Georgia men’s basketball announces new season attendance record

For the second consecutive year, Georgia’s men’s basketball has surpassed Stegeman Coliseum’s annual attendance record.

For the second consecutive year, Georgia’s men’s basketball has surpassed Stegeman Coliseum’s annual attendance record.

Attendance spiked following Tom Crean’s 2018 appointment as the Bulldogs’ head coach. When Crean managed to secure the commitment of 2019’s top high school prospect Anthony Edwards, excitement built further for Georgia basketball fans.

So, an average season with an above-average NBA prospect ended on a sour note against rival Florida. Georgia fans have every right to feel dejected.

Win or lose, however, Georgia faithful kept buying tickets to hoot and holler for the Dawgs. The Steg was packed and, oh my, was it loud.

A sure sign of an impassioned fanbase, the majority of the home crowd stayed until each game’s final whistle all year.

Mind you, that’s not just because of the fans’ recognition of the inevitably horrific post-game traffic splitting from Carlton Street toward either Lumpkin Street or East Campus Road.

The 2019-2020 Bulldogs’ hopes aren’t dead. There’s still an entire conference tourney left to be played.

Crean’s squad, which entered the campaign with high hopes, needs to win next week’s SEC Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Unless conference tournament results prove otherwise, the Dawgs are considered a bubble team for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

In that case, a conference quarterfinal or semifinal would ostensibly improve Crean and company’s chances, but after such an up-and-down season, nothing can be guaranteed (always the case in the sports) or even predicted (always the case in Georgia sports).

Should the Bulldogs receive an NIT invite, they have the opportunity of hosting another game in Athens, potentially adding to the season’s attendance record.

Opinion: No, Georgia basketball did not waste its only season with Anthony Edwards

After Anthony Edwards committed to UGA in February of 2019, many Georgia fans quickly deemed him the Dawgs’ deliverer from mediocrity.

Anthony Edwards arrived in Athens, Georgia to much fanfare.

Depending on which recruiting service you asked, Edwards was either the first- or second-ranked high school basketball prospect of the 2019 recruiting cycle.

After the senior out of Atlanta’s Holy Spirit Prep announced his commitment to Tom Crean’s Bulldogs in February of 2019, many Georgia fans quickly deemed him the Dawgs’ deliverer from mediocrity.

Reminder: this was over three months before Edwards had even graduated high school and over eight months before he would play in his first collegiate competition.

What is almost certainly the Dawgs’ only regular season featuring Anthony Edwards ends with an even 15-15 record. Unless the 2020 Bulldogs can replicate the results of 2008’s unlikely winners in next week’s SEC tournament, Georgia may not qualify for any further postseason play.

Crean’s squad, which entered the campaign with high hopes, needs to win the conference tourney to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Unless tournament results prove otherwise, the Dawgs are considered a bubble team for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

A quarterfinal or semifinal appearance in the conference tourney would likely earn them a spot, anything less would likely leave them out. But Georgia basketball fans probably don’t want to think of any more what-ifs.

Though plagued with blown leads and those pesky what-ifs, the Bulldogs’ 2019-2020 campaign was highlighted by several miraculous finishes, wins over Georgia Tech and Auburn, and a slew of NBA-worthy clips from Edwards.

All of that sounds bad. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not great. But here’s the thing: Edwards is still projected as the top NBA draft pick by more than one draft analyst.

This isn’t a moral victory thing. Anyone who watched Georgia’s men’s basketball team all season saw the team fold and surrender late leads on multiple occasions.

To me, a recovering pessimist constantly checking my peripheral vision for any sort of bright side, such results don’t blind me from what I’ve learned to see truth of the matter:

If a star player like Anthony Edwards can come into Georgia’s historically average basketball program and maintain his projected draft position while packing Stegeman Coliseum to the brim, it shows young local talent that they can do the same and receive that fanfare and adoration similar to Edwards’.

That is, before they go get a fat paycheck in the NBA.

Though not assuredly, this could prove vital for a program currently struggling to tread water alongside a strong and balanced Southeastern Conference no longer run just by traditionally powerful Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee (each of which can usually predict its two annual division games against Georgia as wins).

The Atlanta area is one of the highest-concentrated NBA breeding grounds in the United States. Georgia often lands local four-star recruits but very seldom secures commitments from upper echelon five-stars. The last was current Los Angeles Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in 2011.

Examples: 2018’s Ashton Hagans and E.J. Montgomery enrolled at Kentucky. Wendell Carter enrolled at Duke in 2017. Kobi Simmons enrolled at Arizona in 2016.

So, yeah, in the short term, this isn’t ideal. Especially knowing that .500 winning percentage could’ve been a .533 or a possibly a .567, or heck, maybe even .600!

But since I’m speaking in hypotheticals, Georgia could very well have lost some of their eventual dramatic victories, namely against SMU, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas.

Given what Edwards’ success could mean for the future of Georgia men’s basketball recruiting in the future, I choose to see this year’s 15-15 record as a glass half full.

Even in the short term, the Bulldogs’ hopes aren’t dead. There’s still an entire conference tournament to be played.

Georgia basketball earns much-needed win over Arkansas

Tom Crean’s Georgia Bulldogs came out on top over Arkansas in a contest filled with one-sided scoring streaks.

Needing a win to stay in contention for a first-round bye in the SEC tournament, Tom Crean’s Georgia Bulldogs came out on top over Arkansas in a contest filled with one-sided scoring streaks.

Amidst a season plagued with blown leads and resultant losses, Georgia faithful could never feel comfortable with the Bulldogs’ 18-point lead.

The visiting Hogs twice cut the lead to a single point before the home Dawgs sealed the game.

Projected top NBA Draft pick Anthony Edwards took over the final 1:07 of the game, scoring nine of his 26 points in crunch time. Edwards punctuated the game with a ferocious two-handed dunk that sunk Arkansas.

Fellow NBA prospect Rayshaun Hammonds posted 22 points and nine boards.

Despite a lackluster season for Georgia basketball, the NBA’s projected top pick Anthony Edwards has thrown together a rather modest highlight film in what will almost certainly be his only season in Athens.

Watch: Georgia basketball’s Anthony Edwards runs court, lifts for two-handed slam

The NBA’s projected top pick Anthony Edwards has thrown together a highlight film in what will almost certainly be his only season at UGA.

Despite a lackluster season for Georgia basketball, the NBA’s projected top pick Anthony Edwards has thrown together a rather modest highlight film in what will almost certainly be his only season in Athens.

For your viewing pleasure, our own James Morgan gathered and posted a compilation of Ant Man’s nastiest dunks sporting red and black.

In the Bulldogs’ home game against Arkansas, Edwards added another clip to his human highlight reel (if you’re reading this, Dominique Wilkins, we love you).

In the game’s closing moments, Edwards reassured fans that the proper phrase is “Dawgs on Top” as opposed to “Hogs on top.”

To emphasize, here’s another look at how Edwards sprinted down-court and embarrassed five other adults at once:

 

Georgia closed out the game to improve to 15-14 on the season.

Edwards finished the game with 26 points and seven boards.

Georgia basketball suffers painful overtime defeat

The Dawgs fought until the end, coming up just short by a final score of 105 to 102.

In a conference matchup between two teams sporting losing SEC records (despite both maintaining winning overall records), the Georgia Bulldogs lost a heart-breaker against Alabama. The Dawgs fought until the end, coming up just short by a final score of 105 to 102.

The game was tied at 92 points apiece with 21.6 seconds remaining. The score at the end of regulation remained the same, sending the SEC foes to the conference’s third overtime contest of the day.

In the Bulldogs’ first 100-point offensive performance of the year, projected top-five NBA Draft selection Anthony Edwards was limited to 14 points on 5-17 from the field.

Freshman Sahvir Wheeler led the Dawgs with 24 points and 8 assists.

Rayshaun Hammonds posted 20 points. Toumani Camara recorded 12.

The Dawgs will play their next game on Wednesday at home against South Carolina. Tom Crean’s squad somehow maintains 12-11 overall record while having gone 2-8 against SEC opponents.

Georgia’s Anthony Edwards stays home in latest NBA Mock Draft

Georgia Bulldogs freshman Anthony Edwards is projected to go home to the Atlanta Hawk in the latest 2020 NBA Mock Draft.

Georgia Bulldogs star freshman shooting guard Anthony Edwards is averaging 19.3 points per game with 5.3 boards and 3.0 assists. Edwards is projected to be a top-five pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

There’s no consensus number one overall pick yet for the class of 2020. With improved efficiency, Edwards could vault to the top of his class. Edwards is a 6’5″ shooting guard from Atlanta, Georgia. Despite UGA basketball’s struggles on the season, Edwards has remained impressive to NBA scouts.

There’s a decent chance Edwards ends up with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2020 NBA Draft. The Hawks currently have the tied for second worst record in the NBA at 13-37. A bottom three record gives them a 52.1% shot at a top four pick in the NBA Draft and a 14% chance at the top pick.

Will Anthony Edwards go number one overall? The latest NBA Mock Draft, from NBC Sports, has Edwards going second to the Atlanta Hawks. It’d be a base case scenario for many Georgia fans and Edwards, who went to high school in the Atlanta area (Holy Spirit Preparatory School).

Nov 27, 2019; Lahaina, HI, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Anthony Edwards (5) congratulated by forward Mike Peake (30) after defeating the Chaminade Silverswords during the final round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center. Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Edwards would be able to help the Hawks immediately. With several months left of both college basketball and the NBA, the rankings of prospects and the NBA standings will change a lot in the next few months. The Hawks are poised to play better post-All-Star break with Trae Young.

Even if the Hawks play well in their next thirty plus games, the Hawks will still have a shot to select Edwards if they get a little lucky in the lottery.

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