UGA basketball: A season in review

Contributed.

The University of Georgia men’s basketball season came to an end, Friday March 13, in Nashville during the quarter finals of the SEC tournament. Entering the tournament as a number six seed, and on the opposing side of the bracket of tournament favorite Kentucky, Georgia’s chances for advancement seemed bright.

Georgia opened the tournament against the third seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. The two teams faced off during the regular season in Athens where UGA led by 15 points at halftime, yet finished just short with a final of 72-68. However, this time around, the Bulldogs took the victory with strong performances by Trey Thompkins, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds, in addition to Travis Leslie’s 21 points.

With the advancement, Georgia looked to face the second seed and nationally 20th ranked Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs played Vanderbilt close all season, including an early season home victory against the Commodores. Furthermore, UGA took the Commodores to overtime in Nashville, only to fall short by two points in one of Georgia’s best played road games.

During the SEC tournament, the Dawgs played close in the first half, but had no answer for Vanderbilt freshman John Jenkins who finished the game with 25 points including 12 straight points in the middle of the second half, to close out Georgia’s hopes of advancing to the semifinals. A career high 34 points from Travis Leslie could not even help the Bulldogs down the stretch, and leading scorer Trey Thompkins never really got into a rhythm. After being shutout by the Vanderbilt defense in the first half, Thompkins ended up with 15 points.

The 78-66 quarterfinal loss for the Bulldogs does not reflect a poor season, but rather a team who entered the season with newly acquired head coach Mark Fox. Though the Dawgs did not record a road win in 2010, 0-11, key victories at home over Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Vanderbilt showed signs of the Georgia basketball program taking valuable steps toward a solid future under Mark Fox’s watch.

Georgia hoop fans have plenty to look forward to for the 2011 season. The likely return of star players, sophomore, Thompkins, who ranked third in the SEC for scoring; and the incredibly athletic, sophomore guard, Leslie who averaged 14.8 points per game will help the Bulldogs become a future home to quality high school players who otherwise would have looked elsewhere to pursue their career.

Mark Fox was able to recruit sophomore Gerald Robinson from Tennessee State University in addition. Though Robinson could not play in the 2009-10 season because of NCAA transfer rules, he will be a great addition to the Georgia squad in 2010-11, as he averaged 16.8 points per game in two seasons at TSU.

Though fans could look at the 2009-2010 season as a rebuilding season, the Bulldogs and Mark Fox can look to next season and continue to build and improve a basketball program that has struggled since the miracle run in 2008 that crowned the Bulldogs as SEC champions.