Basketball Preview, Part 2

Since we’ve already taken a look at who the Georgia basketball team has lost and who the new additions are, let’s take this opportunity to see who’s coming back this year. The season gets going tonight versus West Georgia (there’s no reason you shouldn’t be going), so there’s not much time.

Backcourt:

The Bulldogs return a ton of experienced talent at guard this year. Not including swingman Terrence Woodbury, coach Dennis Felton has five options with starting experience who are at least reasonably talented at the guard positions.

With the loss of transfer Younes Idrissi, the indefinite suspension of Takais Brown, and Dave Bliss’ ongoing back problems, Georgia will be forced to go with a lineup that is even smaller than expected this season. That’s a good thing for these guards, some of whom will naturally be left out of the lineup for long periods of time anyway. They’ll all get more playing time, sure, but it also puts even more pressure on these guys to make up for a lack of a post presence for the third consecutive year.

Sundiata Gaines, who will miss tonight’s contest, is Georgia’s unquestioned floor general and most consistent player. He led the team in rebounds, minutes, assists, and steals, and has an opportunity to assert himself as an elite SEC point guard this season. He should lead the team in minutes yet again, and he’ll probably have to if the Bulldogs are going to remain competitive in conference play.



Though he showed flashes of greatness a year ago, sophomore Mike Mercer ought to make a big jump in his first season as a full-time starter. He is by far the most athletically gifted player Georgia has, and has shown the ability to be a big time scorer and a lockdown defender.

Senior Levi Stukes should get the nod as the starter as well. He and junior Channing Toney will fight it out for the role as the Bulldogs’ go-to long range shooter. Though Stukes began the year on fire, he really struggled to find his stroke as the season wore on. Likewise, Toney seemed to lose his touch last year, though it was for a much longer stretch. While he greatly improved other aspects of his game, it may have been at the expense of his three-point shooting. If one of these guys is a consistent threat from the outside, Georgia will be all the more dangerous.

Sophomore Billy Humphrey will probably be asked to provide a lift off the bench with his scoring ability. He averaged nearly 15 points a game during a seven-game non-conference stretch last year, but definitely saw his production go down as the season went along. But with a year of experience under his belt, Humphrey should be a more consistent player this year.



This is the year where these young guards won't be quite so young anymore, and they’ll be asked to live up to all that potential. Depth is a nice thing to have, but a couple of guys are going to have to separate themselves from the pack and establish themselves as “the guys,” for lack of a better term.

I don’t think Sundiata Gaines and Mike Mercer will have much trouble doing this, so it’s up to Stukes, Toney, or Humphrey to be Georgia’s go-to three point shooter. With all those questions still surrounding the frontcourt, the Bulldogs desperately need a lethal option on the outside.

We’ll get to those centers and forwards a little bit later.