Basketball Preview, Part 3

The frontcourt situation isn’t quite as bright by comparison (or by any stretch of the imagination, for that matter). We’ve discussed Takais Brown before, and losing him is a huge blow. Georgia was counting on him to improve their post production on both ends of floor, so we’re back to where we were last year, at least for now.

Despite the problems caused by a herniated disk, look for junior Dave Bliss to get the start at center tonight, and for the foreseeable future as well. He definitely won’t be able to play for extended periods, which may actually be a good thing for the Bulldogs. He may try hard, he may be a great locker room guy, I don’t know. But I do know that he just hasn’t shown himself to be what Georgia’s looking for in the middle. To me at least, he doesn’t seem to rebound well enough to make up for his lack of an offensive game. Maybe the inability to rely on Bliss for big minutes will force one of these younger guys to make a major leap.

One of the aforementioned younger guys is sophomore seven-footer Rashaad Singleton. We knew he would be a project coming in, but he has been a defensive force from the moment he stepped on campus. But aside from his ability as a blocker, he was basically a non-factor on offense and as a rebounder. If he’s managed to get over his problem holding onto the ball, he’ll get more playing time and hopefully turn into a nice surprise.

With the suspension of Brown, senior forward Steve Newman may find himself back in the starting lineup. In the long run, though, he’ll largely be featured as a role player off the bench. He has some range from three, and any decent minutes from his position is a godsend at this point.

Terrance Woodbury could very well be the key to Georgia’s season. He’ll probably be asked to play some forward, considering the lack of depth at the position. But if he gets the chance to play on the perimeter and can stay healthy, he has the physical tools to really break out this year. He scored 14 points each in his debut and against Florida last year.

Without the services of Takais Brown, Georgia’s current frontcourt situation is even worse than it was a year ago. If the returnees have not improved significantly and freshman Albert Jackson turns out to be a work in progress, they could be in trouble. These perimeter players will have to grow up in a hurry.



See ya at Stegeman.