Archive for January, 2009

Furman Bisher breaks the news that Bobby Knight has expressed interest in being the next head coach of the Georgia basketball team.

If you are one of those Bulldogs deeply distressed about the course of basketball at the University of Georgia, I have promising news for you. How would you like to have Bob Knight coaching your team?

No thanks.

I mean, I get it, Bobby Knight is a legendary college basketball coach and would turn the national media’s eye towards Athens for next year’s basketball season and beyond. He lifted Texas Tech into basketball respectability and could possibly do the same for Georgia. He’d build the foundation for the next coach to build on.

But, he is 68 years old. How many years could he give us? Granted, while grumpy old curmudgeons tend to live well into their 90’s, can they coach college basketball much past 70?

He doesn’t seem like a candidate that a young AD like Damon Evans would gravitate towards. It seems like Evans would want to bring in a fresh energy to the program. Someone who would take advantage of modern technologies in coaching and recruiting and who could relate more closely with today’s student athlete. Knight seems like the opposite.

Also, when is the last time he made a championship run? Sure, older Dawgs like myself appreciate his accomplishments made during the 70’s and 80’s but today’s student athlete knows Knight for his ill temperament and being a jerk while hunting on someone’s private property.

I admit there is something inherently fascinating about a person who speaks his mind in such a blunt and dramatic fashion. If he is hired, it could be a fun ride for Georgia Basketball. I just think there are many younger candidates like Jamie Dixon, Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant that match the profile that will serve Georgia Basketball well now, and forward into the future.

Image: AP/Tuscaloosa News

UPDATE 2: Hale has published some notes from tonight’s game.

Afterward, Herrmann seemed like a guy who was just happy to be coaching basketball, a game he truly loves. While Felton was clearly a fiery and competitive coach, it really never quite came across as enthusiasm. It does with Herrmann, and given the struggles of this team, a little excitement about their jobs might be the best possible medicine.

If Felton didn’t seem like he was enthusiastic maybe the game was slowly drained of it’s fun for the players?

UPDATE: AP write-up available at ESPN.

Georgia was defeated by Alabama 75-70.

Trey Thompkins led all scorers with 22 points on 8-17 shooting from the field while going 3-7 behind the stripe. Terrence Woodbury contributed 15 points while Dustin Ware scored 11 points in 29 minutes of play. It’s the 8th loss in a row for Georgia Basketball.

Pete Hermann is now 0-1 as Georgia’s head basketball coach.

Image: Valdosta Daily Times

Michael Carvell has published a Q & A with Lowndes County phenom Greg Reid.

I’m starting to like Georgia’s chances with Reid. With Evans move to safety permanent and Asher Allen declaring for the NFL draft it presents an opportunity for Greg Reid to play early and often. It’s all about feeling at home you say? Not quite:

Q: What really went wrong with Florida?

A: “Florida was my favorite team growing up, so I committed to them as soon as I had the chance my junior year. Then I started looking closer at the depth chart in December —- who was coming back —- and they are stacked at cornerback. Florida has a great program, and I love the players and coaches, but it’s four years of my life, and I have to do what’s best for me. There are better opportunities for me to contribute earlier elsewhere.”

Sure, FSU may present a similar opportunity but if Georgia can impress this weekend and and show Mr. Reid that Athens, GA is a fine town to spend your college years, I am thinking he will be in the red and black next year.

Doesn’t matter, he won’t qualify?

Q: There has been a lot speculation about you meeting college entrance requirements. What’s your academic situation?

A: “I did terrible, terrible, terrible during my first two years of high school. Then as a junior, I started turning things around. I saw I could go straight to college rather than a prep school if I got it together. I started getting tutors, and my senior year has been awesome. I made all Bs first semester. I have a 2.6 GPA. I’ve had a lot of college coaches and counselors review my transcript, and they tell me that if I keep it up second semester, then I should be fine.”

Sounds like Greg has gotten his act together and is feeling confident that he’ll qualify to play ball next year. I hope this part is true no matter where he goes.

I gotta admit there have been moments where I thought Reid was playing all of us, but it seems to me after reading this piece that he is just a young kid grappling with his future.

Can’t we all be thankful that a basketball game wasn’t on Reid’s agenda this weekend in Athens?

My prediction: UGA.

Georgia cruised to another victory in it’s quest to become ITA National Team Indoor Champions. The most recent victim was the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Third-ranked Georgia will face 36th-ranked Washington Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex for a trip to the ITA National Team Indoors.

The Bulldogs (2-0) blanked No. 51 South Carolina 5-0 Friday while No. 36 Washington defeated No. 55 Indiana 6-1 in the first day of the ITA Kickoff Weekend here at the Hopkins Indoor Courts. The winner of the Bulldog-Husky match will earn as spot in the 16-team field at the ITA National Team Indoors slated for Feb. 13-16 in Chicago. The Gamecocks will face the Hoosiers in a consolation match Saturday at 9 a.m. Admission is free for both matches at the Hopkins Indoor Courts.

So, just one victory and it will be on to Chicago.

RELATED: UGA living legend, Georgia sports oracle and the first baby born at Athens Regional Medical Center, Dan Magill, has a piece in the Banner-Herald about recently signed Georgia tennis recruit Borja Malo.

Georgia’s defending national champion men’s tennis team, which was hit hard by the graduation of All-Americans Travis Helgeson and Luis Flores, has recruited one of South America’s top players, Borja Malo of Santiago, Chile.

Given where we are in the football recruiting process, this part stood out:

Coach Manuel Diaz said Malo started school Thursday.

That’s fast! I guess recruiting isn’t always a glacial process where, after essentially a year long recruitment, it may still be another couple of years a kid sees the field.

Instant gratification FTW.

Image: ESPN Deportes

James Walker at ESPN sees this Super Bowl as a chance for Hines Ward to solidify his Hall of Fame credentials. If inducted he’d only be the third Georgia Bulldog to make it into the NFL Hall of Fame along with Charlie Trippi and Fran Tarkenton.

Troy Polamalu, Hall of Fame timber himself, gives us his biased opinion:

“I’m probably a little [biased], but I think he’s the best receiver in the game,” Steelers safety Troy Polamalu said. “You can never ask anymore from anybody with what he does. His blocking from a receiver, he catches the football, he’s able to have all of these great receiving statistics even though we’re a running offense.

“To have that whole package, I don’t think anybody in the NFL has that. I hope that he’s remembered as a Hall of Famer, because that’s what we all believe that he is.”

Whole package is right. How many receivers are the intimidators on the football field? He blocks with a legendary ferocity and that has contributed as much to his team’s success as his receptions.

Still, even though his numbers aren’t as gaudy as his contemporaries, he holds many all-time records for one of sport’s most storied franchises:

In terms of numbers, Ward currently holds Pittsburgh’s all-time marks for games played (170), career receptions (800), receiving yards (9,780) and receiving touchdowns (72).

As far as Ward himself goes, he seems like he’d be happier if he contributes to putting another Lombardi trophy into the Steelers trophy case.

“Some guys might like me, some guys call me dirty,” Ward said. “There will be some kids that want to be me one day, but I don’t know. When I leave this game one day, all I want people to say is he was one heck of a football player. That’s all I can really ask for. It’s up to you guys [in the media] to vote your opinion, judge how you want.”

Additional Super Bowl or not, the answer has to be… yes.

Bobbie Massey, a five-star 6-foot-8 335 lb offensive tackle from Hargrave Military Academy, has cancelled his visit to UGA scheduled for this weekend.

Kit Kitchens lets us know why Massie was less of a want and more of a need:

The news does not bode well for UGA as signing Massie would have really bolstered an already solid class of offensive linemen. After last season’s injuries, UGA has pursued a long list of offensive tackles to help with depth in case starting tackles Trinton Sturdivant and Vince Vance do not return completely healthy from their ACL tears.

This is more bad news for Georgia’s late stage recruiting efforts. Though this class may yet prove to be strong, it has taken a beating this past week.

Starting with Cameron Kenney, a Dacula native, committing to Oklahoma and continuing with the news that Toby Jackson had failed to qualify for this year’s class.

That news was followed up with Stephen Hill, a Lithonia WR, solidifying his commitment to Georgia Tech after a late pitch from Georgia.

So, who’s left? Jarvis Jones, Marlon Brown and Greg Reid. Jones and Brown are bona-fide long shots, and Reid is looking like a coin toss.

It is looking like we may pull an 0-fer and crawl across the finish line.

The Lady Dogs dealt No. 5 Auburn their first defeat of the season tonight 67-58.

Angel Robinson scored 17 points to help Georgia beat No. 5 Auburn 67-58 Thursday night, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.

Christy Marshall had 15 points and Angela Puleo added 10 as Georgia (14-7, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) won its third straight, including consecutive games against a Top 25 team. The Bulldogs beat then-No. 17 Vanderbilt last week.

Congratulations to Andy Landers and the surging Lady Dogs.

They closed the night by striking a positive note for University of Georgia athletics on an extremely difficult day.

Chip Towers gives us a look at how the aftermath of the decision to fire Felton was handled as it relates specifically to the players.

I’m not saying the decision to fire Dennis Felton was right. Time will tell on that one. I’m talking about the protocol they used for informing the players was right this time. They handled it flat-out wrong when Jim Harrick was let go in 2003.

You probably would have tried to handle it worse than the Harrick fiasco in 2003. Still, giving Coach Felton a chance to address the players directly, before the players could hear in the media was the right thing to do. There is some great young talent on this team and it’s important they feel like they’re “in the loop” so to speak, and being dealt with in a direct, straightforward manner.

Of course, Georgia gets some props for improved handling of such a negative situation but Towers has a small bone to pick with how Coach Felton handled it personally.

On a separate note, Dennis Felton also was “not available.” He didn’t attend the press conference and he didn’t issue a statement, which I don’t think was the best way to handle it. I made a separate trip out to his beautiful house in Bogart and his wife Melanie answered the front door. She went into another room to ask if he’d come talk to me but came back and said he’s “not available.” Very kind, very cordial, just “no comment.”

Yeah, I don’t think I can blame the guy for not wanting to answer questions the very day his life is turned upside down. It’s smart on his part not to put himself in a position for his emotions to bubble up and turn an already difficult situation worse.

Even though it didn’t work out for him at Georgia, he is no doubt a fine coach with his own future to look out for.

UPDATE: If you don’t want to fool with the GXtra video player The Red & Black have posted video of Evan’s press conference.

Part 1:

Part 2:

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The video of the press conference announcing the dismissal of Georgia basketball coach is freely available from GXtra.

It requires the latest Windows Media plug-in so I was unable to watch on my Mac but your mileage may vary.

UPDATE: If you’re on a Mac you’ll need the Windows Media Components for Quicktime to play the video.

AJC has an update on the Greg Reid recruiting saga.

Georgia can close the deal if it can make a positive impression on Reid during his visit:

“It’s a big factor, let me tell you,” Reid said. “Georgia is coming to do an in-home visit on Thursday [in Valdosta]. Then on Friday, I’ll go to Athens for my visit. I’ll be at Georgia all day Saturday, and then at Georgia on Sunday morning … probably pulling out of there around noon. That’s a lot of Georgia over the next few days.”

I am hoping there is something to the fact that Reid gave UGA his final visit; like he wanted to measure everyone up before he visited his favorite. Wishful thinking?