Archive for February, 2009

Chip Towers from the AJC caught up with former Georgia Basketball coach Hugh Durham over the weekend and he had some interesting commentary about the Georgia Basketball job and the current situation involving the Bobby Knight rumors.

(3) A lot of people think Georgia is a tough job, hard to recruit to. Durham believes Georgia is not only a good job, which it was when he had it, but “a great job.” He said it still has its unique set of obstacles to negotiate but, with Stegeman fixed up like it is these days and the $30 million practice facility, there should be nothing holding them back. (4) Said he likes Bob Knight and thinks he would create a nice buzz for Georgia but he doesn’t believe it’s what’s best for the Bulldogs in the long run. (5) Of the candidates we discussed Anthony Grant seemed to be the only one he was real enamored with but he didn’t want rate candidates, not right now anyway.

This is a good read. It’s nice to hear Hugh is still pulling for the Dogs and following the program. I’d say Durham’s legacy is aging well considering the facilities and the “football first” mentality of an SEC program (excluding Kentucky) during his tenure.

Of course, I also think he is spot on about Knight and articulates the case against him coming to Georgia perfectly in a single sentence.

Hugh Durham… DGD.

Image: ESPN

Georgia players expressed their enthusiasm in the potential hire of Bobby Knight, the Indiana coaching legend, as their head coach.

Georgia freshman Trey Thompkins…

“Coach Knight is a legend,” Thompkins said. “I’d love to have him coach here, and I feel like he’d make me even better than I am now.

“That would honestly be a tremendous thing to me. I’d be really happy.”

…and Albert Jackson…

“I would love to have a coach of that caliber, that stature,” Jackson said. “You have a Hall of Fame coach, you have somebody like that, all you can do is be happy.

“If Bobby Knight wants to come in here, I’d be more than happy.”

…and who could blame them? Love him or hate him, Bobby Knight is a sports icon and coaching legend. If you were down and out over your coach being fired and presented with the possibility of having the position filled by the winningest coach in NCAA history, you’d probably be excited too.

You’d always be able to tell your grand kids you played for “The General”. You’d benefit from the increased media exposure, etc…

I have been surprised by the amount of support that Knight has received amongst Georgia fans though. My own brother, who’s never really followed the basketball team that closely, is crazy about the idea. He really just wants to see the lightning bolt of media coverage that will descend on Athens if he’s hired.

In other words, he’s excited by the novelty of it.

It’d be neat! And if it didn’t work out, basketball never meant that much to him in the first place.

Fortunately for the future of Georgia Basketball I believe Damon Evans will take a longer view and hire someone that will be able to begin work on building a winning, and sustainable basketball tradition.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN just identified Jeff Capel (Oklahoma), Sean Miller (Xavier) and Anthony Grant (VCU) as Georgia’s A-list of candidates to replace Dennis Felton.

If so, that is good news, as each one would be capable of building the tradition of which Georgia hoops fans have been deprived, without the baggage that may just drag us further down.

In all of the hubbub over weekend recruiting visits and the news that Bobby Knight was interested in Georgia basketball job, the news of Georgia’s 4-2 victory over Washington to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the ITA National Indoors.

Unlike the previous two matches Georgia had to come from behind after an early setback:

Washington (4-2) grabbed a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point over the Bulldogs (3-0). The team point came down to the No. 2 match where Derek Drabble and Patrik Fisher edged Josh Varela and Christian Vitulli 8-6. The Huskies No. 1 team of Martin Kildahl and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan won 8-4 while the No. 3 Bulldog tandem of Drake Bernstein and Javier Garrapiz won 8-3. It was the first time Georgia dropped the doubles point this season.

The match was clinched by the solitary Bulldog senior, Josh Varela.

“It was a total team effort today,” said Georgia coach Manuel Diaz. “After Washington won the doubles point, we knew what we had to do and everybody hung in there. Josh is a perfect example of a kid who came to Georgia to be a part of something special. He didn’t come in with a high ranking like some guys, he’s worked hard and gone from being like our eighth or ninth guy as a freshman to now winning big matches like today. He has a tremendous competitive spirit.”

Up next for the Tennis Dogs is a trip to Chicago to compete for the National Team Indoor Championships held February 13-16.

UPDATE 2: Bernie’s look at Jawanza Starling is up.

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UPDATE: Bernie has posted his Orson Charles profile.

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Well, we’re getting close to the finish line and there are only a few prospects still considering the Georgia Bulldogs.

Bernie’s Dawg Blawg has an excellent rundown on all of those remaining complete with some great original insight and analysis.

Here’s a little sample re: Greg Reid:

Reid is as renowned for the verbal lashing he took from the Swamp Coach as he is his cover skills. He is an all around talent that has recently settled in on the defensive side of the ball. He wants to play early which may be why he backed away from TebowLand. Georgia can offer a fair shot at time. But he’ll have to earn it against some players who have been waiting on the sidelines as well as the state’s top player, ’09 commit Branden Smith.

Links (with my no insider info having predictions):

• DB – Greg Reid – Georgia
• WR – Marlon Brown – Ohio State
• DT – Kwame Geathers – Georgia
• LB – Jarvis Jones – USC
• TE – Orson Charles – Georgia

Yeah, it’s optimistic but I am a glass hal-full kind of guy. I mean, if I was reeeeally optimistic I’d have Marlon Brown headed for Athens.

Image: ESPN

Matthew Stafford penned an article in Sunday’s Athens Banner-Herald bidding farewell to UGA, the fans and the Athens community.

One thing I found kind of interesting was what he chose to mention as the most memorable moments of his career as a Georgia Bulldog:

Mikey Henderson’s touchdown catch in overtime to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, our celebration and 42-30 win over Florida and the “Blackout” against Auburn in 2007 were some of my all-time favorite moments.

All from 2007, an incredible year for Georgia Football. Odd, that it produced no championships for the trophy case, but unique in the multitude of special moments it contained.

My preference out of those he lists is the Auburn game. Easy, I know, but that is the one I experienced in person. I’ve been to many games in Sanford Stadium but none has match the electricity of that night. The black jerseys, the tradition of the Auburn rivalry, combined with the victory over the hated Gators two weeks previous, added up to create a euphoric intensity that managed to envelope even the television announcers, Gary Danielson and Verne Lunquist of CBS.

Then, he informs us know that letting go wasn’t easy:

It was probably the toughest decision of my life to decide to leave Georgia a year early and enter the NFL Draft. But similar to my dreams of being a quarterback in college, I have also always dreamed of being a quarterback in the NFL and I felt like this was my best opportunity to make that second dream come true. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t already miss things I had gotten used to in Athens and with our team.

Personally, I feel like the grind of 2008 took it’s toll on Stafford. The failure to meet the lofty expectations, the injuries to his OL, the ugly way the team lost when it was on the sport’s biggest stage, all contributed to the recognition of how uniquely special the 2007 season was… and how unlikely it was to be repeated.

After all, it is hard to imagine his stock being much higher, and there is no guarantee that 2009 wouldn’t be a tougher year than 2008. Additionally, he leaves with the comfort of knowing that the program will be left in the capable hands of Joe Cox.

As much as you may want to stay somewhere, sometimes it is just time to go.