BnE's March Madness Bracket Challenge

With the Dawgs on the doorstep to a spot in the Big Dance, the first time since the 2008 Tornado Tourney miracle, we here at BnE feel it especially appropriate to host a NCAA Basketball bracket for the tourney.

In honor of the Dawgs' pending spot in the Dance, as well as our recently relocated and current expatriate BFR, the big winner of the bracket, beyond the fame, fortune, accolades and women will receive one copy of Lewis Grizzard's If I Ever Get Back To Georgia, I'm Gonna Nail My Feet To The Ground as well as one copy of AUMaverick's favorite Grizzard book, Shoot Low, Boys--They're Ridin' Shetland Ponies.

Entering the Bracket: We will be using CBS Sports' scoring system and default point scores. To enter, here is the link to the official BnE Bracket Challenge, and the password is 'lewis' (no quotes).

Will the Georgia Bulldogs go all Butler this year and make a deep run? Heck, if Dennis Felton and inclement weather at the Georgia Dome can get us a SEC Tourney trophy, who knows what Fox's Hounds can do....

Beating the Gators: Fred Gibson came through in 2002

One of my favorite basketball memories from my days at Georgia was the 2002 game against the Florida Gators in Gainesville. Florida came into the game ranked #2 in the nation and was a 16.5 point favorite. Georgia was enjoying a fine season at 14-3, that included a victory over then #8 Kentucky just the week before. But coming off a loss at home to #16 Alabama, few expected the Dawgs to steal a victory from the Gators at home.


Georgia was Jarvis Hayes and Ezra Williams, who would combine to score 42 points in the game. I remember the balance of that Georgia team, with Rashad Wright running the point and the Hayes brothers up front. For Florida, I remember the combination of Matt Bonner and Udonis Haslem leading the Gators to a 39-36 lead at half. But the Dawgs were able to come back and take the lead into the waning minutes of the game. Coach Herrick sent a reserve guard who had recently joined the basketball team after the end of the football season.


That player was Georgia wide receiver Fred Gibson. Gibson had originally committed to play football for Steve Spurrier at Florida, but switched his commitment to Georgia during the week before national signing day. After having an amazing freshman season on the football field, the Florida fans were ready to taunt Gibson, a player they felt had screwed them over. Gibson got the ball on three consecutive possessions with the Gators just outside of striking distance. Each time he was fouled and sent to the line. I kept wondering why we were leaving a football player out on the court who had little experience in such a crucial situation.



Gibson answered the call. He nailed all 6 of his free throws, helping secure the 84-79 victory. Gibson returned to Athens as probably the most popular player on the team. Gibson would only play one season at Georgia, but that one day in Gainesville will forever hold his place in Georgia basketball history.

Let's go beat them Gators tonight!!! GO DAWGS!!!

Next Stop: NCAA Tournament

With two likely 2011 NBA first round picks coming back for their junior seasons in 2010-2011, the Georgia Bulldog basketball program looked to be headed in the right direction towards an NCAA tournament birth. With the announcement that Georgia Mr. Basketball, Marcus Thornton, will attend Georgia this fall, the Dawgs will have the horses to make that NCAA title birth a reality.

But more importantly, the commitment of Thornton may mark a turning point in Bulldog basketball history. For years we have had to hear about the great basketball players from the state of Georgia leaving the state to play their college ball. Louis Williams and Dwight Howard both went straight to the NBA and Derrick Favors ultimately chose Georgia Tech. With the commitment of Thornton, the Georgia Bulldogs have finally managed to keep the best senior player from leaving the state of Georgia and coming to Athens. Granted, it took a coaching change at Clemson to help bring Marcus back to Georgia, but who cares!

It is the dawning of a new day for Georgia basketball. Finally, the shroud of the Jim Harrick era can be erased.

Welcome to the Bulldog Nation, Marcus!!!

Go Dawgs!!!

Hoops: The Other Star of the Georgia Basketball Team

Under Mark Fox, the Georgia Bulldogs men's basketball team has shown a great amount of progress the team has made under the first year coach. Despite the record, the team is much better than in year's past and is getting some attention from the media. Most of the attention is on Georgia's two stars, versatile big man Trey Thompkins and the high flying Travis Leslie. While watching Georgia upset #18 Vanderbilt on Saturday night, I noticed another player who really seemed to make an impact on the floor: senior guard Ricky McPhee.

McPhee hails from Lilburn, Georgia where graduated from Parlview High School in 2005. Despite being 12th all time in Gwinnett County in scoring, the county all-time leader in 3 pointers, and finishing second in state in scoring his senior year, McPhee did not have a local basketball scholarship offer. This was mostly likely due to three other Gwinnett County players who graduated at the same time as McPhee who all accepted scholarships to Georgia: Dacula's Billy Humphrey and South Gwinnett's Louis Williams and Mike Mercer. In a twist of fate, McPhee is the only one of those three players that will end his college career at Georgia.

McPhee committed to play a Gardner-Webb, where he made an impact during first collegiate game. Ricky scored 21 points against national powerhouse North Carolina. He would play the next years at Gardner-Webb, averaging 8.9 points a game. He even scored 12 points against Georgia in a near upset of the Bulldogs (the final was Georgia 97, GW 96). McPhee then transferred to Georgia as a walk-on, where had to sit out the 2007-2008 season.

Once eligible to play, Ricky did not see the floor much during the first half of the 2008-2009 season. But once January came around, he gradually began to see his role increase. McPhee hit the game winning three pointer in a Georgia victory over Vanderbilt. A few weeks later, he scored a season high 15 points in a loss to Mississippi State. For the year, he averaged 11 minutes per game and hit 36% of his shots from 3 point range.

Under Mark Fox, McPhee has become a starter and one of the constants of the floor for the Dawgs. He has started all 21 games at guard and is averaging over 31 minutes per game. He is third on the team averaging 10.3 points per game, third in assists with 41, and leads the team in steals with 31. McPhee is one of the top deep threats in the SEC, hitting on nearly 41% from downtown (44 of 108). McPhee played a key role in Georgia's upset victory over #8 Tennessee, scoring 11 points. He also had a big game in Georgia's loss at Florida where he scored a season high 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting (5 for 8 from 3).

Ricky McPhee has been one of the true surprises on this year's Georgia team. It is a shame that he only got to spend two years on the court in Athens. "McThree" has certainly lived up to his nickname this season.

GO DAWGS!!!

Bubba Does Basketball

Well, the University of Georgia has taken the plunge and hired a new basketball coach. This hire is very intriguing for me and let me start by saying that this is an opportunity that I can get on board with. Yes, it is very easy to say “Who is this guy?” and other than the fact that Trent Johnson coached Kirk Snyder there, that’s all I know about the University of Nevada besides the fact that it is in Reno, ugh:

Back to Dr. Naismith’s game and the positives that I see out of this hire:

First, UGA needed a change, plain and simple. Mark Fox gives the Bulldogs this opportunity right out of the gate. He has no prior notions about the basketball program being a Midwest guy coaching towards the West Coast. This, in my opinion, gives him an opportunity to change the culture of the players and change the image of how UGA basketball is run. It is easy to be concerned with the fact he has no current connections to the Southeast, but the man has been successful at winning basketball games and getting talent to play at Nevada. He had to build relationships over time to get strong personnel in Nevada and judging from his success over the last 5 seasons, I believe that he has the ability to build superior relationships in Athens. His mentor from Nevada, Trent Johnson, had no prior connections to the Southeast and won 27 games at LSU last season. UGA definitely does not have the recent record of LSU nor does it have their roster, but this should give Mark Fox some insight as far the job that he has taken and the work that he must do.

Second, it looks to me that Coach Fox has the ability to develop players. UGA has not developed the skills of its players throughout the tenure of Dennis Felton. Mike Mercer was an undisciplined mess and he, along with Takais Brown, took whatever Felton had built over his first few years and threw it out the window when they were kicked off/left the team. Sundiata Gaines and Dave Bliss were the only two players that I can honestly say I saw get better during their time at UGA. I hate to speak poorly about Coach Felton because he is a good man and worked hard for the University, but his way was no longer working. There is enough talent in the Classic City to be competitive in the SEC and field some semblance of an offensive game plan. Trey Tompkins, Dustin Ware, and Travis Leslie (if eligible) have individual unique talents. Barring their transfer, and it will take one helluva sales job to keep the current roster intact, Mark Fox with his record, can build a team with those young players. Over 40 players were in the NCAA tournament this past season on non-Georgia teams, get one to two of those players a year and you are moving in the right direction.

Thank You Coach Felton, at least someone won a Title on the Trade School Gym Floor, ba da boom!

Third, Bobby Knight wasn't and would never be the answer. Simple question, where does Bobby Knight leave you in two to three years when he is sick of coaching? Yes, he won 20 games every full season but 2004-2005 at Texas Tech, but he is burnt out. Do you as a fan really want to end up with Pat Knight as your coach after he is fired by the brass in Lubbock? Personally, I don’t. Mark Fox is fresh and hungry while Bobby Knight is probably still in that bunker at the golf course (caution, extreme language):

Fourth, this is funny:

I think he could hang with Steve Newman (Sorry Steve, but you were not good).

In closing, is Mark Fox the splash that Anthony Grant would have been? The simple answer is no, but for two guys coaching at the same mid-major level, they have been equally successful. Grant ultimately didn’t have the interest in UGA that our fans had in him. The Parker Executive Search firm put UGA in a position to hire an experienced coach that UGA, for all intents and purposes, probably never would have considered. A coach that is a new direction for a program in turmoil and I see nothing wrong with a new direction. Damon Evans is not an idiot and is one of the bright young minds in college athletics, like Damon, let’s give this guy a shot.

Good Luck Coach Fox and welcome to the best nation on Earth, Bulldawg Nation.