The Sports Bank’s college basketball season previews undergo a face lift this season. Rather than counting down the top 111 teams in 111 days, we will go conference-by-conference. I’ve already counted down the Pac-12 and Big 12 now we turn our attention to the SEC.
Despite a second place SEC finish, the Georgia Bulldogs failed to advance to the NCAA Tournament. With four of their five leading scorers back in the fold, a tourney berth is definitely a realistic accomplishment.
GEORGIA BULLDOGS
Last Season: T-2nd, 12-6 in SEC, 20-14 overall
Predicted SEC Finish: 5th
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Marcus Thornton (Sr)/Osahen Iduwe (Fr)
F: Nemanja Djurisic (Sr)/Houston Kessler (So)/Yante Maten (Fr)
G/F: Juwan Parker (So)/Cameron Forte (Jr)/Kenny Paul Geno (So)
SG: Kenny Gaines (Jr)
PG: Charles Mann (Jr)/J.J. Frazier (So)
Gone: F/C-Donte Williams, SF-Brandon Morris (dismissed), C-John Cannon (transfer-UNC-Asheville), C-Tim Dixon (transfer-Columbus State)
2014-2015 Outlook:
The strength of the Bulldogs is their junior backcourt of Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines. Mann is a big point guard who needs to cut down on his turnovers but continue to use his size to cause mismatches. Gaines is a solid all-around scorer. Those two guys need to stay healthy this season since J.J. Frazier is the only other real backcourt option.
Brandon Morris was dismissed from the program after a felony pot arrest so that opens up a spot in the starting five. Juwan Parker should step into that role giving Mark Fox a three-guard look with Cameron Forte battling him for minutes.
Georgia returns Marcus Thornton inside and he provides a physical presence in the paint though he is not a true five man. Nemanja Djurisic served as the team’s sixth man last season and should step into the starting lineup replacing Donte Williams. Djurisic is a stretch four and the team’s more consistent three-point threat.
Minutes behind Thornton and Djurisic are up for grabs. Houston Kessler and Kenny Paul Geno barely saw the floor last season so expect freshmen Osahen Iduwe and Yante Maten to push them for minutes.
After Kentucky and Florida, the SEC is really up for grabs. If Georgia can build off last season and pick up a couple of vital non-conference wins, they may not have to worry about getting their bubble burst like they did last March.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/14 at Georgia Tech
11/26 vs. Gonzaga (NIT Tip-Off)
11/28 vs. Minnesota/St. John’s (NIT Tip-Off)
12/7 vs. Colorado
12/21 vs. Seton Hall
12/27 vs. Mercer
12/31 at Kansas State
OTHER SEC PREVIEWS:
BIG 12 PREVIEWS:
#1 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
#2 TEXAS LONGHORNS
PAC-12 PREVIEWS:
#1 ARIZONA WILDCATS
#4 UCLA BRUINS
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.