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Georgia Basketball: Georgia Bulldogs 2015-16 Season Preview

By James Fitzgerald

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Georgia Bulldogs

2014-2015 Record: 21-12 ( 11-7, SEC)
Postseason: NCAA Tournament – Lost in Round of 64 to Michigan State 70-63

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Fox has done enough in Athens to be extended through to the year 2020.

Now that he has been extended and knows where his paycheck is going to be cut from for the next five years he can totally concentrate on the growth of the Georgia Bulldogs hoop program.

Last season UGA was strong enough to put a serious scare in the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats before they succumbed to the platoon system and lost 72-64.

You can try to pull off those kinds of stunts when you are putting a veteran squad on the floor.

Georgia lost 23.3 points and 12.5 rebounds from last year’s club with the departures of forwards Nemanja Djurisic and Marcus Thornton, but the Bulldogs still have enough on the roster to be competitive in 2015-16.

The guard strength of this team is still present with seniors Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann along with junior J.J Frazier rotating in the backcourt.

With Mark Fox having an experienced backcourt to work with, there is a chance that he can guide this club back to the NCAA Tournament.  That is as long as the supporting cast in the frontcourt matures quickly.

Newcomers

F – E’Torrion Wilridge (Central Medical Magnet/ Beaumont, TX)
F – Connor O’Neil (Roswell, GA/ Tilton [NH] School)
F – Derrick Ogbeide (Pebblebrook/Atlanta, GA)
G – William Jackson (Athens Christian Schoo/Athens, GA)
F – Mike Edwards (John Glenn/Westland,MI)

Key Non-Conference Games

Nov. 28 at Seton Hall – Georgia has three home contests before they go on the road and take on Seton Hall.

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Seton Hall is going to bring a rather young team to the court loaded with sophomores. But due to the fact that the Pirates are at home and this is UGA’s first road test, this is a rather important game.

Strange things can happen on the road .  Also, dealing with 6-foot-4 guard Isaiah Whitehead is not going to be a picnic.

Dec. 4 vs. Georgia Tech – This is going to be a revenge game for the Bulldogs who managed to get smacked up in this same game last season.

Georgia lost to Georgia Tech to open up the 2014-15 season 80-73 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. From that point Georgia’s season went on an upward trajectory while Georgia Tech’s went downward.

This time around the game will not be played as early in the season and both teams should have a significant amount of games under their belt before meeting up in Athens.

This game in the end is going to be the tale of two coaches. Georgia coach Mark Fox is extended through 2020 while Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory is on the hottest seat in the South and fans wanted him out yesterday.

Key Players

Kenny Gaines – If it feels like Kenny Gaines has been with the Georgia Bulldogs forever it is because he has been. This is Gaines senior season with the Dawgs’ and he is going to be more important than ever in 2015-16 to the success of UGA.

Photo: Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports)

This season he is going to need to bring senior leadership, more points per game to the table, and better shooting efficiency.

Gaines put up 11.7 points per contest on 41.3% shooting from the floor and 36.8% shooting from three-point range last season.

He is more than capable of improving his output across the board.

Charles Mann – The 6-foot-5 guard had a strong season in 2015-16 averaging got heavy minutes last season for the Bulldogs averaging 30.6 minutes per contest.

Hopefully Mann improved his stroke from deep because he is going to need to improve on his 27.5% shooting from downtown.

His 11.2 points per contest last season was the third best points per game average on the squad and his 4.9 rebounds were also third best on the team.

He is the table-setter for the squad with the ability to use his size to finish at the rim, but Mark Fox is going to need to see an expanded game from Mann in order to see this team make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

J.J. Frazier – Frazier might be the most important piece to the puzzle in 2015-16. Mark Fox is going to need to see Frazier set the tempo and make all the pieces come together from the point this year.

He needs to improve his overall shooting stroke for sure this upcoming season after shooting 39.6% overall from the floor, though his three-point shooting was solid at 39.4%.

If Frazier becomes more efficient in his game this year, things are really going to be interesting in Athens. He is going to be able to spell both Mann and Gaines, giving the Georgia Bulldogs one of the best backcourt rotations in the nation.

Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia Bulldogs /

Georgia Bulldogs

Season Outlook

The NIT should be a definite for the Georgia Bulldogs, but fans in Athens should be feeling spoiled right about now since they had a taste of the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia’s perimeter play is going to have to carry the team if they are going to make it back to March Madness. It would be in Fox’s best interest to start Gaines, Frazier, and Mann together and ride them until the wheels fall off.

What is going to keep them out of the NCAA Tournament in the end is the fact that they are going to be breaking in a new, inexperienced frontcourt that is going to be limited offensively.

Losing Djurisic is going to be a huge blow to the team because he had the ability to stretch the floor from the post.

His 11.0 points and 5.2 rebounds were big last season, but his 34.0% was even bigger.

There is no one on this year’s team that can fill the void that Djurisic leaves and that is why UGA will be on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bracket, but on the inside of the NIT.

Next: Arizona State Sun Devils 2015-16 Season Preview

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