Georgia Basketball: Yante Maten returning to Bulldogs for senior season
By Taylor Sturm
Yante Maten announced that he would forgo the 2017 NBA Draft and return to the Georgia Bulldogs for his senior season.
The Georgia Bulldogs might head into next season off a disappointing postseason loss to the Belmont Bruins in the NIT but received fantastic news, as Yante Maten announced he would return for the 2017-18 college basketball season.
Maten, a 6’8, 240-pound forward out of Pontiac, Michigan, averaged 18.2 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game, and 1.5 blocks per game last season. He will head into his senior year with high expectations and completely transforms the overall expectations of the Bulldogs.
Georgia finished 19-15 last season and was on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament bubble. They will honestly believe that they can take that next step in 2017-18 and should.
One thing that many have yet to realize just yet is how open the SEC will be next season. After Kentucky, there is no team that truly stands out as a threat to win the SEC. Georgia could legitimately do so next season.
Maten’s return gives this team experience at a position many teams will sorely be lacking in and Mark Fox’s coaching has always been excellent. In fact, it would not surprise me at all if Maten received All-SEC honors at the end of the season and the Bulldogs made it to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
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Don’t get me wrong. The conference is Kentucky’s to lose, but watch Maten’s matchup with the Wildcats’ bigs closely. Georgia could steal one, and then things could get really interesting in the SEC.