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Georgia Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Bulldogs

By Richard Gnann

ATHENS, GA - JANUARY 04: A cheerleader cheers on the Georgia Bulldogs during their basketball game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Stegeman Coliseum on January 4, 2017 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - JANUARY 04: A cheerleader cheers on the Georgia Bulldogs during their basketball game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Stegeman Coliseum on January 4, 2017 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 13: Maten
NASHVILLE, TN – MARCH 13: Maten /

Maten and the frontcourt

Yante Maten (6’8″ 230 lbs) is Georgia’s top returning player. He is also the top returning player in the Southeastern Conference. The senior has already been selected as the preseason SEC Player of the Year and named third-team All-America by Chris Dortch’s Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.

Maten averaged 18.2 points per game last season and is the SEC’s leading returning scorer. He is the league’s active career leader in points (1,250), rebounds (606), and blocked shots (149).

If there is a complaint about Maten, and it’s hard to come up with one, it is an occasional reluctance to lift the team onto his shoulders. Those moments were rare during an outstanding junior year. All reports are that Maten begins his senior year more aggressive and even more skilled. For the Georgia basketball team to be successful in 2018, Maten must have a fabulous season. Smart money says he will.

Joining Maten across the front line are junior big men Derek Ogbeide (6’8″ 245 lbs), and Mike Edwards (6’9″ 225 lbs).

Ogbeide will start. He is a rebounding machine, ranking fifth in the SEC last season, averaging nearly eight boards a game. 12 times he claimed double-digit rebounds. In addition, he finished with a 56% shooting percentage from the field and had three double-double games (rebound/points). Ogbeide started every game last year except Senior Night.

Edwards stats are not as attractive as Ogbeide’s, averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds a game in 2017, but his explosive play made him a crowd favorite. Edwards improved his free throw shooting from 27% to 64% from 2016 to 2017.

Georgia basketball legacy Houston Kessler graduated after the 2017 season. He is replaced by another hoop legacy, freshman athlete Nicolas Claxton (6’10” 215 lbs). Along with freshman Isaac Kante (6’7″ 236 lbs), the pair should immediately surpass Kessler’s production. Both will lack the immense leadership of Kessler in their freshman year, and up front, the Dawgs must lean heavily on Maten, Ogbeide and Edwards.

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