Busting Brackets
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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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ATHENS, GA – JANUARY 04: Diatta
ATHENS, GA – JANUARY 04: Diatta /

Playing on the wings and in the paint

Freshman Rayshaun Hammonds (6’7″ 210) comes to Athens from Norcross High (Atlanta) as Fox’s most heralded recruit since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Rated a top-50 national recruit by most services, he should start and score plenty. Hammonds may start at the small forward position or the post and could see action at both spots.

E’Torrion Wilridge, (6’6″ 220 lbs) will swing between the post and small forward. The junior started at the bottom of the 2017 depth chart. He came into fall camp determined to play and scrapped his way into the regular rotation as a low scoring facilitator and defender. Wilridge was invaluable when Yante Maten was injured last year. He will fight for minutes with Hammonds.

Senior Pape Diatta (6’7″ 220 lbs) will play at the small forward. After joining the team as a transfer last summer, he took half of the season to get acclimated. He is a strong player that can shoot from outside and scrap inside.

Jordan Harris (6’4″ 190 lbs) and Juwan Parker (6’4″ 205 lbs) will swing between the shooting guard and small forward spots.

Harris, the most prolific of the two freshmen on the 2017 team, started 12 games and averaged 17 minutes an outing. Harris shot 43% from the field, but at a sizzling 44% pace from behind the arc. Despite being hampered late in the season by illness and injury, he was third on the team in assists and fourth in steals.

Harris is an explosive, intelligent offensive player with deep shooting range. A sophomore, he is a shutdown defender. Harris is rarely mentioned as a possible starter, but he could be a solid option next to Jackson.

Parker is a redshirt senior whose career was interrupted more than once by a significant injury. He is a big, skilled, and smart leader that can score inside the arc and rebound on the offensive glass. He ranks third in Georgia basketball career free throw percentage (81.5%). A deceptive athlete, he is everything you want a senior to be, except he’s not a senior – he’s a doctoral student. Parker will start unless Hammonds starts ahead of him at the small forward position.

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