Georgia Basketball: J.J. Frazier seizing opportunity
By Matt Green
What J.J. Frazier lacks in size, he makes up for in heart.
Related Story: Georgia Basketball: Road to the NCAA Tournament
On February 18, Georgia got maybe the worst news imaginable when Yante Maten got injured just minutes into their matchup against Kentucky.
Since then, we’ve learned that Maten will miss the rest of the regular season, and maybe even the SEC tournament.
And while Maten may be the most productive player for the Bulldogs, another player has proved to be the heart an soul of this team.
Frazier has been given the chance to be the guy in Athens and he has seized the opportunity.
It’s no newsflash that Frazier is a great player. But amid the struggles of the Bulldogs’ basketball team, it might be overlooked just how great Frazier is.
The Dawgs’ 82-80 win over LSU on Saturday night was just the latest in Frazier’s stellar run.
J.J. led all scorers in the game with 29 points and also added eight assists. He went 9-for-18 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line, including two clutch free throws to take the lead with 1.6 seconds left.
It was the 24th 20-point game of his career.
Without Maten
Since Maten’s injury, the 5’10, 155-lb. senior has put the Bulldogs on his back, averaging 31 points, while shooting 52.6 percent from the field.
Frazier’s 36 points against Kentucky were the second most points of his career as Georgia nearly pulled off the upset. Then he followed up that performance with 28 points in a 60-55 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
And then on Saturday night Frazier did it again.
Mark Fox may have learned his lesson after the loss to Kentucky last week. With 30 seconds remaining in a tie ballgame, Frazier gave the ball up to Pape Diatta who got his shot blocked, and Kentucky ended up pulling away.
On Saturday things were different. Fraizer had the ball in his hands every time down court and he made all the plays that were needed to lead the Dawgs to victory.
Earlier this week, we discussed what Georgia still needs to do to get into the NCAA tournament and so far they can check off two of those tasks, and they can thank J.J. Frazier for that.