Georgia Basketball: Observations After a 2-0 Start

The Georgia Basketball team is off to a 2-0 start this season. The Dawgs have a 79-54 win over Bryant and a 74-65 win over USC Upstate. How does the team look so far?

The Star Player

The team returns every major contributor from last season absent J.J. Frazier. Despite Frazier’s small physique, he certainly left some big shoes to fill in the Georgia basketball program.

Luckily, Georgia is led by one of the best players in the country in Yante Maten. The forward decided to bypass the NBA Draft to return for his senior season. Maten was on nearly every preseason award watch list over the last few months. He rightfully deserves the praise he’s been receiving. Over Georgia’s first two games this year, he is averaging 21.5 points per game and 13 rebounds per game. I fully expect his end-of-season totals to be at or above those numbers. Maten can physically dominate in the post against any opponent and the Dawgs should and will rely on him to carry the team this year.

The Young Guys

One additional positive thing about this team is that it appears to have more depth than in years past thanks to a great freshman recruiting class. Freshman Rayshaun Hammonds, Mark Fox’s highest-rated recruit since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, has started at small forward for the Dawgs in both games this season. Hammonds, at 6-8 and 230 pounds, is a big physical kid who is nearly Maten’s size. His length, versatility, and athleticism clearly are why he is in the starting lineup. He is well on his way to solidifying himself as the team’s number two scoring option behind Maten.

Georgia also has found two other solid freshman contributors in Nicolas Claxton and Teshaun Hightower. Claxton stands at nearly 7 feet tall and has a skill set that makes him an inside-outside threat which Coach Mark Fox has loved thus far. Hightower has served as a competent backup to Turtle Jackson at point guard and appears to have a very high ceiling.