Georgia basketball may have lost SEC tourney opener, but optimism for future remains

The Georgia basketball 2022-23 season ended yesterday at the hands of the LSU Tigers in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

The Georgia basketball team gave a heroic effort but fell short in their first-round matchup with LSU in the 2023 SEC tournament.

The Bulldogs rallied in the second half after trailing at halftime, but they were unable to complete the comeback in a 72-67 loss. Despite this disappointing loss, this season was an improvement when you compare it to last year.

The 2021-2022 team finished the season with a 6-26 record, with the 26 losses the most in program history. Embattled former head coach Tom Crean, who brought high expectations with him upon his hiring in 2018, was let go shortly after the season ended.

Crean’s lone bright spot during his time at Georgia was bringing in top recruit and current Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards for his freshman year.

Shortly after Crean was fired, the Bulldogs shocked many by hiring then-Florida Gators head coach Mike White. Though he had moderate success with the Gators, it was a little puzzling as to why Georgia would poach a coach (say that ten times fast) from arguably their biggest rival.

The move seemed to be paying off, however. Despite the heavy roster turnover, the Bulldogs started the season with an 11-4 record before finishing 16-16. They had a couple of upset wins over teams like Auburn and Kentucky, but like other SEC teams who have had to face the Bulldogs’ football team over the last few years, the talent gap was exposed often.

Georgia had six players join the team from the transfer portal. One of these players was Terry Roberts. The New York native averaged 13.3 points per game with 4 assists per game. He and Kario Oquendo, who played alongside Roberts in JUCO, have been instrumental in the rebuild of this program.

Though the team has a long way to go, Georgia showed progress during Mike White’s first year as head coach, both on and off the court. As of now, they have the commitments of four-star players Dylan James and Mari Jordan, and they are in the running for one of the nation’s top power forwards in five-star Asa Newell. Newell’s brother Jaden is currently on the team, and he lived in Athens for most of his childhood.

They also extended an offer to class of 2025 member Jacob Wilkins, the son of former Bulldog and Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins. Landing the young Wilkins would be a massive win for coach White.

There’s nowhere to go but up for the Georgia men’s basketball program, and with the strides that Mike White has made thus far, success looks eminent for this team.

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