Georgia basketball gets the big boost it needed with this key player returning to UGA

This is huge. There is no other way of looking at it. In the wake of Marcus Millender and Kareem Stagg announcing that they will be back for another season at Georgia, Kanon Catchings is also joining them. The sharp-shooting forward from Brownsburg, Indiana thrived in his first year at UGA. He spent his first season of college basketball playing at BYU. Catchings caught on fire during conference play.

The Georgia Basketball official account on X made sure to let everyone know that he will be returning.

With Georgia having lost five players to the portal, and about to be six, having a foundational trio of Millender, Stagg, and now Catchings will be crucial in helping Mike White put out the fire after how last season ended. Should Blue Cain return, then the Dawgs might have something rolling. While losing Jeremiah Wilkinson and Somto Cyril could prove problematic, retaining Catchings is so very key here.

As a sophomore, Catchings averaged 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game at Georgia.

Kanon Catchings was only heating up during his sophomore year at UGA

In the final third of SEC play for Georgia, two things became readily apparent for the Bulldogs. The first was Millender being inserted into the starting lineup in lieu of Wilkinson's untimely shoulder injury actually allowed the offense to run more smoothly. Wilkinson would always get his, but Millender was a far better distributor of the basketball. One of his favorite targets was Catching out along the arc.

And that ties in beautifully to the other. Catchings seemed to take his game up a notch as the season went along. He may come from a famous basketball family, but he was the shooter on the floor for Georgia who the opposition did not want to see get hot. When he connects from range, there is not much anybody can do about that. His length and smooth stroke from distance was a massive plus.

So for Georgia to come out of this okay, the likes of Millender, Stagg, and Catchings need to be pillars of this new team. While Millender and Catchings played bigger roles with this team last year than did Stagg, he showed his presence at times for the Dawgs. All in all, White seems to trust these guys. More importantly, they seem to believe in White. Amid the transfer portal exodus, they are all staying.

It seemed like Catchings was always going to be coming back to Georgia, but now this is official.