UGA vs. Nevada Recap: Making Progress

Making Progress. That's my review in a nutshell.


[Younes Idrissi had a career night against the Wolfpack. Photo: Georgiadogs.com]

Last year, we played Nevada at home and lost 58-47. This year, we played them at their place and lost 68-62. Georgia lead for large portions of the game against a Top 20 team, and we played with Nevada until the shooting dried up in the second half.

If we can play with these guys on the road, we can play with most of the SEC's elite. However, the crowd was remarkably non-hostile so we have still yet to play a pressure cooker road crowd like we will face in the SEC. If we hadn't gone 1-10 from beyond the arc in the 2nd Half, we would've put the fear of Felton into these guys until the end.

Good and Bad:
-- Idrissi: The difference in this guy's game is night and day. Huge kudos to Felton and Coach Pete. Not only does he look stronger and more coordinated, but the addition of the jump hook to his game is really nice. In fact, it's obvious that Felton/Pete teach this shot really well as Bliss, Kendrick Johnson, Idrissi and even Singleton have all shown it this year. In Idrissi's case, I think everything is coming to him easier this year as he can understand the English language better. Easier to coach a guy that knows what you're talking about. Idrissi's line for the game was 16 points and 6 rebounds. At the end of last year, I was wondering if we should just redshirt him this year. Glad as heck we didn't.

[Photo: Idrissi is the best thing to come out of Casablanca since Rick Blaine put Isla on the plane]

-- Athleticism continues to improve: It's shocking to see how far we've come athletically this year since last. I said that earlier this season, but it bears repeating. A telling moment to that point came in the second half when Steve Newman was beaten badly by Nick Fazekas on a backdoor play. Steve's feet looked made of lead as he tried to chase the much more fleet footed Wolfpack All-American candidate. In this game, Steve only had 16 minutes. Last season, he averaged 26+ minutes per game. As the athletes surrounding Steve learn their roles more, his minutes will continue to decrease. Thus continuing to improve our athleticism.

-- Mercer: The good is that this kid can really move, and he brings great energy to the court. He also has a nice running shot from 6-8 feet in. However, his outside shot is one of the worst looking sins against Naismith that I've seen in the SEC in many, many years. He reminds me of Willie Mays Hayes in Major League. Everytime that Hayes pops up at the plate, his manager makes him drop and do push ups. Even during games. Felton needs to consider that approach with Mercer when he shoots 3s. If he makes one, it looks like blind luck. Huge upside to his game, and it beats the hell out of playing Brophy. But it's not all quite there yet.

-- Sundiata Gaines: The unquestioned leader of the team, and our best player. He could go down as one of our Top 3 all-time Point Guards by the time he leaves. Behind only Wright and Vern Fleming. However, he's another guy that's just horrific from beyond the arc. Gaines is shooting less than 17% from the three point line, which is half as accurate as Mercer. Given that his shot is much more polished than Mercer's, I attribute that difference primarily to Mercer being more lucky.

-- 3 Point Shooting in General: Gaines, Stukes and Mercer combined to go 2-14 from 3 land. These guys have to shoot it less, and Humphrey and Toney have to shoot the 3 more.

-- Clemson game: We play the Tigers next Wednesday. Other than a baseball game here and there, I think we've beaten these guys in everything from Football to Chutes and Ladders for the better part of the past 15 years. A win would help us get our feet back under us, and it would give us some momentum for a tough 4 game opening swing in SEC play.

We're getting better as a team. This still isn't an NCAA tourney squad, but it's a squad that deserves support. As they mature and learn to stay focused during games, they will get much better over time.

Until then. Go Dawgs.

pwd

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