The Red and Black is reporting that sophomore point guard Zac Swansey has asked to be released from his scholarship at Georgia. Swansey is best known for his clutch, miracle jumper to beat Kentucky in the 2008 SEC Tournament. Without that shot, Georgia doesn't win the SEC Tourney. It's for that reason that I have nothing negative to say about the kid.
I know he expressed some seamingly harsh words over the past few days regarding the future of the program, but I'm not the least bit annoyed. He just finished the emotional end to a brutal season that saw his playing time decline almost daily. He shouldn't have said it, and he'll regret it eventually. It is what it is. He's not happy so he's leaving.
Frankly, this could be a blessing in disguise for all parties.
Prior to Zac's announcement, UGA had very few open scholarships to play with.
- Fall 2009 Enrollments: 1 scholarship remaining
- Fall 2010: 1 more opens when Jackson leaves
- Fall 2011: 4 open when Zac, Barnes, Price and Brewer leave
We have some other young players like Drazen Zlovaric and Troy Brewer who've struggled to make their mark in Athens. The new coach will need to have long talks with them and mutually decide if their college careers should continue in Athens. Additionaly, Travis Leslie is having well publicized academic issues, and Jeremy Price struggled to find happiness this season as well. Chip Towers discussed this at length a few days ago, and player movement is definitely a topic to watch.
The only player I'm not worried about losing is Trey Thompkins. Trey and his family likely fancy him as a player in the NBA within 3 years. Sitting out a year for a transfer doesn't accelerate those plans. He and Ware are the keys to the future of the program, and we should be able to retain both.
The rest? Well....if the roster was great, we wouldn't have lost 20 games. For the first time in a few years, attrition is probably going to be a good thing for the hoops program.
I wish Zac the best. He kept his frustration out of the papers until after the season, and he never got in trouble on the court or off. Thanks for the shot. Best of luck in your future.
See Also:
-- About Swansey's original comments - TotalUGA.com
PWD
8 comments:
Agree completely. Best of luck Zac.
It will be interesting to see how many kids leave in the off-season and wonder how many would have left anyway. We all know that Felton was a terrible judge of talent, but even before he left, Ware had started getting the majority of the minutes.
Jeremy Price could be a solid SEC player with a real coach here. I really hope he stays.
I highly doubt Leslie will be back, because we have no support staff in place at this point. I would not be shocked if he is not even enrolled presently. He could be a good player with a coach here.
Brewer, jeez. I hate to kill the kid, but how did he get a D1 scholarship?
If we can keep HT3, Barnes, Ware, Price and AJax, I think a good coach could work from there. Zlarovic might actually be a really good player. I hate that we pissed his redshirt away.
I cannot imagine that Daniel Miller or Demario Mayfield are going to be that good, based on Felton's track record. I do not see any need to bring them in.
Should be interesting to see if the new coach can find an Anthony Evans or Shon Coleman.
Kennessaw is gonna get a heck of a backup point guard.
Lady Dogs vs. Sun Devils, looks like we are starting a rivalry with our friends from out west.
Good words on Zac. Brewer has also asked for and been granted his release. We'll see on Leslie.
Blessing in disguise is right. A good moment for everyone to move on.
Actually, PWD I think there is a possibility of losing Trey Tompkins since he and his Dad fancy him an NBA player in 3 years. If they do not like the new hire, I could easily see Tompkins bolting.
As we have seen previously, the NBA is willing to draft on potential not just actual production.
Tompkins could transfer and sit out a year while working on his game. He plays one year at his new school and then declares for the NBA draft. He makes is objective of the NBA in three years.
An even more intriguing scenario is for him to go the Brandon Jennings route. His Dad serves as his agent and Tompkins signs with a European team for one year. By all rights, Tompkins seems like a good hard-working kid who could thrive (like Jennings has) in professional environment. Plus he would be getting paid.
If we get Capel, I think Thompkins would be chomping at the bit to learn about everything that Blake Griffin does. Ware and Thompkins are the new face of Georgia Basketball and that's a good thing. We need Barnes back and the next coach should help make him a more explosive and bigger version of Korvotney Barber. Future's bright, but we need to clear out whatever needs to be cleared out now.
HA - You think Capel wants to go to your third tier toilet program? You can't even keep shooting guards who miss 7/10 3 pters.
"I want to play, and I want to be with a program that wins. I'm not sure Georgia is that program."
Swansey
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