Georgia Basketball: Bulldogs Capture 74-50 Exhibition Win Over Morehouse

The recruiting class of 2011 figures to be a good one for the SEC let by Kentucky's trio of stars. While the Wildcats fab freshman may get the headlines the rest of the class appears to be a good one. CBS Sports College Basketball analyst Jeff Borzello's top 30 freshman includes nine from the SEC. 

Kentucky's Anthony Davis (No.1), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (No. 4) and Marquise Teague (No.9) are at the head of the class in the league. Davis is a likely candidate to be taken as the first overall selection in the NBA draft next season. Kidd-Gilchrist and Teague join a very talented group that has John Calipari's club as the SEC Favorite. 

Not to be forgotten is Florida's Brad Beal (No.5) The only problem that Beal may possess is finding playing time in a crowded Gators backcourt. Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope checks in at No. 19 and is expected to be relied upon heavily by the Dawgs despite coming off of the bench in the Bulldogs' exhibition opener. 

Other freshman making the list were Mississippi State's Rodney Hood (No. 17), Arkansas' B.J. Young and Alabama guards Trevor Lacey (No. 25) and Levi Randolph (No. 27).

Georgia Basketball began its 2011-12 season with a 74-50 exhibition victory over Morehouse at Stegeman Coliseum on Friday. Gerald Robinson Jr led the way for the Bulldogs with 20 points and six assists while back mate Dustin Ware pitched in eight points and one assist. 

All eyes at the exhibition were on the Bulldogs' newcomers. Mark Fox elected to start two freshman with John Florveus and Nemanja Djurisic joining Robinson and Ware in the starting lineup along with Sherrard Brantley. Djurisic finished with 12 points and four rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. 

Much heralded freshman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope came off the bench in his first game for the Bulldogs and finished with six points in 20 minutes going 2-9 from the field. Sophomore forward Marcus Thornton also came of the bench and finished with four points and a team high six rebounds in 20 minutes. 

"It was a good first outing," head coach Mark Fox said. "We got a lot of guys a lot of experience that they needed. The key will be to try and get better from here."

The Bulldogs emptied their bench as all 14 players in uniform got into the game. Georgia shot 40 percent for the game and out rebounded Morehouse 45-30. 

Next up for the Bulldogs is the season opener against Florida A&M on November 11 that will be preceded by the Lady Dogs season opener against TCU. 

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Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is Georgia Basketball's most heralded freshman to enter the program in sometime. The McDonald's All-American figures to play a key role as Mark Fox's Bulldogs try to replace the offensive production lost when Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie left after their junior seasons for the NBA draft. 

Fox talked about Caldwell-Pope during SEC Media day and pointed out that he had two great role models in fellow backcourt mates Dustin Ware and Gerald Robinson.

"He has come in and has a great advantage because he has two great examples to look to every day. In any facet of his life: if he wants to know how to be a good student he can watch his role models; if he wants to see how to work in the weight room, he can watch them; if he wants to learn to practice the right way, he can look to them. I think that's the advantage that he has because Gerald [Robinson] and [Dustin Ware] function like winners and that's the advantage for all the new players that have come to the team. He has come into our program with a boatload of accolade, and you would never know it. He's got a great demeanor, very humble, a sweet kid. He has come in with the attitude that he has joined our team, not that the team has joined him. He's very coachable and listens to everything I say, while paying great attention to detail, and the fact that he's very vocal and very talented is really has a chance at a great future."

At Greenville high school, Caldwell-Pope averaged 28.2 points, 5.0 assists and 6.0 steals per game. The Bulldogs will be looking for some of that scoring punch from the 6-foot-4 freshman. 

Georgia's Dustin Ware has seen a lot in his three seasons in Athens and now it is his turn to takeover as the leader of the Bulldogs basketball team. At the annual SEC Media Day, Ware talked about this year's team and its many unknowns. 

"There are definitely a lot of unknowns, but we've been doing a good job working in practice and just trying to get better at what we're doing. No matter what, the older players are going to have to be the leaders up there and everyone just has to work hard. We are just looking to go out there and play hard and compete." "It's really going to be tough to replace the old players. I think we're really going to be able to improve, we've got a lot of guys out there working really hard. The returning players need to be ready to lead and be supportive of the younger players."

Ware averaged 8.0 points and 3.5 assists per game last season but will be leaned on much more with Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie having left early for the NBA. Ware has been one of the steadiest ball handlers in the conference leading it in assist to turnover ratio last season. 

Ware points out that the uncertainty with the new players is lessened thanks to Mark Fox keeping things consistent in his first two seasons as coach. 

"Having the coach be there every year and the older players knowing the coach is really helpful to help guide the rest of the team. Coach Fox hasn't changed: he's a competitive coach and loves to win and inspires that in all the players."

The Bulldogs will open their season with a scrimmage on November 4 against Morehouse College. Georgia will open the 2011 season for real on November 11 when they host Wofford at Stegeman Coliseum. 

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Georgia Basketball coach Mark Fox answered questions for the media on Thursday in Hoover, Alabama as a part of the conference's annual media blitz prior to the start of hoops season. The Bulldogs made the NCAA tournament last season but aren't picked to replicate that success thanks to the early departures of Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins to the NBA. 

Fox addressed those concerns and while acknowledging them, he isn't prepared to use the team's youthful state as an excuse. 

"We did lose two great players and there's no hiding that fact. We're a little younger than we planned on being, maybe not as mature physically or as experienced as we planned on, but there are some advantages to being young: we just have to find them.

Coach Fox is also putting a lot of emphasis on defense as always and says that it is important to "put a premium on being a defensive team" although he admits that is still a work in progress. He indicated that the 2011-12 team is smaller and quicker than last year's team so he sees the possibility of mixing more pressure and the ability to extend the defense into the game plan this go around. 

On the SEC returning to power in basketball this season:

"SEC basketball is terrific. We have at least four teams ranked, and there should be at least five in the top ten. Any time your league has a handful of teams that are legitimate contenders for a Final Four, you have a great basketball league. Kentucky's going to have a great team, and Vanderbilt's going to have a great team. There's going to be a lot of great teams and I don't think you can focus on just one of them. I think that the league now has some real quality and depth to it."

In recent seasons the conference has been top heavy with a couple of really good teams and not much else. This season the SEC shapes up to have much more balance. Fox hopes that his team becomes a part of that conversation. 

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