To this day, you could probably still get a good debate going among Georgia basketball fans about Tubby Smith and his decision to leave for Kentucky. There’s the emotional reaction of betrayal of course. Others coolly accept that Kentucky was a better job, and leaving made perfect business and career sense for Smith. Still others maintain that the Georgia administration should have showed more fight to keep a talented coach instead of resigning themselves to the inevitable. Tubby’s legacy on the court is remembered more or less fondly (UT-C loss aside), but his departure still rubs many Georgia fans the wrong way. He is, after all, the first football or basketball coach to leave Georgia for a “better” job in, well, many decades?

There would be one way for Tubby to get Georgia fans to come together on this issue: take the job at Georgia Tech. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that:

Word is Georgia Tech could be interested in Gophers men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith after this season, when Smith will no longer have a payback penalty in his contract if he were to leave.

Of course we’re still at the unsourced rumor stage of things, and Tech still has a coach. The future of Paul Hewitt surely isn’t stable though, so it’s not premature to start thinking about potential replacements. The tidbit about Smith’s lack of a buyout is significant since Georgia Tech faces a significant cost to forcing out Hewitt. If they’re going to take a hit on their own buyout, it would be nice not to face such an expense on the other side of the deal.

I don’t put much more than a something-to-watch value on this rumor now, but it certainly would be interesting to see Tubby return to the state – this time at the head of the state’s second-best hoops program.

Congratulations to Georgia signee Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on being named to the prestigious McDonald’s All-American team.

The 5-star shooting guard is the 12th McDonald’s All-American to sign with or play for Georgia and will be the first McDonald’s All-American to play for Georgia as a freshman since Carlos Strong in 1992. We would have loved to have seen a shooting guard like this paired with this season’s frontcourt. Hopefully Mark Fox can find some comparable post talent to go with this caliber of guard.

We got what we expected last night from Xavier. In many respects, it was a dress-rehearsal for a tournament game. From the sense of what was at stake for both teams to the quality of competition to the close, competitive game – it had the feel of a game in March. That’s good and bad. The good is that it showed Georgia just what will be expected of them as they face several more tournament-quality teams down the stretch. The bad of course i that they lost. It was a hard-fought game, to be sure, but it was also the third time that the team had come up short at home with similar chances to get a significant win.

A lot of credit has to go to Xavier. They played outstanding defense, especially on the perimeter. Dustin Ware got very few good looks at the basket. Georgia’s outside opportunities were generally limited to contested shots or open looks for Thompkins which he missed. Georgia struggled from outside and hurt themselves with a few key turnovers, and that was enough to overcome a pretty decent defensive effort by the Bulldogs. The visitors finally figured out how to attack the Georgia defense, and the Bulldogs couldn’t get key stops down the stretch to keep themselves close.

At this point in the year, the scouting report is rock solid on every team out there. If Georgia looks as if they’ve run into a wall over the past couple of games, that’s mainly because the book on Georgia is out. You probably know most of the main points. Trap Thompkins. Force Robinson into a decision. Turn Leslie into a jumpshooter. Georgia’s big men struggle and can accumulate fouls in man defense. The team as a whole struggles against the screen and roll.

There’s a tendency to be overly harsh on bubble teams. We dwell on the warts and shortcomings of our team, but that’s why they’re on the bubble. Most teams in this group are dealing with their own weaknesses, and a lot of them would like to be in Georgia’s position. The Dawgs have taken a step forward this year, but it’s possible that the step has left them frustratingly close to their goals. Are postseason hopes a long shot? Not really. It’s reasonable to expect the team to be competitive in all of its remaining games, and a few going the right way could dramatically change Georgia’s outlook.

So what’s it going to take for Georgia to end up on the right side of things? Xavier was Georgia’s last chance for a significant nonconference win. They’ll have to be content with wins over UAB and Georgia Tech and point out that they really didn’t have any ugly losses. That’s fine, but it’s not a point on which you can build much of a case for postseason play. The Dawgs have seven regular season games left: four on the road, and three at home. Two of those road games are against Tennessee and Florida – teams that beat Georgia in Athens. Another is the regular season finale against SEC West-leading Alabama. You’re going to see the 10-6 benchmark thrown around a lot, and that would help, but things look positive even with a 9-7 mark and a strong showing in the conference tournament. The most important thing is to take care of the home games and then see what happens on the road. Taking one (or, while we’re dreaming, both) at Florida or Tennessee would really help.

That all seems reasonable, but remember the point about the scouting report. Everyone knows what to expect from Georgia, and opponents have adjusted to it. The difficulty is that the team hasn’t shown much in the way of evolving or counterattacking the scout. Thompkins still struggles passing out of the double-team. Robinson still gets out of control. This is still pretty much the same team that we saw in Orlando. Let me be clear – that’s not a criticism. Georgia’s good enough in certain areas that they’ll still be successful even if the opponent has scouted and prepared for those things. It just helps us anticipate what the team will see as they try to finish strong.

Whenever you take a “new sheriff in town” approach to change, there’s going to be some shaking out. You can’t expect quote after quote about the toughness of offseason workouts (even allowing for the same fluff we hear every year) without expecting a few guys to decide that it’s not for them. We’ve already seen a couple of players leave the program for a variety of reasons, and there still may be more to come as the offseason program continues.

So on one hand I’m surprised to hear about Washaun Ealey’s suspension, but at the same time I’m not surprised to hear that there are players on the wrong side of the program and its new taskmasters. Ealey reportedly missed a punishment run, and the consequences for missing disciplinary appointments usually don’t involve less discipline. It’s not a good situation, and the fact that Ealey is “looking at (his) options” leads us to believe that there are a lot of questions being asked and soul-searching going on about his future.

With the Ealey news we also have to remember that Caleb King sat out the bowl game dealing with his own issues. Missing scheduled runs and meetings is about effort and commitment, and those who lack in those areas are going to struggle in this new environment.

Judgment aside, the fact remains that Georgia is in a much better position with King and Ealey available to the team. They are capable, proven, and experienced tailbacks. This isn’t the time to get into the tiring circular discussion about the role of the offensive line vs. the tailbacks in establishing a consistent running game. Whether or not one or the other starts, the depth they represent is significant. Even if Crowell delivers, that’s only part of the puzzle.

We’ve seen Georgia have to turn to the fullback position in recent years to find that “just in case” tailback. A rotation of Crowell, Malcome, and Thomas wouldn’t be a much better situation. Whether for injury, endurance, or production, Georgia has frequently had to dip deep into its stock of tailbacks. I’d much rather that next option be someone of King and/or Ealey’s experience and ability. The receiver position is going to be thin enough next year; culling the roster of tailbacks isn’t going to help much.

The ball seems to be with both King and Ealey now. Ealey claims that he still wants to be a part of the program, but if he shows up for spring practice and beyond it will be because of positive steps he has taken in the meantime. If one or the other isn’t with the team come August, it will be evidence of their incompatibility with the program’s demands and standards. It won’t be cause for celebration. I’m hoping that both get their heads on straight and come with a renewed commitment to the program and their responsibilities because that seems to be the only way that they’ll be a part of the team next year.

This is a headline we’ve been waiting to read for a while: NFL teams may replace playbooks with iPads. It’s not just showy hi-tech bling. The tablets can replace volumes of paper documents, make use of and integrate multimedia, and aid real-time decision making for coaches.

So why not college? When we talked about this a couple of years ago, the context was the end of the road for the aw-shucks coach who played dumb and could get away with pretending that he had no idea what this computer stuff was. Some didn’t even have to pretend. Coaches know now that they must understand, if not use, all of the technology available to them from cell phones to social networking. A few years ago it was just a competitive advantage; any coach not embracing this basic level of technology now should be replaced.

We’re already seeing the technology spreading into several areas of the Georgia program. The recent unveiling of Georgia’s Butts-Mehre expansion was an Apple fanboy’s dream. iPads became an important part of the recruiting process over the past year. The “Dream Team” pitch was bolstered by custom presentations and videos that made good use of the tablets.

It only makes sense that the technology should find its into game management and preparation. There’s no reason for Georgia’s state-of-the-art video technology to be constrained to the film room. Why shouldn’t a coach on the recruiting trail be able to fire up his tablet during some downtime and request to look at all plays run by the next opponent on 3rd and 7+? So much of recruiting is contact management. Did you remember a birthday, make the right number of contacts allowed by compliance, or meet all of the prospects from the high school you’re visiting? There are opportunities for technology there too. Of course this discussion isn’t limited to tablets – good old laptops and netbooks can work just fine in this environment. But forward-thinking programs can invest in custom applications to make full use of the tablet’s capabilities.

The next step logically is on to the field and in the boxes upstairs. Scouting reports, game plans, even the play menu could be replaced by a tablet and customized for each coach and staffer on the sideline.

Security remains a big issue – both in terms of the networks used to connect these devices and also the devices themselves. If “spying” on a guy making hand signals in front of tens of thousands of spectators is already taboo and a big deal, how scandalous would this kind of cyber-warfare be? We can even add fans to the mix now – whether it’s overriding your coach’s tablet to flash “GO FOR IT” or launching a denial of service attack to shut down a stadium’s network, the security concerns aren’t just limited to the other team.

One concern remains somewhat valid in the college game: “an onslaught of technology might give richer colleges a competitive advantage.” Few schools can put into place the kind of system Georgia just introduced. But certainly these larger programs already enjoy other advantages by virtue of the size of their budgets. Indoor facilities, state-of-the-art weight rooms and staff, access to aircraft for recruiting, academic resources – these are all things that larger programs can provide that many D-1 schools can’t. Those smaller programs struggle to operate much more than a baseline program, and even then it’s often done in the red. It’s true that adding rapid adoption of mobile technology to the list would only add to the burden of keeping up, but that list is already pages long. For smart smaller programs, the adoption of this technology could even be a cost-saving measure in both game preparation and recruiting.

Are you ready for the national holiday? I’m putting up these links to help me while I’m on the ground in Athens tomorrow, but hopefully some of you will find them useful too.

Official Word

Georgiadogs.com is expanding their Signing Day coverage again. 

• The official list of signings
• They’ll also have free video coverage hosted by Chuck Dowdle.

On the Web

• If you need a quick mobile-friendly list of signings, check this list from UGASports.com.
• Bernie’s Live Blog promises to be a fun way to follow the day.
• List of announcement times from UGASports.com ($)
• If you want national news, go to Rivals.com’s Signing Day Central.

On Twitter

We’ve been following NSD on Twitter for a couple of years now, and that won’t change tomorrow.  Most of our time will be spent checking these Twitter resources:

• Our UGASigningDay11 list follows many local and regional media and recruiting sites as well as Georgia’s official Twitter feed. Follow it as you would any Twitter user to pick up all of the flow.
• We’ll also give a plug to our own @dawgsonline account
• #nsd hashtag
• #dawgs hashtag

While we’re all anticipating good news tomorrow on Signing Day, Dr. Saturday asked a good question over the weekend. Georgia often has Top 10 recruiting class, so what’s so special about this one?

It’s a fair question. Blutarsky’s response captures the context: this class stands out because it comes from a program all but left for dead by the media and even many of its own. That helpless throw-in-the-towel mentality when it comes to recruiting (and the program in general) was alive and well less than a month ago. In his infamous rant against Mark Richt, Fran Tarkenton shared his angst.

In the meantime Alabama and Auburn and Tennessee are working and kicking our butts and recruiting people and getting coaches that have spread offenses…We’re going to lose the elite players this year. We haven’t in the past — we’ve gotten the elite player.

(Aside – former players like Pollack, the Baileys, Godfrey, and others have jumped in with a “how can I help?” attitude to do whatever it takes to bring this program back. Tarkenton? Well, he’s gone on the radio to attack the faith of the coach.)

But in less than a month it’s come full circle to the point that Mark Bradley, who shared Tarkenton’s words with the AJC audience, now senses that the wind is blowing in the other direction. Georgia isn’t going to lose the elite players. Other schools are recruiting harder than ever, but so is Georgia. They’re not “kicking our butts” on the recruiting trail. It’s important that Georgia is having success with its recruiting, but it’s equally important in the eyes of fans that Richt and the staff seem to be putting up a fight and won’t concede recruiting battles, especially for the state’s top talent, to the likes of Auburn, Alabama, and others who might be riding a little higher right now.

Beyond that, there are some other things going on with this class adding to the hype. I’m hesitant to count uncommitted players, but it definitely does have a different kind of feel than any class since that 1998 group that went on to form the core of the 2002 team. What else is there?

Momentum. Georgia’s recent stars like Murray, Green, Stafford, and Houston committed early in the process. Georgia’s biggest Signing Day commitment in recent years was probably Marlon Brown in 2009. The Bulldogs put a lot of their eggs in the Dream Team basket, and it was a big risk. The state of the class just a month ago was such that opinions like Tarkenton’s could be taken somewhat seriously. Rome and Mitchell turned it around, and Georgia has been on an incredibly hot streak since. Georgia isn’t just adding more commitments late. They’re adding some of their best.

Early contributors at positions of need. Every class has a few players who can or have to contribute right away. But this class is meeting immediate needs that even casual fans can appreciate. Some of the biggest needs have yet to announce, and that’s why there’s such anticipation over guys like Crowell and Jenkins. It might be unfair or unwise to do so, but fans have already plugged four or five guys from this class into the depth chart.

The Dream Team concept works. It’s an obvious concept and maybe even a little gimmicky. There was also a good deal of risk – such a public campaign had the potential to backfire on Richt. The class, even considering the significant contributions from out-of-state prospects, would be judged on Richt’s ability to deliver in-state. If Isaiah Crowell chooses Georgia, the Dawgs will have landed seven of the top 10 players in the state. Few schools can make their homegrown talent such a key part of a successful recruiting class, but it had to happen for Georgia this year. And it has.

Recovery from 2010. A repeat of the 2010 class, ranked 15th nationally by Rivals.com, would have been a bad sign for Georgia and Richt. Programs can survive the occasional sub-par class, but the recovery of the program has to have something to work with. Georgia hasn’t had an impact class in a while. Though the 2009 class was rated 6th in the nation, many of the top prospects in that class have yet to contribute – whether due to injury, transfer, or a failure to break through on the depth chart.

Magnitude. Georgia signed only 20 players in 2009. They added 19 last year. In the four recruiting classes since 2007, Georgia has signed just 86 players. That’s before you account for transfers, medical hardships, and others who no longer count towards the total over those four years. There will always be those who fret over the numbers, but my response is always the same: the folks in Athens can count to 85. The numbers always work out. If Georgia signs over 25, there will be those who lump the Dawgs among the bad guys who oversign, but Georgia has actually been dealing with the opposite problem lately. In recent years, Georgia has played its numbers close to the vest. That’s caused some Signing Say anxiety as some prospects have had to be turned away. The door seems wide open this year.

In other words, Georgia is due a haul. Combine the items above, and you are looking at 1) a large class 2) making a big push towards Signing Day 3) with several marquee prospects 4) that’s meeting urgent needs. And, yes, all that’s being done after such a downer of a season. This being a recruiting post, you always have to remind yourself of a few things:

• You still have to coach ’em up, right?
• A class is only as good as those who 1) enroll and 2) stick it out. If 2/3 of your great class flunks out, transfers, or ends up injured, that’s a thin senior class in a few years.
• It’s still just keeping up with the rest of the SEC. Even with three national top 10 classes since 2007, Georgia never had better than the third-best class in the SEC. The 2007 class that was rated #9 in the nation was only the 6th best in the conference. Insane. A single top haul doesn’t even mean that you have the personnel to compete in the Thunderdome of the SEC – it takes a string of good classes.

But for now, we’ll take it. It’s a good shot of success when the program really needs it. And if Georgia can add a few more pieces over the next week, we’ll be looking at an unprecedented class at Georgia in the face of great odds. Not a bad start to a critical season for the program.

Taking advantage of an NCAA rule that allows postgraduates to play their final season at another school, Georgia receiver Logan Gray will transfer after he graduates this semester. Gray, a 4th year junior from Missouri, will presumably look for a graduate school closer to home. Gray has served as a returner, a backup quarterback, and finally got to try his hand as a receiver during his junior season. We wish him the best of luck.

Gray moved from quarterback to receiver in 2010 and saw limited action hauling in nine catches for 105 yards and one touchdown. Though still relatively inexperienced at receiver, only three returning players (and just two wide receivers) had more receptions in 2010. His departure does free up another scholarship in 2011, but it also leaves the receiver position even more thin than it was.

In anticipation of Signing Day, Rivals.com announces the Seantrel Henderson Rule for determining which school has the top class. (h/t Dr. Saturday)

The top team in the rankings, on signing day, will be announced later than usual and only those players that sign a National Letter of Intent (NLI) that day will count toward a team’s point totals. Players not signing, prior commitment or not, won’t be listed as commitments until they actually sign. Essentially the prospects listed as signing his NLI on the official school press release will be the ones counted on Feb. 2.

Everyone clear?

Of course the rankings announced on Wednesday will only be as reliable as a verbal commitment. “Just like every other year, we are aware that there are players who delay their decision to sign and we always update the team rankings following each of those decisions,” explains Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell. This policy will potentially affect where Georgia’s class is ranked. Defensive line prospect John Jenkins won’t announce his plans until next weekend. That’s OK, because there will yet another set of rankings months from now when we all care much less and after the nonqualifiers shake out.

As always, Rivals.com will recalculate and reissue the team recruiting rankings in August in the annual Enrolled Team Rankings, essentially ranking the classes based on which players actually enroll in school and show up on campus. This is, arguably, the most accurate ranking of all but doesn’t get nearly the same attention as the National Signing Day list.

Somehow the suits at ESPNU should be able to do something about that travesty.

If you follow recruiting, you know who Ray Drew is and why his committing to Georgia is a big deal. If you don’t, just know that the next guy to wear #47 is a worthy successor to David Pollack both on and off the field. Read this SI story to become familiar with this young man. Georgia has earned the commitment of one of the nation’s top defensive prospects, and a lot of people think that’s a pretty big story:

Anyone who’s followed the Drew story knows that football is only part of it. He’s also an ordained minister; you have about six months to come up with an appropriate nickname. There’s only one Minister of Defense. Drew prefers “The Pastor of Pass Rush.” We’re partial to the “Pastor of Disaster.” In all seriousness, Drew’s faith was, as you might expect, at the center of this process. It doesn’t take much to see the appeal of playing for Mark Richt in that context. But Georgia and Richt don’t have a monopoly on faith, and several other schools, particularly Auburn, appealed to Drew. It might seem after all of the drama that Georgia was always the obvious choice for Drew, but that wasn’t the case. It was a tough decision, made tougher by the turmoil in Athens, and Drew only reached his conclusion in the past few weeks. Mark Richt, Todd Grantham, Mike Bobo, and the rest of the Georgia staff had to work their tails off, and they deserve a ton of credit.

In the end, Georgia stood out. There was the chance to play for a major program and the home state school. There was also Georgia’s world-class journalism school; Drew plans on going into broadcasting after his football career. Most of all, there was Richt and the relationships Drew had made in Athens. Drew once said that football and academics would pretty much take care of themselves at most any Division 1 school. He focused on the relationships – where he felt most comfortable and “who I’m going to be surrounded with.” Those relationships now extend to former Georgia greats. Once he made his decision, Drew reached out to a few Bulldog legends to attend his announcement. David Pollack and Randall Godfrey were on hand to pass the torch to someone who could very well be one of the leaders of the Georgia defense and team down the road.

Drew plans on starting out as an outside linebacker in Georgia’s 3-4 system – the heir apparant to Justin Houston. Much was made during the process about Drew’s distaste for playing as a stand-up linebacker rather than a down lineman, but that concern was addressed early and often by Todd Grantham and Georgia’s staff. With the prevalence of the spread and the amount of time Georgia spends in nickel coverage, Drew will have plenty of opportunities to line up with his hand down. It’s also possible that as he grows and adds weight that Drew could transition from OLB to defensive end even in a 3-4 scheme.

Drew will now turn his attention to assembling the rest of the recruiting class leading up to Signing Day next week. It would be more accurate to say that he will resume recruiting for Georgia – he’s been in the ear of several top prospects since he made his decision earlier this month. We’ll close with Drew’s own words. Drew challenges other top prospects to join him and this incredible class, but he also reminds us that Signing Day is only the beginning.

“I just want to say, after the end of Jay’s (Rome) announcement, I heard your call,” said Drew. “Isaiah Crowell, we’re waiting on you. Antonio Richardson, we’re waiting on you. John Jenkins, we’re waiting on you, and Jeoffrey Pagan, we’re waiting on you. Come join what we have put together as the Dream Team. But remember, a dream is only a dream, until you make it a reality. I’m calling you out on this one. I hope you’re not afraid to be thrown into the fire, I hope you’re not afraid to be the ones who make the change.”

The financial strength of Georgia’s football program and athletic department isn’t new news. It’s no surprise to see Forbes reveal Georgia as the SEC’s most profitable football program. As they note, Georgia’s profitability is only second to Texas nationally. That’s good news from a stewardship standpoint – financial strength gives you options, and there’s virtue in being frugal.

That would all be fine if we were shareholders and we were toasting this year’s earnings per share. But we’re not, and there’s no dividend check coming. Our dividends are paid out on the field. Profit of course is just revenue minus expenses. Georgia remains strong on the revenue side of things, second only to Alabama in SEC football revenue. But Georgia earns its most profitable status – over $8 million more in profit than second-place Florida – because they’re only seventh in the league in what they spend on football. As the article notes, “Georgia is only putting 25.8% of their football revenue back into the program.” That’s not entirely accurate: capital (long-term) projects, which probably aren’t included in annual expenses, are one way to reinvest, and the new Butts-Mehre expansion is a great start. Georgia and other SEC programs also have to rely on football to fund much of the rest of the athletic department, so you’re never going to see that reinvestment rate much above 40 or 50%. Still, other schools have to deal with these projects and issues as well, so Forbes asks an interesting question:

Can these 2009 numbers predict the future for Georgia? Take a look at the teams ahead of Georgia in terms of expenses (in the second chart above). In 2010, Georgia lost to every team they played who spent more than them in 2009: Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina.

Of course it’s not as simple as throwing more money around. Mississippi State has a pretty good program with under $10 million in expenses. Still, there’s an implication that Georgia could be doing more with its football revenue and reinvesting more of it back into the program. It’s one thing to be good and responsible stewards of the revenue brought in by football. It’s another for Georgia’s athletic department to have “more than twice the average profit” of the rest of the conference.

Oh, and no jokes about Auburn having the SEC’s second-highest football expenses.

Noon starts didn’t give Georgia fans much of a reason or opportunity to have elaborate tailgates this year, and the new tailgating restrictions didn’t get much of a test. But the season finale served up a night game and a chance for a day-long tailgate. Following the Tech game, I took this dimly-lit picture of the Myers Quad, and you can still get the point even with the poor quality. It was trashed.

I know we’ll get the same response we got about North Campus: it was students/visitors/Tech fans. I’m not denying that; we saw several Tech tailgates set up in the area. The bigger point is that this outcome isn’t going to stand any better on Myers Quad or anywhere else on campus than it did on North Campus.

So it’s no shock to learn that the University is thinking of extending restrictions to Myers Quad. The school’s Gameday Committee met for the first time since the season last week and, as they do every year, began evaluating Georgia’s game day policies. Last week we noted that the SGA recommended easing restrictions on North Campus. It’s way to early in the process to say what will or won’t be done for the 2011 season, but Matt Winston, assistant to President Adams, noted that Myers Quad was among the areas they are scrutinizing.

The responsibility ultimately falls on the tailgaters, but the University also can’t keep playing whack-a-mole every year to react to where the mess pops up next. Will they go down the road of extending the more restrictive North Campus regulations to larger areas of campus? Or are there things (patrol, enforcement) the University can do on Gameday to address the groups causing the most problems while leaving campus open to the responsible majority who just want to enjoy a fun football Saturday?

I suppose that’s how Florida fans felt in 2003 when Jarvis Hayes ended an epic game between two good teams. Spent. Gutted. I’ve taken a day to think about it, and that made it even worse.

Robinson’s early foul trouble really shook things up. The usually reliable Price+Ware index was a healthy 26 points. It was a strange game like that. Both teams probably think that they let the win get away from them – Florida in regulation and Georgia in 1OT. In the end, it was Georgia’s inability to stop Florida inside or outside. Macklin put back whatever Boynton or Walker or Parsons didn’t sink. It wasn’t Georgia’s best defensive outing of the year.

Not to overlook all that led up to it, a lot of talk afterward focused on those pivotal six seconds at the end of the first overtime. Bernie sums it up here. There’s another wrinkle to that situation, though: Georgia still had a timeout left. Would it have been better to burn that timeout after Price’s last free throw?

I think the issue of foul/no foul is secondary. The bigger point is that, in that situation, the coach and players were not aligned in what the defensive strategy should be. That’s why you take the timeout. If you want them to foul, fine. Make sure all 5 understand that and where to do it (and where NOT to do it). If you’d rather they defend, that’s fine too, or at least preferred to no strategy. Take the time to set up your D, emphasize that a foul anywhere but on the shot is OK, and don’t give up an uncontested shot. Would it have given Florida a chance to set up a better play? Sure – but the worst that happens is still a made three-pointer.

I get Fox’s point that “we have always trusted our defense” and that he wasn’t necessarily confident about rebounding a missed free throw the way things were going in the second half. I thought I saw him calling for the foul – Vincent Williams seemed to – but if Fox says he wanted to play D instead, we’ll go with that. The problem is that the defense wasn’t sure of what to do and didn’t have much time to set up after Price’s FT. A timeout wouldn’t have meant a miss on that shot, but at least we would have had a chance to set up against the push up the court.

Anyway…

The magnitude of the job ahead of Georgia is sinking in around the Bulldog Nation. It’s not just that the Dawgs lost a conference game. It’s not even that they lost ground in the division. It’s that they went 1-2 over the longest homestand of the season. Georgia still has ten conference games remaining in which to make up ground, but only four of those are at home. To finish even 9-7 in the league, the Dawgs will have to go 6-4 the rest of the way against conference opponents. Six of those games will be on the road, and they’ll be against teams like Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee. Arkansas – certainly having a down year by their standards – is traditionally one of the toughest road environments in the SEC.

It’s daunting, but this is no time to abandon ship. Though Georgia’s results against Tennessee and Florida were disappointing, there’s no questioning Georgia’s competitiveness. When Tennessee and Florida have been in top form, they’ve taken down top 10 teams this year. Georgia got good games from both of those opponents. The Dawgs weren’t quite able to finish those wins, but there’s every reason to expect that they’ll be right there in each of their ten remaining games. Georgia’s as likely to rip off a few in a row as they were to drop those last-second defeats. That’s a great sign for the state of the program, but it has to be so frustrating to be so close to seeing the work really pay off.

Following Tuesday’s loss, we wrote that “if something good can come from a game like that, maybe our guys saw what’s possible if they come into a game with a little more energy and determination.” We found out just what was possible on Saturday against Mississippi State. Georgia came out with purpose, focused, and, well, pissed off. The visitors from Starkville never had a chance.

It’s tough to call one game at this point in the season a turning point, but tonight’s matchup with Florida fits the bill. Even with last week’s loss to Tennessee, momentum is still building behind the program. The prospect of another sellout brings back memories of that incredible winter of 2003 before it all came crashing down. Georgia reeled off home win after home win against the likes of #2 Pitt, #25 LSU, #22 Mississippi State, Tennessee, and of course that epic slugfest with #3 Florida. Sellouts became the norm, and the crowd for that win over Florida was as good as it gets in college hoops. The program still isn’t to that point, but anyone who was around then can start to sense things getting close.

Recalling those home wins is central to the bigger point of tonight’s game. It’s not just a chance to knock Florida from first place and keep pace at the top of the division. Georgia is also at the tail end of a 3-game homestand. After this game, they’re off on consecutive road trips to two of the conference’s toughest venues. A 1-2 record in these three home games wouldn’t necessarily sink the Dawgs, but it would take a good bit of momentum from the program and might even mean that they’d have to win some tough road games in order to recover.

Beat Florida, and Georgia’s tied at the top of the competitive East division at 4-2. Lose, and they’re 3-3 with trips to Kentucky and Arkansas ahead. Completing the first half of the conference season over .500 with Kentucky out of the picture would be huge for Georgia’s chances to finish strong and keep this positive buzz going.

We come back to the energy level of the team. For whatever reason, it was down against Tennessee. The Vols did a ton to frustrate Georgia, especially inside. The crowd should be great tonight as it was for last season’s upset of Florida, and it’s always intense when the Dawgs and Gators play. The difference in approach between the Tennessee and Mississippi State games was an important lesson for this team still learning how to win and play at a high level every night, and we’ll see how well they’ve taken that lesson to heart.

If you want a barometer to how well Georgia will do, watch the production of Ware and Price. We almost take the points from the Big 3 for granted, but Georgia is so much better when they get points from the 1 and 5 spots. If they can add production off the bench (as they did from Brantley and Thornton on Saturday), Georgia can play with anyone.

If you’re going to be out or just like to turn the TV down, tonight’s Georgia-Florida game will be on a different radio station in Atlanta and Athens. The State of the Union address will be carried on WSB (AM 750/FM 95.5), and you can find the Dawgs on 97.1 FM.