I read this post over at Dawg Sports this morning with its perspective from Arkansas.

That [Mark Richt] is on the hotseat out at Georgia says something about the irrationality of Bulldog fans….I guess it is sorta like it was with us and Houston; others outside a program never quite see a coach in the same light as the program’s fans.

We can debate who’s claiming anything about a hot seat later. Take that post for its perspective. I had that post in mind when I read this tangential reference to the Dawgs by Brian Cook:

He has just as good measurables as other 4-3 LBs in this class, but he’s severely behind in the technique part of it. It’s so apparent for all of FSU’s players that I have to pin it on coaching. If they ended up going to a program like UF or UGA, they would’ve gotten proper coaching and probably both be solid 1st rounders.

That’s right – Cook was quoting an anonymous NFL scout putting the defensive/linebacker coaching at Georgia in the same ballpark as Florida. I wonder how many heads of Georgia fans just exploded. I mean – we teach our guys not to cover anyone, right?

I think that sets up David Hale’s trip through his feedback today. There he finds some very thoughtful comments about the quarterback derby:

Murray overthrew targets and tossed a Stafford style brain fade pass to the defender. I should have known right then he was Bobo’s boy for the job. I have heard enough about picking up nuances and quick releases, it does nothing if the ball isn’t catchable.

That’s classic. All that was missing was the author using “Booboo” and something about “REFUSING TO EXCEPT MEDIOCRATY.” Hale’s response about joyless fans was dead on. We all know the guy (or gal) in our section who gets absolutely no visible enjoyment from Georgia football but still shows up year after year with arms folded waiting to say “that’s Georgia for you” whenever something bad happens. Why do they keep coming back?

Attrition is nothing new for Georgia basketball. Transfers have given (the Hayes twins) and taken away (Tony Cole). The departure of several key players hastened the decline of Dennis Felton’s program. Attrition continues into the Mark Fox era: two players recently gave notice of their intent to transfer. All in all, Georgia has had nine players transfer out of the program since the 2003-2004 season. But, as the Gainesville Sun finds, the Bulldogs’ situation isn’t all that unusual among SEC teams. “Overall, 96 players have transferred from SEC men’s basketball schools since 2003-04,” they report. That’s an average of eight per team.

One interesting takeaway is that a high volume of transfers doesn’t necessarily sink a program (or vice versa). Kentucky and Florida are right up near the top of the list, and the survey includes the time period during which the Gators won back-to-back national titles. Auburn’s only had three players leave since 2004, but that relative stability hasn’t helped them much. A program can only take so much, though – it took one of the best freshmen classes in SEC history to revive Kentucky’s talent level, and the Sun explains how five Florida transfers in the past two years have left the bench precariously thin.

Of course not all transfers are equal. The report doesn’t distinguish between a seldom-used reserve transferring for more playing time or a key starter like Billy Humphrey who was dismissed from the team before he transferred. Losing a guy to Belmont and losing one to Ohio State aren’t exactly equal in terms of impact on the program. Still – attrition of any kind can have an effect on APR, depth, scholarship numbers, and recruiting strategy. The numbers are even higher if you include players who were dismissed without transferring.

Billy Donovan, as the focus of the piece, seems to take it in stride. “The fact is that 40 percent of all kids never make it to their junior year once they enter on a college campus,” Donovan notes. “Kids want to play.”

(h/t Team Speed Kills)

Haven’t had the chance to read much G-Day reaction, so I’ll get these few observations out before I catch up. I’m sure others have made many of the same points by now – we all watched the same game.

It was what I’ve come to expect from G-Day – more frustration than anything else. Another pretty bland, low-scoring game. With the intention of keeping the defense pretty much basic, the staff probably didn’t mind the lack of fireworks. Whether it was the effectiveness of the defense or a bad day by an offense that’s supposed to be pretty loaded, those you’d consider the sure starters on offense played a very minor role. Washaun Ealey had just 22 yards. AJ Green had a few catches but not much yardage. The biggest plays of the game were by reserve tailbacks and tight ends. If you tend to buy into G-Day as any sort of indicator for the season, the first-team offense has a ways to go.

Of course the biggest buzz after the game was about the quarterbacks. It was Zach Mettenberger’s day – it seemed as if he completed a lot more than six passes, but those six completions seemed to completely reverse the fans’ perception of the quartertback position. Many of the conversations I had after the game were half-hearted attempts to rationalize the outcome:

Mett was going up against the second-team defense all day. Yeah, but… Murray didn’t do much in the first quarter going up against the same defense.

Mett didn’t handle pressure well. Yeah, but… did anyone?

It was only G-Day – one game. Yeah, but… Mettenberger’s been strong in the other spring scrimmages as well. In the three scrimmages, Mettenberger was a combined 23-36 (64%) with 5 TD and 2 INT. G-Day was his *worst* scrimmage of the spring in terms of completions.

I think for most of us, the story of the day wasn’t that Mettenberger did relatively well. He had another good day, and we should be as thrilled to see that as we were to see Carlton Thomas and Dontavious Jackson showing off the depth at tailback. The story was that Murray, heralded as he was, looked decidedly average. His deep passes were often overthrown, and he missed touchdowns to both Green and Charles. His interception was a bad mistake – a common freshman mistake of getting careless while trying to create something after a play breaks down. Even his size came into question when a pass was batted down at the line. I think it said something that the final drive of the day still had Murray and the first team offense in there trying to make something happen in a 2-minute drive. That was unusual as far as most G-Days go, and I got the feeling that the staff was trying to give Murray (not to mention the first team offense) one last chance to end the day with something positive.

That’s not to ignore Logan Gray. A few months ago, many of us had assumed he’d be a receiver by now. He didn’t light it up with the starting offense, but he didn’t make many mistakes either. His touchdown pass was a perfectly-executed play fake and bootleg (wait – I thought the new defense meant the end of those!), and he ended up with a fair 10-of-17 performance.

I guess I’m just surprised that the quarterback play and offense overall was so lackluster. Mettenberger had the best day, but he still had just six completions. They were facing a base defense that’s still being installed by three new coaches. Pressure was limited, and the QBs weren’t allowed to be hit. They won’t face more accommodating circumstances. But any semblance of a vertical passing game was absent. The starting offensive line was hardly an advantage against an uncomplicated defense that showed a lot of nickle. With the quarterback the lone question mark on an offense otherwise stocked with proven players, was it that one position that kept the starting offense from doing more?

The staff will take their time coming up with a post-spring depth chart, but I think the way they lined up tells us how things were leaning. Gray got the start with the first team, Murray had opportunities all over the field with both units, and Mettenberger spent the day with the second team. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the depth chart reflect the fact that no quarterback seemed to have separated himself – will we see a co-#1 or co-#2? Look, whether it’s Gray, Mett, or Murray, I just hope settling on a starter is not dragged out until the Vandy game again.

I still maintain that the suspension of Mettenberger makes it virtually impossible that he will be the starter. It seems very unlikely that the staff would pass on the chance to give the starter experience in the season opener and then change the signal-caller within a week for a road game that’s also the SEC opener. So much of preseason camp is building routine and familiarity so that decisions come more by instinct than by thought during a game. I can’t see how it would be anything but disruptive if the starter were changed for any reason other than injury.

The progress of Mettenberger is very reassuring though. It shows a good deal of maturity for him to deal with his embarrassing arrest and still manage to have a strong spring when much might not have been expected of him. It’s also becoming a success story for the Georgia staff. Mettenberger’s size and arm can’t be coached, but he could best be described as raw and unaccomplished coming out of high school. He’s not nearly there yet, but the progress is unmistakable.

On to other observations…

One of the positions that had the most to do with our perception of quarterback play was tight end. It’s one of the team’s deepest positions, and they were central to some of the game’s biggest plays. The Black team’s tight ends came to play, and Lynch’s touchdown at the end of the first half showed that nice combination of hands and brawn you want from a prototypical tight end. On the other hand, if we hadn’t seen White or Charles before Saturday, many fans would have probably come away disappointed. White was relatively anonymous. Charles had a couple of drops and had a chance for a late touchdown on a pass that was arguably a touch too high. If depth at receiver turns out to be an issue, Georgia still has plenty of options to make a 2-TE set work.

I know Nick Williams got lit up by Coach Grantham for his role in some late-game shoving, but I liked the intensity from Williams. Williams’ 7 tackles included some of the nicer tackles in the game including a few where he slammed the ball carrier to the ground.

Several of the deep incompletions were overthrown, but the secondary also got to several others. The pass breakup in the endzone on a late Murray strike to Durham was especially good. Hamilton played well enough to all but disappear (about as big a compliment as you can pay a defensive back), and the only time I remember seeing a guy break open deep was Green.

It was really nice to see Kris Durham back out there. He had a couple of plays that reminded us how valuable his hands and long stride will be this year. Wooten looks poised for a larger role.

Justin Houston is going to handle the transition to OLB just fine. He was also effective on the edge as the defense went to more of a 4-2 look against spread formations.

I had to laugh when fans around me were grumbling about the shanked punts after the first few series. It’s not like Georgia has the Ray Guy Award winner returning or anything.

The crowd was great though. With the north stands closed, the rest of the lower bowl and club level was full. You couldn’t ask for a better day, and Bulldog fans took advantage of it.

Spring practice comes to an end with G-Day on Saturday. G-Day is at 2:00 at Sanford Stadium and will also be broadcast on CSS. You can get more information about injuries and rosters here. Also be sure to check out the Banner-Herald’s expanded G-Day preview.

With practice all but over, the program has handed out the annual spring awards:

MVP (offense): Cordy Glenn, LG, Riverdale, Ga.
True Grit Award (Offense): Shaun Chapas, FB, St. Augustine, Fla.
Coffee County Hustle Award (Offense): Washaun Ealey, TB, Stillmore, Ga.
Most Improved Player (Offense): Carlton Thomas, TB, Frostproof, Fla.
Outstanding Walk-On (Offense): Cameron Allen, FB, Canton, Ga./Kevin Lanier, FB, Woodstock, Ga.

MVP (Defense): Justin Houston, DL/LB, Statesboro, Ga.
True Grit Award (Defense): Akeem Dent, LB, Atlanta, Ga.
Coffee County Hustle Award (Defense): Demarcus Dobbs, DL/LB, Savannah, Ga./DeAngelo Tyson, DT, Statesboro, Ga.
Most Improved Player (Defense): Vance Cuff, CB, Moultrie, Ga./Brandon Boykin, CB, Fayetteville, Ga.
Outstanding Walk-On (Defense): Reuben Faloughi, DL/LB, Martinez, Ga.

Comments:

Cordy Glenn might be one of the least-talked about starters on the team. It’s because he’s just there. A given, a rock. The offensive line has other mainstays – Boling and Jones are clearly two – but Glenn seems to really be coming into his own as he enters his junior season. The line now has depth and experience, so that already puts us way ahead of where things were in 2007. The next step is seeing some of these linemen take the jump from being good, solid contributors to becoming real difference-makers up front. Max Jean-Gilles is arguably the most recent lineman of that kind, and you have to go back to the Foster and Stinchcomb line to find guys who would be taken on the first day of the NFL Draft. Glenn might be headed in that direction.

It’s interesting to see most of the awards on offense go to running backs. There’s a lot of competition back there, and it shows. It’s good to see Ealey continue his work ethic. Caleb King will miss G-Day nursing a minor injury, but the two continue to push eash other. But Carlton Thomas hasn’t given up his fight for playing time, and he has a special set of skills that should be useful this year.

Justin Houston earning MVP honors is big. The key to the transition to the 3-4 defense will be the outside linebackers, especially now that Montez Robinson is out of the picture. Can Houston and incoming guys recruited as defensive ends make the transition to the additional responsibilities of an OLB in the 3-4? Houston seems to be getting there.

Reuben Faloughi was a player talked about a lot in preseason last year but didn’t see the field. His progress won him the Outstanding Walk-On for defense this spring, and it’s now also earned him a scholarship according to reports from last night’s spring awards banquet. He’ll definitely be one to keep an eye on tomorrow.

The Lady Dogs leaned heavily on seniors Ashley Houts and Angel Robinson during their return to the Sweet 16 this year, and it’s no surprise that both were selected in the second round of yesterday’s WNBA draft. Houts was selected 16th overall by the New York Liberty, and Robinson was drafted by the L.A. Sparks at #20.

Robinson and Houts started their careers as Freshmen All-SEC honorees and maintained that level of play during their four years on the court. Houts was noted for her energy, endurance, and toughness and was often depended on to play the entire 40 minutes of a game. Robinson overcame injuries at both ends of her career to develop into a productive center at both ends of the court.

Getting drafted is just the start though. The thing about the WNBA is that roster spots aren’t a sure thing, even for top draft picks. There’s not a lot of turnover, some teams have folded, and the pipeline of foreign players is strong. Houts and Robinson will be competing against other draft picks, players currently on rosters, and a slew of free agents brought into training camp.

It’ll be a month of hard work for the duo to learn if they’ll make a roster. The WNBA regular season tips off on May 15th. A third Georgia senior, Christy Marshall, missed the 2009-2010 season with a knee injury and will explore professional opportunities overseas.

Much to the disappointment of many who jumped on last week’s most bizarre story, the Georgia football team is not full of guys who slap around fellow taxi patrons for their own enjoyment. Last week when the story broke that brought us the serendipitous meeting of bratwurst and a taxi-van, I posted on the DawgVent that there were basically four possible outcomes. The scenarios generally went like this:

1. Everything alleged turns out to be true, the four suspects are indeed UGA football players, and charges are pressed.

2. The four suspects are UGA football players, something happened in the cab, but police don’t find anything worth filing charges over. The case will be closed, but a lot of questions will remain if this just disappears.

3. The other facts are correct, but the four men involved have nothing to do with UGA football. It could be a case of mistaken identity.

4. The allegations turn out to be wrong or made up.

We know now that the correct answer was heavy on number 3 with a small peppering of option number 2. According to the AJC’s Tim Tucker, no Georgia football player will be charged in the incident. There was one player among the four, but he “acted as a peace maker.” Police will still pursue action against others in the group, but they are residents of Heard County and not associated with the program.

So it sounds as if the allegations have some validity – something had to have happened in the van for the Athens police to push on with a case against three non-residents. But the claim by one of the victims that “all…were UGA football players” was quite wrong. Only one of the four was a Georgia player, and his role was neglected in the initial report. We don’t know whether the mis-identification of the suspects as UGA football players was just mistaken identity, malicious (well – they were all big and black, right?), or that the claim of a witness that “none of us were particularly drunk” might have been a slight understatement.

That’s pretty much the end of it as far as the football program is concerned. I’m sure this news is what Mark Richt was itching to get at over the weekend. The especially curious among us will learn more as the warrants are issued and any investigation goes forward. There’s only one Georgia player on the current roster from Heard County, but that fact doesn’t necessarily imply his involvement in this incident (and good on him for doing the right thing if he was the player involved).

It’s an understatement to say that sophomore defensive end Montez Robinson has anger issues when it comes to a certain woman, and those issues have now cost him his spot on the Georgia football team.

Robinson was arrested twice within a week last year – once for underage possession of alcohol and more seriously for “misdemeanor simple battery and felony criminal damage/second degree.” An earlier incident in October failed to result in any charges after the victim declined to press charges.  But the same woman was involved in a late November incident where Robinson allegedly “broke her car’s taillights when she didn’t respond to multiple calls and text messages.” That November incident led to the underage possession charge and soon led to the additional arrest.

Robinson was suspended immediately and did not play in the Independence Bowl.  But he wasn’t kicked off the team,  though his suspension was never officially lifted.  He’s been working out with the team and had been named a second-team outside linebacker.  His teammates talked about ($) a “total change of attitude.”

Any chance for redemption was lost this weekend when Robinson was again arrested for misdemeanor simple assault.  According to UGASports.com, the same woman might have been involved in this most recent arrest.  He’d be in additional trouble for allegedly disobeying a restraining order and conditions of his probation.

Mark Richt’s decision was quick and clear:  Robinson was dismissed from the program on Sunday.

“Montez has not been able to conform to some conditions and stipulations that were placed on him as a result of previous off-field issues,” said Richt. “I think this decision is in the best interest of everyone.”

A change of scenery might be best for Robinson anyway.   The anger issues have to be dealt with though – these incidents are bad enough warning signs, and hopefully he’ll get the help he needs to avoid them turning into more serious domestic violence problems down the road.

As for Georgia, Robinson’s departure erases the sole defensive end signee from 2008.  It also creates further depth issues at the outside linebacker position – a position that’s key in the 3-4 defense and already thin to begin with.  It also means Georgia will have to spend another scholarship or two on a position that has hit a relative dry spell after a very successful run during the mid-2000s.

Last week, Mark Richt, somewhat surprisingly, made it a point to respond to an AJC blog post that was critical of the philosophy behind using Logan Gray to field punts in certain situations. No wriggle room here – this was a direct criticism of the head coach.

Though the absence of the author during Richt’s response made a personal confrontation impossible, Richt still focused on the specific disagreement and countered by taking a few minutes to explain his position. Though there’s still quite strong disagreement on the use of Gray as a returner, the tone from author and coach has remained respectful and professional, and we all held hands and sang while the sun set.

At the time, Blutarsky wrote (quite presciently, as it turns out), “First off, kudos to Richt for responding – and responding in a respectful way. I can think of several of his peers (as well as countless anonymous bloggers/commenters) who wouldn’t have been nearly so decent about that.”

It didn’t take long for one of Richt’s peers to prove the Senator right. Urban Meyer’s confrontation with Jeremy Fowler bordered on threatening and intimidating, and it’s being pretty universally condemned today.

The point isn’t that Meyer is an awful human being or that a reporter is beyond reproach. We all know Meyer is an intense man with fierce loyalty. The thing is that Meyer went off about a piece that was actually somewhat positive about Deonte Thompson. I’m still trying to figure out whom Meyer is defending.

Let’s look at the piece that has Meyer so upset. Thompson, through Fowler, described a Florida offense that involved a lot of scrambling with improvised passing. And, as Fowler points out, nearly half of those passes went to just two favorite targets – Cooper and Hernandez. Nothing about that was vicious or really all that inaccurate. Thompson felt that he might be more productive with a quarterback that relied more on timing and rhythm. Fine.

The use of the term “real quarterback” of course is at the center of this whole blowup. As Chris Brown tweeted last night, this would have been a non-story had Thompson used a label like “traditional” or “dropback” instead to describe Brantley. Thompson wasn’t wrong or even malicious and just hoped a few more passes would come his way with a different type of quarterback.

Fowler even ends his short piece with a supporting and positive quote from Thompson’s new position coach. If Meyer is taking issue with an article that claims that Thompson hasn’t lived up to his billing yet, he also has an issue with Zach Azzanni. Fowler also adds a quote from Azzanni about Thompson’s humility and eagerness to be coached.

There was only one person who could come away from Fowler’s original piece in a less-than-positive light, and that’s the guy who is, by implication, not the “real quarterback.” Chris Low has it right (h/t GTP). When Meyer threatened, “If that was my son, we’d be going at it right now,” did he mean Tebow?

Doc Saturday asks for thoughts about the NFL’s new overtime rules and what it means for college football. As for the NFL policy itself, it’s not very smart to just go halfway on this. A team only gets possession in overtime if they allow a field goal but not a touchdown? If you’re going to call the current system inadequate, just do the simple thing and allow each team a minimum of one possession regardless of what the other team does with theirs. Will it take Favre watching his defense give up an overtime touchdown before they see this all the way through?

Turning to the college overtime system, I kind of like it the way it is. It’s true that it’s a little too easy to score, and I do like the wrinkle of requiring a two-point try in later rounds of overtime. That one change has prevented a lot of the endless overtimes that we saw during the first few years of the system, and those marathons are much less of a concern now (and truly the exception). If I’d endorse one change, fine – start them at the 40 instead of the 25. But leave the format unchanged otherwise. I don’t mind that it condenses the game down to more of a shootout; you had four quarters to impress us with your punting game and mastery of field position.

Mark Fox’s Bulldogs picked a great time for their first win of the season outside of the state of Georgia. In fact, Georgia’s 77-64 win over Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament was Georgia’s first victory in an SEC Tournament game outside of Georgia since 1997 when the Bulldogs made a run to the tournament finals in Memphis.

Georgia knew from experience that Arkansas was more than capable of making a second half push that could erase a Bulldog lead, but this time the Dawgs were ready. The Razorbacks’ Courtney Fortson dominated the game down the stretch in their win over Georgia in Athens, but Georgia’s duo of Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie took over this time. With 5:27 left, Fortson hit a shot that cut Georgia’s lead to five. A Thompkins basket and a few free throws pushed the margin to seven, and then Georgia turned to its gameplan to put the game away. The Bulldogs exploited a size advantage by bringing the posts outside and letting Travis Leslie get position inside. Fox explained,

…we walked through that very set that we ran there in our shootaround today, and we felt like, if they played three guards, that we would have an advantage with Travis on the low-block area. And so those two kids were dialled in mentally and were able to take advantage of that.

Leslie found himself in that position on consecutive possessions, and he converted two easy baskets that iced the game. The Bulldogs held on the defensive end, cleaned up on the glass, and made sure that their lead would not evaporate again. Thompkins finished with an impressive 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Leslie added 21 in one of his best games in weeks.

The win earns Georgia another shot at Vanderbilt. The Dawgs handled the Commodores in Athens, and we still have a pretty fresh memory of that heartbreaking last-minute collapse in Nashville and the overtime loss just a few weeks ago. Georgia matches up well with Vandy, but we know that the Commodores are a quality veteran team that has to be tired of hearing about how well Georgia has played them. The Bulldogs will have to continue to own the glass, be a bit more judicious with fouls among the frontcourt players, and continue to reduce those “November turnovers” as Fox called them. Thompkins and Leslie will have to show up big again of course, but the ability to defend Jermaine Beal and John Jenkins could be the biggest key for the Bulldogs in tonight’s game.

Clay Travis made note of the disappointing turnout by the Arkansas faithful, and that was pretty apparent on TV too. I guess it is kind of sad. I also remember some of those great tournaments in the 1990s when Arkansas and Kentucky, led by Richardson and Pitino, were slugging it out in the years after Arkansas joined the conference. We know all about the “Catlanta” phenomenon these days when the tournament comes to the Dome, but Arkansas fans turned the Memphis Pyramid arena into the “Pigamid” in the years that the tournament was held on the banks of the Mississippi. It was surreal experience for fans of other schools for the Kentucky and Arkansas fans, who basically shared about 90% of the arena, to go back and forth between “GO BIG BLUE” and calling the Hogs in the middle of a game that involved neither team.

It seemed that Georgia had to face Arkansas every year in the quarterfinals. The Dawgs would get by a team like LSU on Thursday, and then Thurman and Williamson and 10,000 fans in a different shade of red were waiting to send Georgia home the next day. Arkansas hasn’t been that scary in a long time, and as Travis writes, those once-fearsome and omnipresent fans aren’t buying what John Pelphrey is selling.

The subject of Tim Tebow’s draft status continues to take shots from all sides, and many are getting a chuckle from LSU quarterback receiver Russell Shepard’s admission that Tebow’s struggles played a role in Shepard’s decision to move to wide receiver.

Shepard observed that in college “you can get away with being an athlete sort of like what Florida did with Tebow,” deftly claiming Tebow’s plight as Shepard’s own cover for not hacking it at quarterback. The key words there are “sort of.” Shepard wasn’t remotely anything like Tebow either as a quarterback or as an impact freshman in the SEC. To say Tebow “got away with being an athlete” is a bit like saying that Bill Gates got away with being a college dropout.

Tebow, though mainly used as a change-of-pace in short yardage situations, still managed to complete 67% of his passes, throw five touchdowns against a single interception, and finish his freshman year with a quarterback rating over 200.

Shepard, despite playing in 10 games as a true freshman, didn’t attempt a pass. Oh, he was just in there to run? Even on the ground Tebow had a better freshman season with nearly 200 more yards than Shepard. Shepard had a long way to go before he started earning comparisons with Tebow – try Kodi Burns or Randall Cobb first.

Tebow might or might not stick in the NFL – far be it from us to make the case for him. The backlash though is to the point now that even this Georgia fan is starting to hope he does. Tebow might thrive or flop or become a serviceable role player in the pros, but but none of that has anything to do with Russell Shepard just being a good football player who runs fast instead of being an SEC quarterback.

Congratulations to Trey Thompkins – he’s Georgia’s first All-SEC first-teamer since Jarvis Hayes. He’s made the transition from promising freshman to legitimate SEC star, and he’d be in position to challenge for SEC player of the year honors if he returns next year.

I wondered why Travis Leslie didn’t make the second team, but I’m not bent out of shape about it. Leslie had his breakthrough season, and he’s positioned to be one of the league’s most visible players as long as he chooses to remain at Georgia. I think that visibility might have worked against him later in the season. Leslie’s eye-opening performances at Kentucky and against Tennessee in January set expectations as high as they were for anyone including Thompkins. It’s unfair to say that Travis faded down the stretch, but three of the four games this year in which he didn’t score in double figures came in the last weeks of the season. It also doesn’t help that his best late-season performance, at Vanderbilt, ended in a loss in which Leslie had a chance to win the game in regulation. There are an awful lot of quality players on that second team, and I can’t really quibble with any of those selections. Leslie would have been as good of a choice as most of them but not a heads-and-shoulders better choice.

I should also say something about the coach of the year selection. Chris Littmann smells a rat, and I’m finding it hard to disagree with him. Kevin Stallings and his team had a really nice season, but John Calipari turned in the best coaching job of the season.

The only argument to be made against Calipari is this: well of COURSE Kentucky finished first. My [sports-averse female relative] could have coached that bunch to an SEC title.

There’s something to that – the best coaching job isn’t necessarily done by the coach of the team that finishes first. Pat Summitt did another fine job leading Tennessee back to the top of the SEC on the women’s side, but the biggest accomplishment belonged to Matthew Mitchell who led Kentucky from a preseason forecast of 11th place to a solid second place finish. That was an exceptional coaching job, and – though Kentucky didn’t win the league – Mitchell was deservedly named the coach of the year.

It’s unwise to automatically dismiss a successful coach from a team loaded with talent. To begin with, it discounts the role of the coach in assembling that talent. We think of great coaches as those who could get the most out of any bunch of players, but championships are won by those who can teach the game and attract the highest quality of players. Wooden would have been a success anywhere, but you don’t have a dynasty without bringing men like Alcindor and Walton into the program. There’s a tendency for a coach with so much talent at his disposal to be disregarded as a caretaker with a just-don’t-screw-it-up mandate.

Even after you assemble a loaded roster you still have to get that talent to perform, understand roles, and buy into a system. It’s not a given. There is no shortage of analysis of what has gone wrong with the 16-15 North Carolina Tar Heels, but you don’t have to search very long to find a common theme: for whatever reasons a team loaded with 7 McDonald’s All-Americans was almost uncoachable. Calipari brought in a great recruiting class, meshed it with returning players like Patterson, and got a roster with one eye on the NBA committed to winning a title. As we discussed last week, Kentucky’s turnaround has been as much about defense as it has been about the entertaining offense. Changing a program’s culture in one season and persuading so many key newcomers to embrace the work and sacrifice required by high-level defense is a tremendous coaching job.

Vanderbilt had a good season probably highlighted by a sweep of Tennessee. I don’t want to diminish anything they’ve accomplished. They were picked to finish third in the SEC East. They finished second with a roster that returned its top four scorers and didn’t exactly feature scrubs – four Commodores earned some sort of postseason mention. Good results, good coaching, but hardly up to the level or impact we saw from what Calipari was able to accomplish in his first season.

SEE ALSO: Complete list of SEC basketball postseason honors

We learn this morning that redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Mettenberger was arrested Saturday night in Remerton, Ga. near Valdosta and will face five misdemeanor charges. The big news of course is that we have an alcohol-related arrest that didn’t involve the Athens police. Let the hand-wringing about offseason discipline begin.

After you get over the shock of learning that an underage college student had a few on spring break (Valdosta, Talladega, whatever), this little story will very likely have an effect on one of the biggest questions facing the 2010 Georgia team: the starting quarterback. It should no longer be news that any alcohol-related arrest carries an automatic one-game suspension. If these charges hold up, Zach will, at the very least, sit out the season opener suspended.

I admit to having my biases about the quarterback position and have the luxury of not being responsible for the decision of naming the starter, but in my view Mettenberger has done us a favor. With the automatic suspension likely to sideline Mettenberger for the season opener, he’s no longer in the discussion to start. The staff isn’t going to spend fall camp preparing for the season with someone under center who won’t be available to start in the first game. They’re even less likely to change the starter after one game and give someone else his first career start on the road in Columbia.

That whittles the list down to two, and one of those two has kicked around the idea of playing a position other that quarterback if it would get him on the field. Still, Gray will “take the first reps with the #1 offense” as the Bulldogs begin spring practice. Things still might not be settled after the spring, but at least now we know that we’re looking at a Gray vs. Murray competition. That in and of itself simplifies things tremendously.

  It’s time again for my annual indulgence.  There’s always a great vibe around a conference tournament, and the SEC women’s tournament returns to the Arena at Gwinnett Center on Thursday for the first of three visits over the next five years. Since the tournament is right down the road, I’ll be camped out there throughout the weekend to mix with the fans and students from around the conference.  I might have an update or two here throughout the tournament about Georgia’s experience, but I’ll probably be a lot more active on Twitter.

Georgia got a bit of a disappointment on Sunday when they finished in a four-way tie for third place but came out on the short end of the tiebreaker with the #6 seed.  That outcome might not be a terrible thing.  The seeding lets Georgia avoid possible matchups with Tennessee, Vanderbilt, or LSU until the finals.  Georgia would have to play some tough opponents regardless if they plan on advancing to Saturday or Sunday, but the seeding would help them avoid some of the hotter teams in the conference.  In a season where Georgia has lost to teams as low as the #10 seed, there’s no such thing as a truly “easy” path through this tournament.

The Lady Dogs slipped to the #6 seed after starting the season 16-0 thanks to a midseason slump that included losses in six of eight games.  They’ve righted the ship somewhat and won three of their final four regular season games.  Midseason injuries still linger, but they’re as healthy as they’ve been since the start of conference play. 

Georgia’s all-conference honorees tell the story of the season.  Ashley Houts was every bit the senior leader that she was expected to be and earned a spot on the all-SEC first team. Georgia’s fortunes turned this year on the arrival of six freshmen, and two in particular – Jasmine James and Jasmine Hassell – have played big roles.  The pair was named to the all-freshmen team this week.

Georgia’s path through the tournament

• Thursday:  9:00 PM vs #11 Alabama (Fox Sports South)
• Friday:  9:00 PM vs. #3 Mississippi State (Fox Sports South)
• Saturday: 6:00 PM Semifinal (ESPNU)
• Sunday: 6:30 PM Final (ESPN2)

Now on to the teams (get the bracket here):

The Favorite

1. Tennessee (15-1): After a relatively disappointing season a year ago, the Lady Vols are again the regular season SEC champs. They have a single blemish on their conference mark: a road loss at Georgia that came down to the final shot. Tennessee isn’t back to where they expect to be on the national scene – not many teams can stand out from underneath UConn’s shadow – but the Lady Vols are at least back to their customary position as SEC Tournament favorites. That’s not to say that they’re a lock to win. They’ve looked vulnerable several times away from home. They lost at Georgia and had very close calls against Ole Miss, Florida, and South Carolina, and they will face one of those teams in the quarterfinals. Tennessee can get past most teams by leaning on good defense, but their scoring can run streaky.

The Surprise

2. Kentucky (11-5): Kentucky rolled through nonconference play with only one loss, and most of us chalked it up to a weak schedule. They started just 1-2, and it looked as if preseason expectations of a difficult season would bear out. UK was picked to finish 11th by the coaches and media before the season, but Matthew Mitchell has done another great job building this team. They rolled off eight straight conference wins and soon established themselves as the league’s second-best team. Their formula has been simple: defend the home court and ride the star. They are a perfect 14-0 at home this year, but they only faced Tennessee in Knoxville. Victoria Dunlap is top 5 in scoring, rebounding, steals, and blocks. The emergence of freshman guard A’dia Mathies makes them that much more of a complete team, and they lead the league in scoring. UK ended up sweeping the coach, player, and freshman of the year awards in the SEC.  If the tournament were at Rupp Arena, you’d like their chances.

The Logjam

Four teams finished tied for third place, and it’s fitting that they went 2-2 as a group on Sunday in order to end up with identical records just a game over .500. All four teams are good enough to earn NCAA Tournament consideration, but they all have weaknesses and inconsistencies that have led to seven conference losses each. It wouldn’t surprise me to see one or more from this group playing for the title on Sunday, but they’re just as likely to be done by Friday.

3. Mississippi State (9-7): Congrats, Bulldogs. You started the day in 4th place, had a 30-point loss hung on you, and moved up to 3rd place as a result. MSU can thank the SEC tiebreaker rules for its tournament seed, but the foundation for that seed was laid with wins over Georgia and Vanderbilt. MSU loves to shoot the outside shot – no other team has attempted more than their 655 three-point attempts. Unfortunately they’re in the bottom half of the league in three-point percentage. Their outside shooting has been enough to land them among the top seeds in the conference, but it hasn’t quite been good enough to keep them in the rankings where they started the season. Alexis Rack is the three-point specialist, and the team’s fortunes often ride on her outside shot. Chanel Mokango is enough of a presence inside to force teams to respect the paint.

4. LSU (9-7): LSU enters the tournament as the hot team you’d rather not play. The Tigers endured a rough start to SEC play that saw them sputter to a 4-6 league record by mid-February. They’ve since won 5 of 6 games with the only loss coming at Tennessee. No shame there. The difference has been a rededication to a smothering style of defense. LSU has given up an average of just 44 PPG in their last five wins and now leads the league in scoring defense. Their offense can be summed up in the name of Allison Hightower, but their midseason turnaround has come as others have started to contribute. A likely LSU-Vanderbilt game on Friday could be one of the most entertaining quarterfinal matchups.

5. Vanderbilt (9-7): Find a team with no key players over 6’1", and that team’s probably in trouble. It’s to Vanderbilt’s credit that they’ve managed to remain a very competitive and successful team with only one real frontcourt player. Hannah Tuomi, at 6’1", is facing taller opponents every night but still finds a way to be effective, tough, and – in the eyes of opponents – pesky while doing the rebounding, screening, and other dirty work that has to be done for a team to win. With Tuomi as the extent of the frontcourt Vandy had better shoot well from outside, and they do – they lead the SEC at just over 38% from behind the arc. Veteran guards Jence Rhoads and Merideth Marsh fit right into the talented, tough, and smart style we’ve come to expect from Melanie Balcomb’s teams. Vanderbilt, the league’s defending tournament champion, is one of those teams that knows how to turn it on for the postseason even if they’re not a top seed.

6. Georgia (9-7): Georgia might be kicking themselves for a last-second loss to Ole Miss that could have earned them a much higher seed, but they’ve been on the happier end of close games far more often this year. Big games from the offense have been the exception, so the expectation is for closely-contested games decided by defense. Injuries and fatigue in the middle of the season kept Georgia from playing the kind of defense that propelled them to a 16-0 start, but the team has showed signs of life down the stretch. They have a trio of nice frontcourt players, but the team will go as guards Ashley Houts and Jasmine Jones go.

Upset Specialists

The four teams leading the bottom half of the division all failed to post winning records in conference, but each has at least one quality win to their credit. All four of these teams were able to beat Georgia. Auburn beat LSU and Kentucky. South Carolina just won at Vanderbilt. Ole Miss swept LSU and beat Mississippi State. With that kind of upset potential from this group, top seeds Tennessee and Kentucky could face a stiff challenge in the quarterfinals on Friday.

7. Florida (7-9): Florida just wasn’t quite able to break through this year. Their only win of note is an upset of Georgia a little over a week ago. Like Vanderbilt, Florida is an undersized team. It doesn’t help that Azania Stewart, one of their few frontcourt players, has been sidelined due to injury. Stewart had 21 points and 11 rebounds in Florida’s overtime win over first-round opponent Auburn back in January, and there isn’t anyone to take up that slack. Guards Steffi Sorensen and Jordan Jones will have to come up big, and the Gators will have to outwork Auburn on the glass to advance.

8. South Carolina (7-9): Coach Dawn Staley’s rebuilding project continued to move forward this year. Just a couple of years removed from the league cellar they were nearly .500 in conference this year. They’ve won in tough road environments at Auburn, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. A late four-game slide will keep them from doing much more this season, but that season-ending win in Nashville shows that they have plenty of fight still. South Carolina has a classic inside-out combo: Freshman Kelsey Bone has made an immediate impact by finishing top 10 in both scoring and rebounding. Valerie Nainima is one of the league’s top outside shooters.

9. Ole Miss (7-9): Ole Miss looked for a while like a team that was headed for a memorable season. They started SEC play 5-1 which included consecutive wins over LSU, Mississippi State, and Georgia. They’ve only won two games since and have slid down the standings and likely out of the NCAA Tournament. Bianca Thomas is the SEC’s leading scorer and could carry her team past the first round. One player to watch is forward Nikki Byrd – she’s a key contributor and was injured in the season finale.

10. Auburn (5-11): Wins over Kentucky, Georgia, and LSU show what Auburn is capable of. They just haven’t been able to play at that level in many other games. They lean on the post play of KeKe Carrier and the streaky outside shooting of Alli Smalley. Carrier could be a devastating force against an undersized Florida team – she scored 24 when they met in January and won’t have Azania Stewart to worry about. If Auburn can advance past Florida, they’ll play Kentucky on Friday, and Auburn beat UK less than a week ago.

 Leaving the Bus Idling

For the first time in several years, the teams at the bottom of the league aren’t automatic outs. Both Alabama and Arkansas have made some noise this year and could make their opening round opponents very nervous.

11. Alabama (4-12): Alabama has had a rough few years in the conference, but they’re beginning to show signs of progress. They won as many SEC games this year (4) as they’ve won in the past three seasons. They’ve even managed to sweep Florida this year, and a win over rival Auburn has to be one of the program’s bright spots lately. They lack any real stars, but forward Tierney Jenkins is nearly averaging a double-double.

12. Arkansas (4-12): Last year Arkansas rolled off a string of wins to rise from the bottom of the league to middle-of-the-pack respectability. It looked as if they might be headed in a similar direction this year when they posted thre straight wins in February including road wins at Auburn and South Carolina. But the Razorbacks have faded down the stretch and have lost three straight entering postseason play. They played first-round opponent Vanderbilt close back in January and have the athleticism at guard to match the Vanderbilt backcourt.

…is keeping one of your rivals out. Though just one man’s opinion, this bit of prognostication warmed my heart on this cold morning:

The Gators are not [among the first four teams left out of the NCAA tournament] because of Tuesday night’s loss to Vanderbilt, at least not by that defeat alone. The failure to beat Georgia in Athens may haunt this Florida team, especially if they end up in the NIT for the third straight season.

We do what we can. A few of us were watching the usual SportsCenter bubble discussion over lunch today. Teams like Illinois and Georgia Tech came up for discussion. Both teams might be on the outside looking in, but the most satisfaction came from not seeing Georgia listed as a “bad loss” for either. On the contrary; for teams like Virginia Tech who are fighting the stigma of a weak schedule, a win over Georgia is becoming a point in their favor.