Ching has some guesses today about the NFL Draft positions of Georgia’s draft candidates. His analysis seems to indicate that four Dawgs (Moses, Johnson, Milner, and Taylor) are likely to be drafted and a couple of other guys have an outside shot. No big surprise there. It seems to be one of the larger groups we’ve had recently headed for the post-draft free-agent route.

I’m not going to get into the draft very much. I’m much more interested in the Georgia angle, and that’s about it. I look forward to following the pro careers of our Dawgs.

Here’s where I try to weave the draft talk into some other thoughts. Wish me luck.

Fans either consciously or otherwise have their "good guy" and "bad guy" lists. It’s a lot easier to be honest about it with pro athletes – there is much greater access to them, they’re drawing a huge paycheck, and you’re not kicking around a college kid. Sometimes the choices are obvious. Hines Ward is Mr. Good Guy. Few Georgia fans have Quincy Carter on their "good guy" list.

We are often toughest on our own though. Florida fans spent the past four years counting the days until Chris Leak left. The story of Miles Luckie sticks around in my head: he caught no end of criticism from Georgia fans for being undersized and out of place, but he emerged as an All-SEC center.

That brings me back around to the draft. Two names on Ching’s list of possible Bulldog draftees stand out to me: Martrez Milner and Danny Ware. Others on the list like Johnson, Moses, and Taylor are benign at worst. Taylor finished well, Moses not so well, but they go into the draft generally remembered as good performers and decent guys. If you ask Georgia fans about Milner though, they’re likely to bring up the drops first. Martrez surely had some of the most high-profile drops in Georgia history since Terrence Edwards. It’s almost as if the drops erase the great catches, the big plays, or the fact that he was our leading receiver by every measure in 2006. I expect that some Dawg fans are surprised to see him as a likely draft pick.

Many Georgia fans mocked Danny Ware for declaring for the draft or at the very least scratched their heads wondering how the third-string tailback could think he was NFL material. He hasn’t exactly vaulted himself into the first day of the draft or anything, but Ching’s crystal ball still has Ware as a possible late-round pick or at least a likely free-agent signee. Considering that the backfield was going to become even more crowded this fall with the availability of Moreno and King, I think Ware made the best possible choice if he hoped to have at least a shot at an NFL roster. Time will tell of course.

Georgia fans will give you endless excuses why we never draw more than 20 or 30,000 people to the spring scrimmage. After all, other teams draw 50,000 or even more for their scrimmages. You’ll hear about Masters weekend or sometimes Easter weekend or the weather or Richt’s tendency to play the scrimmage as vanilla as possible. It’s always something, and that’s just fine with me.

Let’s be honest. You’re watching a scrimmage. You have no emotional stake in the outcome. Your greatest concern is that everyone remains healthy. The only reasons for going are to spend a day in the ol’ college town, stock up at the bookstores, entertain the kids, and sit a lot closer to something resembling football than you otherwise could in the fall. Football practice is boring once you get over the novelty, and that’s why I’m glad that most Dawg fans usually can find better things to do when G-Day comes around each year.

Over 92,000 Alabama fans had nothing better to do on Saturday than to attend A-Day in Tuscaloosa just to be a part of Nick Saban’s first public appearance on the Bryant-Denny sideline. Fans actually used words like "historic" to describe a football scrimmage. Far be it from a sportsblogger to play the "obsessive to the point of unhealthy" card, but damn. The coverage of the crowd also serves to remind the rest of us that Alabama football fans are similar to Kentucky basketball fans in that same kind of arrogantly annoying way. We don’t enjoy them being down as much as we would, say Auburn or Florida, but just know how insufferable they’ll be if Saban actually does do something there.

Someone on the DawgVent asked what the turnout was for Richt’s first G-Day game back in 2001, and I came across this recap from UGASports.com. If ever G-Day was set up for a huge crowd, it was that day. You had a triple-shot of hype: Richt was bringing his shiny FSU offense to Georgia. G-Day returned to Sanford Stadium after skipping a year due to that infamous sewer leak. Finally, fans got their first look at quarterback phenom David Greene. Despite all of those things that might have made G-Day 2001 ever so slightly more interesting than usual, I’m very glad to say that only 20,445 showed up in Athens on that day.

We’ve known for years that it’s a quirk of these spring games that some unusual suspects can steal the show. Georgia has had Johnny Brown, Ronnie Powell, and even Jason Johnson – the heros of spring games past. 2001 was no different. With several players held out due to injury, you need to dust off a media guide to follow the recap.

Much like 2006, the quarterback position was a question mark and a big area of interest. It was clear by that point that Quincy Carter was long gone. Cory Phillips, the caretaker quarterback of the 2000 season, was given the opportunity to win the position. Fans were eager to get a look at redshirt freshman David Greene after hearing the hype during his redshirt season in 2000. Matt Redding didn’t last long at quarterback after the spring. He’d be tried at linebacker and eventually left the program. Neither Greene nor Phillips looked very impressive against the first-string defense, though Greene threw two touchdowns. Coach Richt would not name a starter until the week before the 2001 season.

Incumbent tailback Musa Smith was held out of G-Day 2001, so the running game wasn’t really on display. Even Jasper Sanks was out. Georgia’s leading rusher that day was the forgotten Bailey, Kenny. Kenny spent some time as a reserve tailback before trying his luck as a defensive back later in his career. You can’t mention G-Day during this era without mentioning Ronnie Powell. Powell scored the game’s lone rushing touchdown and averaged over 10 yards on his four carries. Lurking down among the running backs was a fullback named Verron Haynes.

The receiving stats were particularly interesting. The top two receivers in the game became known more for leaving Georgia than for anything they did in Athens. Durrell Robinson came to Georgia as a partial qualifier, made a few receptions in 2000, and was off to junior college not long after this spring of 2001. Robinson became one of the nation’s best JUCO receivers and committed to West Virginia before dropping off the face of the earth. Tavarus Morgan also left Georgia during 2001, and he settled as South Carolina State where he had a decent career. Standouts Randy McMichael, Terrence Edwards, and Damien Gary didn’t have stellar performances, but that’s not unusual for G-Day.

Georgia’s leading tackler that day? Safety Burt Jones. Jones would go on in his career to become (quite seriously) one of the best cover guys Georgia has had on special teams in some time. Right behind Jones was safety standout Terreal Bierria who scored eight tackles and was involved with two interceptions. The defense tallied four interceptions overall.

Sophomore Billy Bennett was the game’s leading scorer. He connected on five field goals (a sixth was blocked) in a foreshadowing of his record-setting six field goal performance that was to come much later in 2001 during the streak-breaker game at Georgia Tech.

How in the world did only 20k show up for that?!?!

While I’m in Top 5 mode, I was going through some of last year’s games on the Tivo. We all know that the SEC’s best teams are flush with talent. What makes it especially tough is that even the bottom teams have exceptional playmakers. Here are five players I consider to be some of the best in the conference from the teams we usually consider the bottom four of the league. They struggle for exposure as better teams get the good TV slots, yet they still turn enough heads for conference and even national recognition. Behind Burton and Woodson, Kentucky shed their usual bottom four status for third place in the SEC East last year. With those two back, can they stay out of the lower half of the division again and earn a second-straight bowl bid?

1. Earl Bennett, receiver, Vanderbilt. Vandy producing a talented player is nothing new. Jay Cutler notwithstanding, most of their star talent has been on defense – particularly at the linebacker and secondary positions. There has been the occasional offensive standout like Todd Yoder. But rarely have the Commodores had a weapon on offense like Bennett. He has had at least 75 receptions in each of his first two seasons – the first SEC player to ever do so in back-to-back seasons. His 82 receptions last year were an SEC-best, and I remind you that he increased his reception total without Cutler under center. He’ll surely be the focus of opposing defenses this year, and we’ll see if he can take advantage of a nationwide drain at the receiver position in order to pick up some national honors.

2. Andre Woodson, quarterback, Kentucky. A year ago, Kentucky coach Rich Brooks was in trouble. The program had slid from some modest success, and most assumed that Brooks was on his way out. The Wildcats’ turnaround in 2006 was one of the biggest stories of the year in SEC football, and it was topped off with wins over Georgia and Clemson. One of the biggest reasons for the turnaround was the maturation and improvement of quarterback Andre Woodson. Woodson’s own turnaround was just as dramatic. Kentucky passed for just 169 yards per game in 2005 and threw an incredibly low six touchdown passes. The situation was so grim that Woodson was in a battle with the unknown Curtis Pulley for the starting job. Woodson quickly ended the competition in 2006 by throwing nine touchdowns in the first three games of the season. He finished the year as the SEC’s leader in total offense. A lot of credit for his improvement belongs to position coach Randy Sanders, exiled from Tennessee. Woodson’s transformation was so complete that he now merits national attention.

3. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, tailback, Ole Miss. Ole Miss is becoming Transfer U. Quarterbacks Schaeffer and Snead got the headlines, but Indiana transfer Green-Ellis in 2006 became just the third Ole Miss tailback to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. With Schaeffer settling in as a dual-threat quarterback, Green-Ellis might have a chance for an even bigger 2007 behind Michael Oher and a decent line.

4. Titus Brown, DE, Miss. St. Brown has been a solid performer on a defense that had been led on the front seven by guys like Deljuan Robinson, Michael Heard, and Quinton Culberson. Brown led the Bulldogs in sacks with 7.5 and was fifth in the SEC. He was third in the league in tackles for loss. It’s Brown’s defense now, and the second-team all-SEC performer will anchor the line as a senior. Without the presence of Robinson and Heard up front, it remains to be seen if Brown can remain as effective. He’ll be the focus of protection schemes. Derek Pegues might be the most exciting player on the MSU defense, but Brown is the difference-maker.

5. Keenan Burton, WR, Kentucky. Woodson’s improvement didn’t happen in a vacuum, and the reliable Burton was a big piece of the puzzle. His 77 receptions, 1,036 receiving yards, 1,845 all-purpose yards, and 13 touchdowns led the Wildcats in 2006. He ranked second in the SEC just behind Bennett in receptions per game and behind McFadden in all-purpose yardage. His 13 touchdowns last year were second-best in the SEC also behind McFadden. Burton, along with top tailback Rafael Little, decided to return for a senior season. Those two plus Woodson give Kentucky a lot of returning experience and talent at three key skill positions and should give Wildcat fans plenty of reasons for optimism on offense and a chance to do as well or better in 2007.

Kris Durham made a name for himself as a true freshman with his size and hands. The lanky 6’5" receiver had a slight build, but his ability to make tough catches earned him a spot on the field as a true freshman.

In Saturday’s G-Day game, he did everything but complete a pass to his own team. His intercepted pass on a trick play was about the only hiccup in a solid performance. He showed the value of his length and hands on a diving touchdown catch, and he also showed a promising ability to break tackles on a second touchdown. With that performance and flashes of promise last year, you’d think that Durham was about to emerge as a key member of the receiving corps. I even said below that he "is going to be a ‘glue’ guy on this team for several years," and I believe that.

But we learned today that it had been an inconsistent spring of doubt for the rising sophomore. "Kris had a couple of times this spring where he had his head down a little bit and started to wonder if he could compete at this level, I think," said Coach Richt. Durham admitted, "I had an up-and-down spring. There were some days where I didn’t come out very focused. (Saturday) I seemed to be focused, and I just had a lot of fun. I think it’s paid off."

There’s no questioning Durham’s abilities, but it’s revealing to see behind the scenes and realize that G-Day performances, good and bad, didn’t necessarily tell the story of a month of spring ball.

I had heard some scuttlebutt that redshirting was a possibility this season for Durham. Looking just at his G-Day performance, that seems insane. But in the larger context of the spring, it makes more sense now. Durham probably would have redshirted last year if not for the injuries to Bailey and others. He’s done a lot in one year to increase his strength, and you have to wonder what kind of receiver he’d become with an additional year to develop physically.

The skills are there for him to become a very valuable receiver, but the depth makes you wonder from where the opportunities will come. Bailey is back. Henderson has vaulted into the picture with an outstanding spring. As Richt points out, there are now seven upperclassmen among the receivers, and they’re starting to play like it. Younger receivers like Michael Moore, Tony Wilson, and Durham are fighting for time on the field. Can Durham’s strong finish to the spring do enough to distinguish him from the rest of the receivers, or would a year of development move him into a much better position for his final three seasons?

Talking about redshirting your leading G-Day receiver might sound like crazy talk, but one has to wonder if the thought came into Coach Richt’s head as he watched the receiver position during the spring.

1. A quarterback controversy. Maybe it had to happen this way. The four – or more truthfully – three-man battle for the quarterback position dominated headlines for the first half of the season. The situation was a mess from the start. The injury to Tereshinski at South Carolina threw a wrench into any plans of a smooth progression, and from the Colorado game clear through to the Mississippi State game in late October, the team could get no traction as every week brought a new development and experiment at the quarterback position. Even as Stafford assumed control, he struggled with turnovers and decisions.

That seems like such a long time ago, and Stafford seems like such an obvious choice now. Many thought it was only slightly less obvious of a choice last summer. Was it really that tough a decision and did it have to drag on well into October, or was this something that the coaching staff could have handled better? We spun the situation by convincing ourselves that it was a positive to have four guys capable enough to make it a difficult decision, but you don’t notice too many people complaining about the lack of a quarterback competition this season.

2. The post-halftime turnover. It was our own Groundhog Day. Honestly, all we needed was Ned Ryerson showing up on the video screen at halftime every week. It usually went like this: Georgia would receive the second half kickoff, often with the lead. They would get stuffed on the kickoff return. There would be a spectacular turnover. The opponent would score on a very short field and would completely change the momentum of the game. Each game had a nice twist on the theme.

While most remember the turnovers that resulted in losses, the Mississippi State game stands out to me as the season’s worst meltdown. Georgia led 21-7 at halftime, but that soon evaporated to a four-point lead after consecutive turnovers. Georgia missed the extra point after their only touchdown of the second half (see #4 below). From turnovers to huge pass plays on MSU’s final drive, Georgia seemed to do everything they could to give the visitors a chance to win the game. As bad as losses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky were, only Charles Johnson’s heroics at the end prevented a loss from which the program might not have recovered.

The story wasn’t just turnovers but turnovers timed so perfectly as to do the most possible damage. While the Dawgs cut down quantitatively on turnovers during their impressive three-game run at the end of the season, they also did a better job of stopping the bleeding after the turnovers they did commit.

3. Hyping the three-headed monster. Every time I talk about the running backs, I have to make it clear that I don’t think they are bad. I enjoy watching Lumpkin and Brown. They have made huge plays for us. But for two seasons now, we’ve been touting this "three-headed monster" tailback group while the actual production has been just so-so. I don’t put that all on the backs; it can be argued that blocking and/or scheme has a bit to do with it too. The buzz is starting all over again with freshman Knowshon Moreno after G-Day. I think we have some talented backs, but it will take a much stronger and consistent effort plus a few coaching adjustments before the Georgia running game is scary good enough to be called any kind of monster.

4. An injured placekicker. Coach Richt has remarked recently how close Georgia was to being 11-2 and also how close they were to having a losing record. If you think back to the great 2002 season, at least five of those wins were true nailbiters. That’s life in the SEC. Even the national champions had their share of close shaves last year. The injury to Brandon Coutu was just one of several kicks in the pants during the middle of the 2006 season, but the impact of his loss was immediate. I’ve heard many people say that games like Vanderbilt or Kentucky shouldn’t come down to a field goal in the first place, but again, that’s ignoring the realities of the SEC. The injury didn’t just affect placekicking. By becoming involved in placekicking duties, it seemed as if Gordon Ely-Kelso’s punting suffered in his senior season.

5. Another loss to Florida. Seriously. End it.

A more hospitable location for next year’s game.

Fans can be funny. Georgia’s offense finally showed some punch, and of course everyone is now fretting about the defense. Had the defense played better and stuffed the offense, we’d be back to trashing the receivers and calling for an offensive coordinator (oh…wait.). If anything, G-Day was entertaining for once this year. In 2006, G-Day was all but over after Stafford’s first pass. If it’s just a spring exhibition for the fans, it might as well be fun, and at least this year’s game had action for the 21,000+ fans who braved the cold.

The performance of the offense is a good thing. Though the playcalling took a few more liberties in the spring game, there was still a good variety of formations and calls. Execution helps – there were few, if any, bad drops. Tailbacks ran well. The new offensive line, a universal source of concern this spring, held its own.

At the risk of contradicting myself, the defense didn’t look terribly impressive. It was a bad performance. Kelin Johnson said, "It was just horrible, man, horrible.", and he should know – many of the more successful plays of the day were across the middle. Coach Martinez didn’t use the excuse of a spring scrimmage to slack off – he was in faces early on about the lackluster play. "We just gave up too many big plays," Martinez explained. "It’s been happening a lot in the spring. It’s happened way too often. We just have to get it corrected. We just have to reshuffle our lineup and see if we can get it straightened up."

The Dawgs are replacing six of seven starters along the defensive front seven, and it showed. There were enough bright spots on defense among the first and second units to show that potential answers are on the team, but the questions still remain. Based on Martinez’s statement, we’ll probably see a lot of experimenting with different solutions before the season. Is it time to panic and abandon the season? Of course not. That’s what the next four and a half months are about. If improvement stopped after spring, we’d never be very good.

If there was a "story" to G-Day other than the big plays, it was the recruiting class of 2006. Rashad Jones made an immediate impact as a ball-hawking safety. Knowshon Moreno showed a great burst and power at tailback. Tony Wilson made some noise at receiver. Members of that class who did not redshirt, like Matt Stafford and Kris Durham, also had impressive afternoons. Without reading too much into a single spring scrimmage, here are some quick hitters from the game:

• Damn was it cold. Not chilly. Cold. The 2003 Tech game came to mind.
• Tripp Chandler seems ready to assume the starting tight end spot. He made a couple of tough catches, holding onto one as he got hit hard right after the reception, and he drug several defenders on a long completion across the middle.
• Jason Johnson continues to hold the Johnny Brown Award for the best G-Day performance from a guy least likely to see the field during the season. Last year, Johnson had nearly 100 yards on the ground at G-Day but didn’t get a single carry in 2006. This year Johnson had 48 rushing yards at G-Day, only five fewer than starter Kregg Lumpkin. Johnson also added a touchdown pass to his stat sheet this year, setting a whole new standard for this honor.
• The offense did a lot of its damage on big plays, and that can distort some good defensive plays and shaky moments on offense. Stafford had some great passes but was also a relatively inefficient 6-of-12. He struggled throwing swing passes, and there were some obvious miscommunications with receivers. It’s spring. Barnes fumbled, Massaquoi ran into his blockers on an end-around…there’s still plenty to do on that side of the ball as well.
• Brandon Miller’s move to middle linebacker continues to look good. He led the Black team with six tackles.
• It was clear why Georgia recruited a punter in the 2007 class. Butler might be called upon early. Coutu had a nice punt, but I’m sure we’d all prefer he focus on placekicking if possible. Mimbs was inconsistent.
• An interesting diversity at receiver is emerging. Sean Bailey is back and made a superb catch along the sideline. Massaquoi remains steady. Durham is going to be a "glue" guy on this team for several years. Henderson got open deep again and was the spring MVP. Tony Wilson had an impressive debut. We didn’t even see guys like Bryant or Harris or Gartrell. Don’t forget Moore either.
• As always, the best news is that no long-term injuries came out of the game. Cornerback Bryan Evans hurt his hand on Chandler’s long reception, but that kind of thing won’t affect his 2007 season.

Coaches have to love spring games. In the span of two hours, fans will form their expectations for the players and the upcoming season. Freshmen who don’t shine will be busts. Reserves who impress should get more playing time. Just look back a year ago…

• The entire quarterback question was settled for most fans on Stafford’s first 64-yard pass. Henderson caught just seven passes in 2006, but he did go on to become a valuable return man in Thomas Flowers’ absence.
• Ramarcus Brown and Asher Allen were stars on defense at G-Day. Each played a big role in 2006, but it was Bryan Evans who missed the spring game that eventually emerged as the answer opposite Paul Oliver.
• Jason Johnson won the "Ronnie Brown Award" for a great performance by a guy unlikely to see much time during the season. He was the leading rusher for G-Day 2006 with 97 yards on 13 carries. Johnson didn’t see any time at running back during the 2006 season, but he did get in on special teams.
• Tight end Tripp Chandler was the leading receiver in the game. After two first half drops, he caught four passes for 99 yards. He then caught a total of two passes during the 2006 season.

That’s not to say that the spring game tells us nothing. Going against Paul Oliver, Mohamed Massaquoi had just one reception. Oliver turned out to have a stellar season, but the game also foreshadowed a season of struggles for Georgia’s star receiver. Charles Johnson dominated G-Day, and he played well enough during the season to enter the NFL draft. No one from Georgia’s "three-headed monster" of tailbacks really stood out in the spring game, and that continued into the season. While Joe Cox threw several interceptions, he was also the most successful at driving the offense, and that came in useful in a desperate hour against Colorado.

It also won’t show you everything. While everyone was impressed with the gaudy interception returns last spring, few could see the secondary being beaten as badly as it was against Tennessee or the defense struggling as it did during the middle of the season. Stafford showed glimpses of why he would be the man, but not many figured that the quarterback decision would be stuck in quicksand for a few more months and that there would be so many expensive lessons in costly turnovers.

Based on the buzz, here’s what people will be looking at this year:

• For most of us, it’ll be a chance to see the new offensive line in action for the first time. Coach Searels will have a lot of eyes on him during this game. Nowhere will newcomers be more scrutinized than the early enrollees and JUCO transfers along the line.
• There’s also a lot of new faces among the defensive front seven. The Dawgs are replacing three starting defensive linemen and three starting linebackers. With a defensive end legacy of Pollack, Moses, and Johnson, is the next wave ready?
• Of course everyone wants to see Knowshon Moreno. An incredible amount of hype could be poured on this guy within a week.
• Will the offense have changed much under the continued direction of Mike Bobo?
• How will the passing game look with a more mature Stafford, the return of Sean Bailey, and Massaquoi and Bryant as upperclassmen?
• A big story this spring has been the strong play at the safety position. There are a lot of heavy hitters, and they’ll look a bit different than the undersized Tra Battle. But they’re mostly young, and this is the first chance to perform for many of them.

Me? As always, I just care about getting out without any long-term injuries. The team and the depth chart will change between now and August, and we’ll worry about it all then.

No story lead has become more dreaded by Bulldog football fans than this: "Georgia’s already-thin offensive line suffered another loss…"

Fortunately, Saturday’s first major scrimmage of spring brought no such news. The Dawgs have already had two minor injuries on the line this spring: Vince Vance and Josh Davis have missed time, but both are expected to return soon. The lack of serious injury is the best kind of news you can get this time of year.

The story of the scrimmage was reportedly the defense. Brandon Miller’s move to MLB seems to be paying off, and we continue to hear good things about tailback Knowshon Moreno. Other takes:

• ABH
• AJC
• UGASports($): Offense / Defense
• Chattanooga (Paschall)

I’ve given up on trying to read too much into spring ball. Depth charts will change and are often motivational at this point. You’ll have the Ronnie Powells who will light up spring practice and G-Day and then disappear in the fall. Everyone knows that we are trying to piece together an offensive line. They’re also trying to replace several starters on the defensive line and bring along a receiving corps that will be key to Matthew Stafford’s development. None of that is new to those who keep up with the program, and we’ve learned not to really expect answers until August.

G-Day is in two weeks (April 7th).

Following last night’s 78-65 season-ending loss to Purdue, Andy Landers said something that didn’t just apply to the Purdue game but could also serve as an epitaph for the season. "When we didn’t score, it seemed to take some of the life or mission out of us defensively," he said, explaining how Georgia’s defensive intensity waned after a strong start. The Lady Dogs had another 25+ win season and another trip to the Final Four, but in almost all of their losses they faced inconsistency on offense and a sub-par defensive effort that seemed coupled to those problems on offense.

This feast-or-famine storyline played out in dramatic fashion during the postseason. It began in the SEC Tournament where Georgia routed Kentucky in record-setting fashion. They were on the other side of the rout the following night against Vanderbilt, failing to score 20 points in the first half. Another sluggish effort followed in the NCAA opening round when they struggled to score and got a scare from an overmatched Belmont team. Thing swung back around the other way for the second round game against Iowa State, and neither offense nor defense was a problem.

Loss hurts Houts, but she’s got a bright future. (Photo: AP)

Inconsistent teams rarely advance far in the postseason. Georgia was good enough to advance. They’ve recorded wins over three Elite Eight teams this season. Their inconsistency buried them last night. Purdue’s consistent senior sharpshooter Katie Gearlds went for 30 points. Georgia’s starting seniors combined for ten points and two field goals.

Tasha Humphrey and Angel Robinson were effective inside. Humphrey scored 20 points, but it was on the other end where she ran into familiar problems. Foul trouble put her on the bench for key stretches in both halves. With her watching from the pine and Chambers cold, Georgia’s scoring fell to freshmen and role players. They were valiant and kept up as much as they could, but they weren’t going to keep up with Gearlds and Wisdom-Hilton.

Last season ended for the Lady Dogs with a proud and defiant Landers refusing to get down about the way with which Georgia lost to UConn. The Lady Dogs fought that game with their best effort and lost on a miracle shot. "We didn’t lose," Landers said after that game. "You lose when you don’t go out and apply the ability and talent that you have to the challenge that faces you. When you apply yourself like we did, you don’t lose. You get beat."

No such statement could be made about last night’s game. Georgia’s offense fizzled but for a few brief runs, and the defense couldn’t react quickly enough to the screens they knew they’d face. "They did what we knew they were going to do," said Cori Chambers. "They run off screens, and I didn’t do what I needed to do to stop them." She wasn’t alone, but unfortunately Cori has been the poster child for the feast-or-famine season. She set Georgia’s career mark for three-pointers back in January, but she has battled through struggles on offense for much of the second half of the season while drawing some tough defensive assignments.

This has been a tough team to figure out all year, and it must be frustrating for Coach Landers to have to pull and plead to get results and leadership. They started the season beating teams like Rutgers and Stanford without Tasha Humphrey. After she returned, the team struggled for a bit as their identity changed. Then they got it back together for a second-place SEC finish that included wins over Vanderbilt, LSU, and Ole Miss. It ended with the wild swings in both the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.

Though the Lady Dogs lose Chambers and Hardrick, the future of the team is in a core of three freshmen honored this year by the SEC. At least six players will be joining the team next year, four of them in the backcourt. With Tasha Humphrey entering her senior year, the window is closing on building a championship team around her.

Georgia has made enough progress as a basketball program that we can seriously talk now about the things that stand in their way of returning to the NCAA Tournament. The Dawgs have added four or five wins to their total in each of the past two seasons, but we’re going to find out that adding each additional win from here on out will become marginally more difficult. Going from, say, 13 to 17 wins means you can beat another middle-of-the-road nonconference team and catch a conference opponent or two on a bad night. Going from 19 wins to 22 means that you can’t lose many that you’re expected to win and that you have to pick up a couple of games against higher-quality opponents in and out of the conference.

The goal for every year is a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but the urgency is turned up quite a bit next year. The pieces seem to be in place. That we can point to a handful of woulda-coulda-shoulda games makes us think that we were one or two wins away. But being so close and getting a taste of the bubble just makes the hunger that much stronger, and fans have heard "rebuilding" now for three seasons. Let’s look at a few factors that will determine whether or not Georgia can get over that hump next year.

Scheduling

I’ve talked about favoring the "Harrick approach" to nonconference scheduling ever since Georgia had far and away the nation’s toughest schedule in 2001. They didn’t get there by lining up Duke and UConn. They likely would have lost those games. In fact, they didn’t schedule many top 30 teams in 2001. The secret was to avoid the bad teams. Don’t schedule teams below the top 150.

This year Georgia played Southern (RPI 289), Jacksonville (RPI 198), South Carolina State (RPI 288), Alabama A&M (RPI 334), Gardner-Webb (RPI 268), and Kennesaw (277). Those games are boat anchors to a team’s perceived strength. The Dawgs couldn’t even count a win over Valdosta State (in terms of the RPI) because the Blazers are a Division 2 school.

"Hold on a second," you say. "Georgia had the #14 schedule according to Palm’s collegerpi.com. Why are you talking about schedule?" Sure they did. They play in the SEC East. The only SEC East team without a top 30 schedule was Florida. The strong conference schedule masks the fact that the nonconference schedule had problems. Having some really good teams mixed in with the dregs means that you’d better beat a team like Wisconsin if you want points for your schedule.

Georgia might have been a win or two away from the NCAA Tournament, but so were a lot of teams this year. Georgia’s March loss to Tennessee might have knocked them all the way from the brink of the tournament to a #4 seed in the NIT. Between the few questionable teams like Arkansas and Stanford that got in the tournament and the 1-4 NIT seeds, that’s a pool of 18-20 teams who had similar records and who all felt they were within a win or two of playing in the NCAA Tournament. Would a Top 10 schedule look more impressive among a similar group next year? You don’t have to play Kansas or UCLA to get there.

The games against teams like Wisconsin and the rumored game with Duke next year are fine and certainly high-visibility games for the program. It helps to win them; "good losses" are better than beating a sub-250 RPI team, but they’re still losses. There are 336 teams playing Division 1 ball. The key is to focus on those in the top 150. There is no reason to schedule the sub-200 teams. Look to the lower NCAA seeds and the NIT field. Georgia is 4-3 against NCAA six seeds or lower. They were 5-2 against the NIT field in 2005-2006, and three road losses made them 1-3 against the NIT field this year. No, they’re not Kansas. But Georgia can compete with these teams, win their share, and, most importantly, these opponents would boost and not drag down Georgia’s schedule and reputation before the selection committee.

The conference

Even if a team is improved, that improvement is still relative to the competition. The SEC East was a murder’s row this year. Four of the six teams received #8 seeds or higher in the NCAA Tournament, and three were still alive in the Sweet 16. The division should be tough again next year, but its strength will depend a lot on some key decisions. Player of the Year Byars is a senior, but other guys like Lofton, Morris, and Florida’s trio of Noah, Horford, and Brewer could all have an impact on next year’s SEC landscape.

We saw this year that the minimum "safe" conference record for NCAA consideration is probably 9-7. 8-8 is pushing it. 10-6 is a sure thing. The most traditional path to achieve that record is to win at home and steal a couple on the road. That strategy nearly worked for Georgia this year; a home win against Tennessee in the finale probably would have put them over the top (and dramatically altered the SEC Tournament seedings and matchups).

Georgia will have the usual home and away games with the SEC East. They will play Auburn, Mississippi State, and LSU from the SEC West on the road with Alabama, Ole Miss, and Arkansas in Athens. It’s possible that Georgia will still be picked 5th in the East next year. Tennessee has a solid core even without Lofton, and Vanderbilt will have a strong group of seniors. Everyone is starting to notice that Georgia could have a much improved team once again next year but still be facing a tough challenge to get to that nine and ten win threshold.

Personnel

Sundiata Gaines assessed next year’s team for the AJC. "I think it will be the best team since I’ve been here," he said. "We’ve got some good freshmen coming in. The guys are older. We’ll have a lot of juniors and seniors with more experience. That should get us far as we’re trying to make the postseason again next year."

He’s right. He’ll be a senior along with Dave Bliss and Takais Brown. Billy Humphrey and Terrance Woodbury developed as this season went on and will join Mike Mercer as juniors. That’s a really solid group. Then you have role players like Cory Butler and Rashad Singleton. Albert Jackson will have a year of seasoning. There is a strong freshman class bringing help at point guard and in the frontcourt.

Just in terms of returning players, the one area that jumps out immediately for me is perimeter shooting. Levi Stukes graduates, adding his name to the legacy of sharpshooting 2-guards like D.A. Layne and Ezra Williams. Though Stukes shot for a relatively high percentage on average, he definitely had his hot and cold moments. Georgia’s fortunes usually followed.

The Dawgs’ options on the perimeter next year are 1) Gaines, 2) Humphrey, 3) Woodbury, 4) Mercer, 5) Butler. That surely looks like a good, deep group. But looking closer reveals a bit weaker picture. Gaines will be running the show at point, and while it isn’t rare for point guards to be scorers (Rashad Wright as a senior comes to mind), it’s asking a lot. Mercer struggled with his outside shot all year, and we don’t know how effective he will be after his recovery. Butler might play a larger role, but will still likely be a reserve. So Georgia’s fortunes on the perimeter will likely depend on the development of Humphrey and Woodbury. Both came along nicely as sophomores. Humphrey, established as a streaky set shooter from outside, started to show more creativity inside the arc. Woodbury was usually a good shot in the arm off the bench, and he continues to come along defensively. He had one of his best games in the season-ending loss at Air Force.

We know all five of those guys can hit a three-pointer. The question and key is consistency. Can someone not only step into Stukes’ role but extend it and become a scorer rather than just a shooter or a three-point specialist? It’s likely that Felton will begin the season with Bliss, Brown, and Gaines as sure starters. There are three guys (Mercer, Woodbury, and Humphrey) left for the remaining two positions. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Humphrey and Woodbury start as Mercer is eased back into action.

If you read the tea leaves on the message boards, Felton is looking for additional help once again from the junior college ranks, and it seems as if he has that 2-guard spot in mind. The comparison kicked around a lot this week has been Katu Davis; Davis was a JUCO transfer for the 1995 and 1996 seasons, and he was a big part of the tournament run in 1996. He also provides a reference for contrast between the three-point specialist and a guy who can score inside and out from that guard spot. If there’s another Katu out there, that kind of spark from the backcourt, along with Gaines’ steady play, could really transform this team.

The frontcourt will appreciate the help. Brown is the star, and his game could really take off next year if he works on those glacially-slow moves with the ball. After Brown, you have several guys who can give a minute here, a minute there. Bliss will hopefully continue to stay well. Singleton came along on defense, and it could mean something if he developed any kind of game on offense. Jackson was limited as a freshman, and an injury really slowed him down at the end of the year. There is a nice group of freshmen coming in for the frontcourt, but we shouldn’t place the expectation of big minutes on freshman.

You can see why pwd made "find another Takais Brown" one of his suggestions for next year. Given one scholarship, I’d still choose a scorer at guard first. Brown and the rest of the frontcourt were typically effective this year when Stukes (or on rare occasions someone else) was lighting it up from outside. With Stukes gone, I’m just not as confident yet that we can replace that potency.

Some might say that the Lady Dogs’ sluggish performance in their 53-36 opening round win over Belmont on Saturday was the sign of a team still a bit shell-shocked from their SEC Tournament loss to Vanderbilt. Everyone wondered whether or not they could shake off that loss and show up at the NCAA Tournament with a resolve and looking to take out two weeks of frustration on an overmatched opponent.

They couldn’t. Georgia played sound defense but struggled to score. It’s become apparent that the SEC Tournament loss wasn’t the cause of Georgia’s funk; it was a symptom of a problem that has been eating at the team and its coach for a while.

What’s troubling if you’re looking for improvement is that the problems seem to be more fundamental issues of leadership. "When a team plays the way it is playing right now, there is no leadership," said Coach Landers. Georgia’s top scorers are upperclassmen, and you’d expect the team to look to them, but Landers doesn’t hold out much hope in that area. "I have asked juniors and seniors to step up and assume some accountability for that, for these kinds of things, and they haven’t. So I don’t hold out any hope that it will come from those two classes."

That showed itself in Saturday’s game. Tasha Humphrey was closely defended and double-teamed, limiting her effectiveness. Foul trouble would also limit her minutes. The close attention given to Humphrey opened things up outside, but Georgia couldn’t capitalize and shot under 20% from beyond the arc. It’s a nod to Landers’ comments that the three three-pointers Georgia did hit in the game were made by freshmen. Houts and Marshall were also Georgia’s leading scorers.

In short, this does not sound like a team with the head to make a deep tournament run. Let’s not forget that this is a team that finished second in the SEC. It has beaten Rutgers, Stanford, LSU, and Vandy. It has three members of the SEC’s all-freshman team and two all-SEC team members. But they’re in a fog now and have been for much of the season. The leadership for the future looks to be brewing among the stellar freshman class, but that’s not a present-day solution.

With the season on the line, Landers has to try a different approach. "I am the leader. I just hope I have willing followers. I don’t think by any stretch that I am perfect. I think we have got a good game plan. I am determined to come out and win and kick tail if we can. They can line up and go with me or we do something else." "Something else" at this point is going home with the season over.

Iowa State is a check for this group of upperclassmen. Georgia is a better team and has beaten teams like Iowa State all year. Georgia is bigger inside and should be able to score and rebound in the paint. That was the case against Belmont also, and they got outrebounded and struggled to score inside. Those are effort stats. As Landers said after Saturday’s game, the good defense was hurt by the fact that Georgia too often failed to "clean up" and capitalize on their defense by allowing offensive rebounds. Iowa State might not be as good of a team as Georgia, but they are quite dangerous. They have been forged in a tough Big 12 conference, and, to put even more pressure on Georgia, they can score. To make things worse, the crowd should solidly favor Iowa State as busloads of fans will make the trip from Ames, Iowa.

The Lady Dogs have been to four consecutive Sweet Sixteens and sixteen overall in the tournament’s history.

The announced crowd last night was somewhere just over 2,000. It was, as they say, "intimate" even with some great promotions going on. With the general lack of interest in the NIT combined with the ghost town that is Athens during spring break, last night’s small crowd wasn’t a surprise. The fans that were there were great. That kind of crowd is comparable in size to those we get for some women’s games, and the enthusiasm is rarely as high as it was last night. You had people who wanted to be there; there were no vast gaps left by absent season ticket holders, nor was the crowd diluted by the morgue that is the faculty/staff section. The fans filled in close to the court, and the effect was impressive considering that the gym was only 20% full.

One of the best scenes of the evening happened off-camera during player introductions. Dennis Felton often spends time in the student section before games, but last night he went up ten or more rows into the stands behind the bench with a wide grin thanking those fans for coming out. Many of those fans probably didn’t have season tickets in that area, so they saw in person for the first time Felton’s genuine gratitude for their support. After the game, he took time before media interviews to thank those who remained on the student side. His grin was as wide as you’d expect if Georgia had just advanced to the Sweet 16 of the "other" tournament. Though he’d surely much rather be playing today, this win was still progress, and he seemed truly grateful for those who are coming along for the ride.

It’s suddenly a story that Georgia basketball fans are scarce. Jeff Schultz wrote about the game and crowd last night, and Chip Towers filed a note from the SEC Tournament last weekend contrasting the thin Georgia hometown support with that of the many Florida fans in attendance.

Life as a Bulldog hoops fan.

It’s not a recent development that Georgia basketball fans are notoriously fickle, slow to jump on board, and quick to jump off. It’s how life is for any Georgia sport other than football. and when it comes to SEC basketball nearly every school’s fan base ebbs and flows with the fortunes of their team. The exception of course is Kentucky. Mark Bradley, also writing from the SEC Tournament last weekend, noted with sadness that the Arkansas traveling fan base, once strong enough during their mid-90s run to rival the Wildcats, had lost around 80% of its size. If basketball-crazy Arkansas doesn’t turn out for a decent team that ended up in the SEC finals and headed to the NCAA Tournament, I’m not really surprised by the Georgia fans.

Dawg fans have shown that they’ll turn out for a winner. The twilight of the Harrick era was a wonderful heavyweight slug fest with Florida. Stegeman was rocking for that game as it had been for many big games over those two seasons. The game was as intense and the crowd was as electric as you’ll ever find in college hoops. Then the rug was pulled out from under the season less than a week later. Fans saw the postseason, the star player, and an entire recruiting class disappear. It wasn’t the first time that Georgia fans had a taste of success evaporate. To be a Georgia basketball fan is to be Charlie Brown trying to kick the football.

As Felton keeps building the program and the wins continue to come, the fans will come back. Considering the history of the program, I can’t blame them for being a bit hesitant to believe.

Halftime should be fun

Fresno State and the University of Georgia have agreed to have some very special guests recognized at Wednesday night’s NIT first round game in Athens.

Basketball legend Kenny Brunner will throw the ceremonial jump ball. Brunner, aka “Bad Santa”, is currently having a cup of coffee with the Buffalo Silverbacks of the ABA. He played at Fresno State in the late 1990s and intended to enroll at Georgia but was denied admission. Brunner will return with Aaron Scranton to give a martial arts demonstration at halftime.

Honorary coaches Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Harrick will lead the teams onto the court before recognizing academic achievers from local Athens elementary schools.

All University of Georgia students showing a Western Union wire transfer receipt at the door will be entered into a drawing for a new television set.

Though Georgia had one of the better classes in the nation and met some very specific needs in their most recent haul, a lot of fans were grumbling on Signing Day because a few big names inside the state went elsewhere. It didn’t matter that one player’s father played for Tennessee or that another thought he was suited to play linebacker at 270 lbs. In the eyes of the people who just see the names and their rankings, Georgia whiffed.

I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of that response with the 2008 class.

With this week’s commitment of Statesboro defensive tackle DeAngelo Tyson, Georgia’s nine commitments to date include three players who might be ranked among the top five at any position in the state of Georgia. They are:

• Tyson, a 6’2", 275 lb. defensive tackle. Projected to be named the top player in the state when the prep rankings come out this summer.
• Richard Samuel, a 6′, 200 lb. running back from Cass who might end up at linebacker on the next level.
• Cornelius Washington, a 6’4", 200 lb. defensive end from Burke County. The top rush end in the state missed most of last year with a broken arm, but there is no questioning his physical gifts and frame.

Those are just the ones who have committed so far, and it’s so early in the process yet. Georgia is in great shape with other top junior prospects like lineman A.J. Harmon and receiver Tavarus King. If they can hold on to the commitments they have and add a few more of the others down the road, fans won’t have anything to gripe about next February.

What is it with tournaments and clock issues? The SEC women’s tournament last weekend was plagued with them. Last night’s Georgia-Auburn game was delayed due to a stoppage with eight minutes left. You could see Dennis Felton agonizing over the delay as it might cool off his team during a critical stretch in the game where Auburn was threatening to come within single-digits. Even the ACC Tournament had its issues.

The Gwinnett arena is particularly bad. I’ve been to about seven or eight basketball games in that arena and seem to recall a clock issue every time. Several times last weekend we saw that there were "-1" seconds remaining in the game. There was the enjoyable instance a few years ago during the Russell Athletic Shootout where the horn blared without stopping for about ten minutes.

It’s the downside of using arenas that aren’t designed for or are sparingly used for basketball. In the case of the Gwinnett arena, the scoreboards are miserable. They are small and difficult to read at the far ends of the seating configuration that is more ideal for hockey. You would hope that these groups who work hard to land these prestigious events would have a bit more pride about their arenas and pay as much attention to the operating of the scoreboards and clocks as they do to making sure we know who the event sponsors are.