Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Georgia Plays Tough Against Cats

I'll not go into the break down of the game, except to say this: if Georgia plays with the same intensity and focus the rest of the season, we'll win nearly all of our home games and at least three road games.  We held Kentucky to their lowest point total since last season's national semi-final loss to UConn (when they scored two fewer points). We held Kentucky 20 points below their season average. Easily this was the best defensive game we have played all season.

Why did Georgia lose? Because we only have two (maybe three) players that would ever get significant playing time at UK.  At most. On any given night, one team can beat another. If we'd kept up the hot shooting, that would have happened last night. It didn't, and Kentucky's talented, deep, and more physically gifted players took over.  Between Davis' five blocks, his and Kidd-Gilcrist's eleven rebounds each, Georgia just had nothing to match the talent differential.

Now, this is a common refrain from nearly every team playing Kentucky. This isn't a post about Fox's success or lack thereof in recruiting. It does bear pointing out that recruiting has to be significantly improved if Georgia is going to consistently be in the NCAA tournament every year. We don't have to have six McDonald's All-Americans every year. Get a KCP every year and win recruiting battles with Tech, Clemson, FSU, 'Bama, Tennesee, and Vandy more often than not, we'll be a very strong tournament contender. And Auburn and Memphis. Especially Auburn and Memphis! Right now, we lose way more of those than we win.

For now, this team plays like the young team it is. That will improve, but we have to have another big recruiting win this season if we have any hope of being in the tournament discuss this time next year.
TD

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