Georgia basketball counting on wildcard Jordan Harris
The Georgia basketball team took a big hit to its 2019 roster when Ashton Hagans decommitted. Can the 2019 backcourt keep the 2019 season on the rails?
Last month, Tom Crean finalized his Georgia basketball staff. It looks great.
Last week, he finalized his Georgia basketball roster. It doesn’t look so great.
Summer workouts opened for the Georgia basketball team with the same core players that sent Mark Fox packing minus the greatest Bulldog post player since Bob Lienhard and the Dawgs most consistent guard, Juwan Parker.
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The good news is, Crean added a variety of nice players since his hiring, including solid post talent Amanze Ngumezi and the best college prospect in Lithuania, combo guard Ignas Sarigunas.
"“We are very pleased that Ignas will be joining our program,” Crean said. “He he has great touch as a shooter, he has excellent ball-handling skills, and he provides solid defensive work, not to mention that he plays with poise and can be a vocal leader.”"
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Sarigunas committed to Georgia on Thursday and signed his letter-of-intent today. The other backcourt additions, freshmen Jo Jo Toppin from Norcross and Tye Fagan from Upson-Lee, are also good players.
The bad news is, the price for firing Mark Fox is the loss of Ashton Hagans, a point guard talent comparable to Alabama’s Collin Sexton, minus the mouth, (check the featured video) and a likely two-year all-conference or better player beginning this fall. The loss of Hagans leaves a backcourt roster that looks a lot like last year’s sub-par backcourt.
(More bad news, Hagans will suit up for Kentucky when the Cats visit the Stegeman Coliseum next season.)
Backcourt wildcard
The most talented backcourt player on the Georgia roster last year and again this year is Jordan Harris. Harris sat at home the last month of the 2018 season suspended from the team. Harris also began the season in the Mark Fox Dawg House. When he returned against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, Fox’s comment was telling, “He never looked at me cross-eyed when I played him, so maybe he’s starting to grow up.”
The Mark Fox Dawg House was the basketball version of the Bates Motel – check in, never checkout. Still, Harris, a really cool and well-mannered kid from South Georgia, needs to keep his head screwed on straight. The Dawgs need him to do it, too.
High expectations for Hightower.
There is also hope that new Georgia basketball head coach Tom Crean can continue the rapid development of the talented but still raw Teshaun Hightower.
Hightower committed to Georgia as an under the radar guard prospect from Mt. Zion Prep School in Baltimore. Hightower played at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia, and graduated with no major offers.
The year of prep school made a huge difference for Hightower. He grew several inches, put on weight, and developed his offensive game. After averaging 14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists his senior year at Collins Hill, he averaged 19.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists for Mt. Zion Prep.
the 2019 Georgia basketball team needs Crump and Jackson to play better
Hightower’s size and athleticism create match up issues for many guards in the SEC. His playing time and production increased sharply during 2018 season. If Crean can accelerate Hightower’s growth, the Dawgs will could have the answer at point guard that Tyree Crump and Turtle Jackson could not provide last season.
That’s a lot of ifs. Even if the ifs all fall on the plus side, the 2019 Georgia basketball team needs Crump and Jackson to play better than last season and for the freshman to come up with ten minutes a game among them.
We haven’t even gotten to if Georgia can replace the 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game of Yante Maten.
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Maybe the ifs and buts will be candy and nuts. If so, the Dawgs may be fine in 2018. If not, it won’t be much of a Christmas in the Stegeman Coliseum