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Wednesday, January 16, 2008 | The Red & Black
X*^^
NICK PASSARELLO The Rio Bguk
▲ University guard Sundiata Gaines holds on to
the ball during the Bulldogs’ matchup against
Georgia Tech Jan. 9.
Bulldogs concentrate
on staying ‘balanced’
BY LAWRENCE CONNEFF
The Red & Biaik
Heading into tonight’s
SEC home opener against
Alabama, the Georgia
men's basketball team
doesn't seem concerned
with recent offensive strug
gles in the front court.
Since a mqjor increase
in competition began with
Gonzaga Jan. 5, the
Bulldogs' four main post
players have combined to
average only 13 points in
the last three games.
The Bulldogs (9-5, 0-1
SEC) have lost twice dur
ing that stretch, dropping
road contests to the afore
mentioned Gonzaga and
Mississippi State while
averaging a minuscule 65
points an outing.
Senior point guard
Sundiata Gaines said the
drop in production has
come from the guards'
inability to feed the post,
but is not indicative of a
larger problem.
“We just had a couple of
little lapses with the post,
maybe a game or two, but
I think overall, (the post
players) have been doing a
good job of dealing with
what we have so far,”
Gaines said.
"We try to keep every
thing balanced. The last
couple games, the guards
have been taking more of
the shots, but our objec
tive every game is to keep
things balanced."
Head coach Dennis
Felton also dismissed the
idea that his team recently
has been exposed in the
front court.
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MEN’S BASKETBALL
vs. Alabama
When: 7:30 tonight
Where: Stegeman Coliseum
Price: $2 with UGA ID
More Information: Tickets on
sale at the following locations:
UGA Bookstore 9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m.; Stegeman Coliseum
Ticket Booth 4 6:00 p.m. to
7:30 p.m.
“The game against
Mississippi State, we
weren’t as stubborn and
persistent about attacking
the rim in order to make
extra plays, and guards
were as big a part of that
as any post players.”
The Bulldogs’ front
court may be faced with
its biggest challenge
yet when the Crimson
Tide (11-6, 0-2) visits
Stegeman Coliseum at 7:30
tonight.
Alabama's Richard
Hendrix is second in the
SEC in scoring with 19.5
points per game and aver
ages more than 10
rebounds good for 12th
in the country.
Swingman Alonzo Gee
also ranks in the top 10 in
the league in points (16.9)
and rebounds (8.3).
Georgia’s Terrance
Woodbury said the
Bulldogs’ best chance to
equal Alabama's produc
tion in the post is simply
to stay persistent.
“We can’t just use our
guards and expect to score
70 or 80 points a night and
win consistently,”
Woodbury said.
KARLOVIC
IVO KARLOVIC
6-FEET-10-INCHES
28 years old from and
resides in Zagreb,
Croatia
Ranked 24 in the ATP
world rankings
Already the tallest man
on the ATP Tour history
Became just the fourth
person in ATP history to
get more than 1,000
aces in one season in
2007
In 2005, he tied the
record for most aces in
an ATP match with 51
against Daniel Bracciali,
but went on to lose the
match
Hit a 153 mph serve last
year to rank just behind
Andy Roddick for the
world's fastest serve
Hit a second serve of
144 mph in 2007, anew
world record for fastest
second serve
Has won three ATP sin
gles titles and one ATP
doubles title
Since beginning his pro
fessional career in 2000,
has earned $2 million
GYMDOGS: McCool ‘hooked’ to Special Olympians
► From Page 1
because she didn’t want to
let her team down. It’s
wonderful.”
Almost an hour after
she promised aloud that
she would need to leave
for tutoring, McCool was
still attending to those
remaining in the group. “I
just can’t leave," McCool
said.
Gym Dogs head coach
Suzanne Yoculan said she
would send one or two
members of her team to
participate each week, but
McCool was there
every Wednesday without
fail.
The sophomore got
involved with the program
because of a social work
SPORTS
U
TITANS TOWER
OVER COMPETITION
Duo to set ATP height record
BY TYLER ESTEP
The Red & Black
A standard tennis court is an expansive 36 feet
wide.
John Isner and Ivo Karlovic have it covered.
The 6-foot-9-inch Georgia graduate and his new
6-foot-10-inch Croatian doubles partner are making
history at the Australian Open this month, becoming
the tallest doubles team in tennis history. With a
combined wingspan of about 18 feet including rack
ets, the two up-and-coming tennis stars should pose
quite a threat to any team who must face them. The
two have never played together, but practiced for the
first time on Saturday.
Isner. who graduated last spring and already has
made a singles splash on the pro tour, and Karlovic,
who led the ATP in aces last year, will create a very
interesting matchup for their opponents.
Both have serves clocked at more than 130 mph.
Despite lack of playing experience together, that
could prove a daunting task for any opposing pair.
“We’re both expecting to make a run in this tour
nament." Isner, who lost his first round singles match
to France’s Fabrice Santoro, told USA Today. “We’re
going to pose a lot of challenges to any team.”
Karlovic and Isner play their first-round doubles
match Wednesday against Argentines Juan Pablo
Brzezicki and Agustin Calleri. To say the two are at a
heigh disadvantage is a bit of an understatement as
Calleri is just 5-foot-11-inches while Brzezicki is
5-foot-10-inches giving them a disadvantage of just
under two feet.
class she was tak
ing in the fall that
required 25 hours
of community ser
vice.
“At first I didn’t
know what to
expect, but they
hooked me the
first time I came,”
McCool said. “No
matter what
they’re doing, even if it’s
just dancing, we have a
blast.”
McCool’s connection to
the Special Olympians
does not stem from their
disadvantage, but rather
their common love for
gymnastics. "I can’t explain
the feeling that you get
working with kids that love
your sport just as much as
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you do and seeing
the joy they get
out of it, even if
it’s just an hour a
day,” McCool
said.
While mem
bers of the Special
Olympics must
live with their
condition for the
rest of their lives,
JL
MCCOOL
McCool and the other Gym
Dogs offer an opportunity
for them to stand on equal
ground with some of the
finest gymnasts in the
world, brought together by
the love of their sport.
"It was such a blessing
that I had that class,”
McCool said. "I had 15
hours, and I was actually
thinking about dropping
ISNER
JOHN ISNER
6-FEET-9-INCHES
22 years old from
Greensboro, N.C.; Now
resides in Tampa, Fla.
Career record of 8-4 in
singles matches and
1-3 in doubles matches
Second-tallest player in
ATP history (behind
doubles partner
Karlovic)
Graduated from the
University in 2007
ranked No. 2 in NCAA
Georgia lost just one
match in the final two
seasons with Isner play
ing No. 1 singles
Currently ranked No.
109 in ATP singles
rankings just months
after graduating college
and starting out at No.
839
Won his first tournament
out of college, the USA
Fl 4 Futures, beating
the top three seeds
along the way
Avid sports fan of
Carolina Panthers and
Carolina Hurricanes (as
well as the Bulldogs)
it, and I am just so glad
that I have the opportuni
ty to work with these kids
every week.”
Suzanne and her team
mates were honored on
the floor of Stegeman
Coliseum during the Gym
Dogs' Sneak-A-Peek Jan.
5, but they will step onto
an even larger stage this
weekend.
The Winter Special
Olympics games for the
state of Georgia take place
on Friday, Saturday and
Sunday at sites through
out Cobb County. More
than 2,000 athletes will
compete in basketball,
bowling, floor hockey, ice
skating, roller skating,
power lifting and gymnas
tics.