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Wednesday, January 21, 2009 | The Red & Black
8
Felton’s job security intact? Better not bet on it
Consider this: Las Vegas
puts out a betting line on
how many games Georgia
basketball coach Dennis
Felton has left and the
over/under is 14.
Would you take this
bet?
Thing is, I have a feeling
well-known risk takers
such as Phil Helmuth
(poker superstar), Les
Miles (Riverboat gambler)
and Charles Barkley
(addicted gambler) would
stay as far away as they
could from that line.
Needless to say, Fire
Felton 2009 is upon us and
gaining momentum.
Winning last year’s SEC
Tournament bought Felton
another year, and the poten
tial this year was enormous.
But 18 games into the
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season, potential has given
way to a 9-9 mark with
message board goons
champing at the bit to see
Felton pack his bags and
hit the road.
As the basketball beat
writer for The Red &
Black, I’ve sat in
Stegeman Coliseum, hud
dled in a car in 26 degree
weather listening to radio
broadcasts and have flown
back from Chicago after a
34-point drumming to
Illinois.
It’s one thing to person
ally attack Felton online.
But what’s really strategi
cally lacking?
1) Felton’s recruiting
attempts draw more
laughs than Barkley per
forming a field sobriety
test.
fflk £ IErcBER
far
The lack of creating
inroads into Georgia high
schools is the blight on
Georgia’s program, and
Felton doesn’t have the
vaccination.
Georgia is a hotbed of
talent, annually producing
top prospects ripe for the
picking for an in-state uni
versity.
I have comprised a
starting five of college
players from the Peach
State who Felton whiffed
on.
G - Senario Hillman
v’#.-’
SIGN A LEASE TODAY & SAVE $l5O
SPORTS
(Wilkinson), Alabama, So. -
14 ppg, 3 rpg.
G - Jodie Meeks (Norcross),
Kentucky, Jr. - 26 ppg, 4 rpg.
G - Chris Allen
(Meadowcreek), Michigan
State, So. -10 ppg, 3 rpg.
F- Cameron Tatum
(Tucker), Tennessee, Jr. - 10
ppg, 3 rpg.
F- Al-Parouq Aminu
(Norcross), Wake Forest, Fr.
- 13 ppg, 9 rpg.
In Scout.com’s top 14
rated players in the state of
Georgia for 2009, the
Bulldogs have picked up
zero commits.
That means I have
recruited as many top 14
players this year as Felton
(to his credit, he did snag
the No. 15 guy).
Of those 14, Georgia
Tech has four (including
top prospect Derrick
Favors), and even Furman
has one. You read correct
ly. Colin Reddick of
McEachem is going to be a
Paladin rather than a
Bulldog.
That’s Reddickculous.
2) Georgia’s offense looks
like Kool-Aid at a grown
man’s party.
This contributes to
recruiting, as today’s players
want to play up-and-down,
pushing the tempo, seeking
transition opportunities.
Felton’s offense is slow,
methodical and as boring as
playing shuffleboard with
your grandparents.
Cuts, screens, penetra
tion and ball movement are
rare luxuries when Georgia
is in its motion offense.
Georgia continually fed the
rv>
post Sunday against
Kentucky. The result was
an all-out block party as
Kentucky swatted 11
Georgia shots away.
Georgia is averaging 66
points a game, last in the
SEC. Barkley most likely
has more points accumu
lated on his driving record.
Felton himself has a
DVD entitled “The
Structured 4-out 1-In
Motion Offense.” It’s time
for a film session, or a re
taping.
Here’s a title idea for
the next video, coach:
“Structure is Good,
Scoring is a Necessity.”
And maybe your distrib
utors should rethink the 40
bucks they are asking for.
3) Former Vice-
President Dick Cheney has
a more accurate and reli
able shot than Georgia.
The Bulldogs’ 42 per
cent shooting from the
field: last in the SEC.
For Felton’s offensive
philosophy to operate,
shots must be converted.
Spending 25-plus seconds
in a half-court set with lit
tle ball movement, only to
see another shot clank
from 15 feet or beyond is
getting frustrating.
4) Georgia has shown
less sign of improvement
than said Barkley’s gam
bling habit. The same
problems that plagued the
Bulldogs in November
(scoring, rebounding and
turnovers) still persist in
the middle of January.
The beauty of coaching
comes from adjustment,
formulating new strategy
and altering schemes to fit
players’ strengths. The
round pegs are not going
in the square holes.
Due to these problems,
the Georgia men’s basket
ball team is getting waxed
more often than a
Brazilian supermodel.
Felton’s team perfor
mance has some fans fold
ing, as the coach is now
gambling with his future.
Felton, like Barkley at a
poker table in Vegas, needs
an ace on the river to save
his job.
At this rate Felton
won’t see the flop.
Fletcher Page is a sports
loriter for The
Red & Black.