Newspaper Page Text
4
Wednesday, November io, aoio | The Red a Buck
Georgia stuck
in top division
Take a look at the SEC divisional standings for
football.
Notice how all the best teams in conference
this year are in the West? Auburn, LSU, Alabama,
Arkansas and Mississippi State five ranked teams
loaded into one division.
Meanwhile, look at the East. Just two ranked
teams. And they’re barely ranked, for that matter.
Feel a little bitter that Georgia’s football division
isn’t nearly what it used to be? Well don’t worry,
because basketball is here —and the situation is the
exact opposite in the SEC.
The preseason AP Top 25 polls have three teams
from the SEC East ranked: No. 9 Florida, No. 11
Kentucky and No. 23 Tennessee. Georgia isn’t ranked
just yet but received 67 votes, third-most of any
unranked team.
It says good things about Georgia that it was
picked to finish third in the division by a media poll.
That means they’re being held in the same light as
the teams that already have a ranking.
The most important thing is winning the games
that matter. The Bulldogs' 5-11 conference record last
year was, in large part, due to a series of close losses.
Of the six losses by four points or less, five of them
I Mitch
Blomekt
out the starting five in the late minutes of the game,
head coach Mark Fox has a few more guys to cycle in
and out in crucial situations.
The Bulldogs should also be more disciplined as
well with so many seasoned guys putting them in
prime position for a top seed in the SEC Tournament.
But Georgia shouldn’t fret too much about not
winning the division or being seeded No. 1 or No. 2.
With the conference being so lopsided, even a
fourth-place finish behind the three aforementioned
ranked teams would stage the Bulldogs against the
No. 5 seed from the West. And if the West is as weak
as we assume they are, that would put Georgia
against one of the lesser teams in the conference.
So there’s plenty of leeway to be had. Take last
year’s tournament, for instance. The Bulldogs the
No. 6 and lowest-seeded East team faced the
West’s No. 3 seed Arkansas —and won 77-64.
From there, it's up to the team’s Improved talent
and depth to do the rest. Two First-Team AU-SEC
selections and aren’t going to just disappear, barring
injuries. Knock on wood.
Or, Georgia can just do what they did in 2008. and
Cinderella-run it to the SEC title after going 4-12 in
conference play during the regular season. Although
this year, it might not be a Cinderella run if it happens.
—Mitch Blomert is a sportswriter
for The Red & Black
i l ITIUttiUTV [
I & eMMMfnS KF*■iJBSMHHI
aw ■ anu| Hnnnn t ~•■ < v
jp> \JL jf * A . /“
were against SEC oppo
nents not a good way to
get a higher seed when the
tournament rolls around.
Luckily, some added
depth this season should
help combat those close
losses from happening
again. Instead of wearing
- r ‘ • • 4 ' ' '
gpr
<***> itm %”4:
K
FILE | Tit Ktb * Black
▲ Junior Trey Thompkins, the Preseason SEC Player of the Year, Is one of the major reasons
Georgia coaches and fans have such high expectations for the Bulldogs for the 2010-11 season.
DUO: Returnees give Dogs shot at title
► From Page 1
Thompkins remembers
in detail the night he told
Fox he would return for
his junior year.
It was last April, at the
team's end-of-season ban
quet, when players were
receiving awards for their
individual accomplish
ments throughout the sea
son. Fox then recognized
Thompkins, praising him
for his efforts and keeping
the audience laughing with
a few jokes.
When Fox concluded
his recognition, Thompkins
caught his audience off
guard with one simple
statement.
“Don't worry, coach,” he
said. “I’m coming back.”
Thompkins knew he
wanted to stay in Athens,
but it wasn’t due to a lack
of skill mock drafts had
made it clear he was ready
to go pro. It was what he
wanted to accomplish in
college before he left that
brought him back.
Leslie had just
announced his decision to
stay for his junior year, and
Thompkins wanted anoth
er year with the Bulldogs
so he could get the one
thing he was missing in
college —a winning team.
“I wanted to be known
as a winner,” Thompkins
said. “Winning is impor
SPORTS
tant to me and I feel like I
couldn’t leave the
University without leaving
a good taste in the mouth
of all the fans. They have
definitely come out and
supported us, so I want to
give the best game that I
can and do as much as
possible."
Thompkins' return has
bolstered the Bulldogs’
talent and depth, and if he
can repeat last season’s
17.7 points and 8.6
rebounds per game, the
extra scoring can turn
close losses into wins.
“We knew we were close,
and it brought a level of
confidence to us,”
Thompkins said. “But it
also let us know that we
had to work that much
harder because there were
some things we weren’t
doing on the defensive end
that had to be done, and
now this year we plan on
taking care of that.”
The close losses and
season of mediocrity didn't
make Thompkins want to
leave the University. His
friendships with his team
mates had become too
tightly tied, and his drive
to play for a winner was
much too pressing to walk
away from Stegeman
Coliseum for good.
But if there was anyone
he wanted to stay close to,
it was Fox the coach
who made him want to
work for his achievements.
“Once he got me to
learn how to play hard all
the time, then we clicked,”
Thompkins said. “He put
levels of responsibility in
my hands and once I start
ed handling my business,
then he confided in me
more, and he would ask
me questions he would ask
former players that went
on to play professional.
There was just a level of
friendship after I became a
smarter and stronger play
er.”
By the time the season
was over, Thompkins knew
he was not ready to leave
Fox or Athens, which is
why he will still wear his
Georgia jersey this sea
son.
"I've learned a lot as a
person as a player being
at the University of
Georgia," Thompkins said.
“I’ve been through a lot
and it’s made me stron
ger.”
• **
Leslie’s high school
coach, Phil McCrary of
Columbia High in Decatur,
has been an active part of
the junior’s life, even after
high school.
“He’s like a father figure
to me,” Leslie said.
So when McCrary told
Leslie he still had things in
his game to work on, Leslie
listened.
“I knew I wasn’t pre
pared for the next level,”
Leslie said. “I had a lot of
things to work on ball
handling, jump shot.”
At 6-foot-4, Leslie is
moving from his native for
ward position to the shoot
ing guard position, a spot
more suited for his height.
He will likely play guard in
the NBA. But Leslie knew
that attempting to play
guard at the next level
without formal training or
game experience at the
position was a risky move.
So when he chose to
return for another year at
Georgia, Leslie knew it
was exactly what Fox
wanted him to do.
“He wasn’t surprised,"
Leslie said. “I think he
knew I was going to come
back. He always asked me
if I needed stuff to work on
and I always told him ball
handling, so he knew I had
things to work on over the
summer.”
Leslie spent the sum
mer working on ball han
dling and jump shots —a
must-have skill for his
position, while testing
himself against NBA play
ers at the Leßron James
Skills Academy in July in
Chicago.
Leslie will play in the
back court with point
guard Dustin Ware and
newcomer Gerald
Robinson, but will still get
a chance to do what he
does best: dunk.
He led the team with 36
of them last year, becom
ing the Bulldogs’ newest
version of a human high
light reel.
“I wanted to come back
and give Georgia fans and
everybody an SEC
Championship, and do
what I can to help us win,”
Leslie said.
He’ll get a chance to do
just that alongside one of
his best friends, one with
whom he has quite a bit in
common.
They’re both juniors
They’re both All-SEC
First-Team selections.
They both turned down
the NBA to be teammates
for another year.
Leslie made his decision
to come back to Georgia
two weeks before
Thompkins did, not know
ing that his teammate had
Intentions of making the
same decision. When
Thompkins announced his
return for his junior year, it
only made Leslie more
excited about this season,
and made Thompkins an
even closer friend.
“We’ve always been
close, even when we were
freshmen,” Leslie said.”
When he made the deci
sion, I was happy he decid
ed to come back. With me
and him, we can be a big
problem for the SEC or
whoever we’re playing.”