Georgia 2021-22 Preseason Prospectus Dawgs In The NBA The 2020 SEC Fresh- man of the Year, Anthony Edwards became UGA’s first-ever No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. He en- joyed a sensational initial season with the Minnesota Timberwolves and was a unanimous choice to the NBA’s All-Rookie team after being named Western Conference Rookie of the Month three times. Anthony Edwards t t t t Following his sophomore year at UGA, Nic Claxton was selected by the Brook- lyn Nets with the first pick of the second round in the 2019 NBA Draft. Claxton became a key cog in the Nets’ rotation during his “sophomore” season in the league. Steve Nash said Claxton “may be our best defender” on Brooklyn’s star-studded roster. Nicolas Claxton t t t t After earning SEC Player of the Year honors, Kenta- vious Caldwell-Pope was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. KCP helped lead the Lakers to the 2020 NBA Champi- onship. He connected on 45 3-pointers in the 2020 Playoffs, the second-most ever by a Laker in the post- season behind only Kobe Bryant (49 in 2010). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Table Of Contents 2021-22 Preseason Information BASKETBALL QUICK FACTS UGA Quick Facts ............................................................1 Head Coach: ...........Tom Crean (Central Michigan ‘89) Basketball Staff & Roster Breakdown ..........................1 ...................... 397-280 (.586) in 21 seasons overall Preseason Overview ................................................. 2-3 ............................ 41-49 (.456) in 3 seasons at UGA Staff Bios Assistant Coaches: .. Steve McClain (Chadron St. ‘84), Tom Crean ...................... 4 Brian Fish ....................... 6 ......................................... Wade Mason (Tulane ‘01), Steve McClain..................5 J.D. Powell ...................... 7 .................................. John Linehan (Providence ‘02) Wade Mason ....................5 Tim Dather ..................... 7 Director of Player Development: John Linehan .................. 6 ........................................... Brian Fish (Marshall ‘89) Player Bios Director of Recruiting & Basketball Operations: Jabri Abdur-Rahim ........ 8 Cam McDowell ..............16 ...........................................J.D. Powell (Clemson ‘01) Tyrone Baker ..................... 9 Tyron McMillan .............17 Director of Strategy: .............Tim Dather (Indiana ‘13) Noah Baumann .............10 Jonathan Ned ................18 Director of Administration: Braelen Bridges ..............11 Kario Oquendo ............. 19 ............................ Heather McCormick (Georgia ‘94) Aaron Cook ....................12 Dalen Ridgnal...............20 Creative Services Director: Jaxon Etter .................... 13 Josh Taylor ....................21 ......................................Jordan Lange (UM-Flint ‘12) P.J. Horne ......................14 Christian Wright .......... 22 Strength & Conditioning: Jailyn Ingram ................ 15 ..................................... Sean Hayes (Springfield ‘96) 2020-21 Review Athletic Trainer: ......... Lance Schuemann (Florida ‘07) Overall & SEC Individual Statistics ............................ 23 Graduate Managers:.............................. Peter Fusilero, Game-by-Game Results ...........................................24 ................................... Sean O’Brien & Joseph Rogers Game-by-Game Team Statistics .............................. 25 2020-21 Records: .............. 14-12; 7-11 in SEC (10th) Single-Game Individual & Team Superlatives ..........26 2021-22 ROSTER BREAKDOWN Starting Returning: (1) UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. GP-GS PPG RPG Location: ..................................................... Athens, Ga. 24 P.J. Horne B 6-6 225 Gr. 26-26 8.5 3.4 Founded:.................................................................1785 Letterwinners Returning: (5) (non starters’ stats below) Enrollment: .......................39,147 (29,765 undergrad) No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. GP-GS PPG RPG Conference: ..............................................Southeastern * 11 Jaxon Etter B 6-4 205 Jr. 20-0 2.4 1.1 Nickname: ....................................................... Bulldogs 4 Tyron McMillan B 6-9 220 Jr. 20-2 1.9 1.3 Mascot: .................................................................Uga X 13 Jonathan Ned B 6-9 220 Sr. 14-0 1.6 1.4 Arena: ............................. Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) 12 Josh Taylor B 6-9 215 So. 7-0 0.3 1.6 Colors: .........................................................Red & Black Newcomers: (10) President: ........... Jere W. Morehead (Georgia, J.D. ‘80) No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics: 0 Jailyn Ingram 6-7 215 6th Madison, Ga. ................................................Josh Brooks (LSU ’02) 1 Jabri Abdur-Rahim 6-8 210 So. South Orange, N.J. Faculty Athletics Representative: 2 Cam McDowell 6-5 185 Fr. Powder Springs, Ga. 3 Kario Oquendo 6-4 210 So. Titusville, Fla. ....................................... David Shipley (Oberlin ‘72) 5 Christian Wright 6-3 185 Fr. Alpharetta, Ga. 10 Aaron Cook 6-2 185 6th St. Louis, Mo. UGA SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS 15 Dalen Ridgnal 6-7 200 Jr. Kansas City, Mo. Loran Smith Director of Sports Communications: 20 Noah Baumann 6-6 210 Sr. Phoenix, Ariz. ...................................... Claude Felton (Georgia ‘70) 23 Braelen Bridges 6-11 240 Sr. Atlanta, Ga. Assistant AD & MBB Contact: 35 Tyrone Baker 6-11 210 Fr. Fort Myers, Fla. ....................................... Mike Mobley (Georgia ‘89) Starters Lost: (4) Mobley Email / cell: No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. GP-GS PPG RPG .......... [email protected] / 706-540-7486 15 Sahvir Wheeler 5-10 180 So. 26-26 14.0 3.8 Assistant AD: ...................................Christopher Lakos 10 Toumani Camara 6-8 220 So. 25-25 12.8 7.7 5 Justin Kier 6-5 190 Gr. 25-25 9.5 3.7 Associate SIDs: ..........Leland Barrow, Steven Colquitt, 14 Tye Fagan 6-3 195 Jr. 26-25 9.2 4.3 ......................................... Tim Hix & Tray Littlefield Letterwinners Lost: (8) (non starters’ stats below) Assistant SIDs: .....................Karra Logan, Jake Stanley No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. GP-GS PPG RPG ...................................................... & Sean Stevenson 0 K.D. Johnson 5-10 190 Fr. 16-0 13.5 2.8 Media Ops Coordinator: ...........................Kim Vachon 4 Andrew Garcia 6-6 225 Gr. 26-0 8.7 4.0 Graduate Assistants/Interns: ...............Abby Fletcher, 3 Christian Brown 6-6 215 So. 17-1 4.4 2.5 .........................................Olivia Puttin & Jake Golob 23 Mikal Starks 6-0 185 Jr. 18-0 0.2 0.7 Photographers: .......... Mackenzie Miles & Tony Walsh * – Denotes walk-on @UGABASKETBALL 2021-22 GEORGIA BASKETBALL • 1 Preseason Overview NEW BULLDOGS TO BE KEY DURING 2021-22 SEASON Five returning Bulldogs will Two seasons ago, Taylor was the welcome 10 newcomers to the only prep player in 24 Gwinnett Georgia Basketball roster for the County High Schools to average a 2021-22 season. double-double, scoring 11.7 points and grabbing 10.7 rebounds per THE OLD DOGS game for Norcross High. Taylor, a Graduate P.J. Horne, senior consensus top-150 recruit nation- Jonathan Ned, juniors Jaxon Etter ally in the Class of 2020, will look and Tyron McMillan and soph- to significantly increase his contri- omore Josh Taylor comprise the butions in Athens this winter. quintet of Bulldogs back from an exciting campaign last winter. NEW TO THE “G” Horne, a Tifton, Ga., native Eligibility wise, the ledger of who played his first three seasons first-year Bulldogs includes three at Virginia Tech, was one of only freshmen (Tyrone Baker, Camron two Georgia players to start all 26 McDowell and Christian Wright), games in 2020-21. Though he was two sophomores (Jabri Abdur-Ra- one of the team’s most physical him and Kario Oquendo), one junior post presences, Horne connect- (Dalen Ridgnal), two seniors (Noah ed on a team-high 46 3-pointers Baumann and Braelen Bridges) and last season. His most memorable two “super” sixth-year seniors shot was well within the arc, how- (Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram). ever. Horne converted on a layup With the NCAA awarding an ex- with just 1.3 seconds remaining to t tra year for eligibility for the 2020- secure a 63-62 win over Kentucky and P.J. Horne’s layup 21 season, Abdur-Rahim, Baumann, snap a 14-game losing streak to the with 1.3 seconds Bridges, Oquendo and Ridgnal all have Wildcats. remaining gave Georgia its the potential to play one more season Etter’s role for the Bulldogs grew first victory over Kentucky than their classification would tradition- considerably last season. A walk-on, since 2013. ally indicate. Etter played nominal minutes in nine Abdur-Rahim, a transfer from Virgin- outings as a freshman. Last season, he logged quality ia, was a consensus four-star and top-50 prospect in the PT in the majority of the 20 contests he checked in to. Class of 2020. He was tabbed No. 38 overall by ESPN.com Etter gave Georgia it first lead – and one it never relin- and in the 247Sports.com composite, as well as No. 41 by quished – against Samford in non-conference play. He 247Sports.com and No. 45 by rivals.com. Adbur-Rahim was one of two Bulldogs with a better scoring average was New Jersey’s 2019 Player of the Year, but missed all in SEC action (3.2 ppg) than overall (2.4 ppg) and also but two games of his senior season at Blair Academy due upped his efficiency in conference action, improving to an injury. from a 63.0 percent overall field goal clip to 71.4 percent Baker played at Hightower High in