Bottom Line
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Right now, we should be two months deep into the 2020 Major League Baseball season.
We should all be assessing which teams are overperforming or underperforming and talking about who’s deserving of an All-Star appearance.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. The MLB owners and the MLB Players Association are doing everything they can to ensure that baseball is started safely and reasonably, and as soon as possible. Or maybe they aren’t.
If you scour the internet for baseball news these days, instead of the aforementioned articles and arguments and debates about standings and stats, you’ll be treated to an ongoing back and forth between the billionaires that populate the fraternity of team owners and the millionaires that make up the MLBPA. It’s been contentious, to say the least.
The players agreed to take a pay cut when the season was originally suspended way back in March. Then the owners composed a proposal on how to get the season started and presented it to the players, which asked for a second pay cut. The players were apparently very unhappy about it.
Ever since then it’s been headline after headline about the players being upset about the owners’ various proposals and amendments. Some players, like Tampa Bay Rays pitchers Blake Snell, even going on the record and saying they’d refuse to play for a (further) reduced salary.
Snell’s rationale was that he and the rest of the players would be assuming all of the COVID-19-related risk. Which is, of course, true.
Regardless of how the logistics work, the players would be exposed to each other by necessity. That would come in the game, obviously, but also wherever they’d be holed up to live for however long the season lasts.
Assuming they’d want to see their families, ever, they’d also be adding risk to their wives and children too. The owners, by virtue of not having a role that requires them to attend the ballgames, ever, would not need to change a thing about their socially distanced status quo.
It’s a reasonable concern, and it’s true, the owners assume no risk to their health and the players basically throw what the CDC recommends to the wind.
But in a way it still feels like both parties are being greedy. The world desperately needs sports right now.
The amount of money that the already-very-wealthy make during the season isn’t going to lessen their risk of contracting COVID, so it feels like they’re just squabbling over riches.
For a game that falls further behind football every year in terms of national popularity, this is a bad look.
The last time players and owners had a spat like this was the players’ strike of 94-95, and the vocal members of the union, like the Braves’ own Tom Glavine, were voraciously booed when play finally resumed.
Fans, many of them working class, had no patience for millionaires pinching pennies.
In fact, it took Cal Ripken completing a journey he had started over a decade before as well as two over-juiced sluggers competing for a home run record to earn back the adoration of the fans.
It’s worse now because of the state of the world. We’re starved for something unifying, and MLB has the chance to be that unifier. Regardless of who’s right or wrong in the ongoing battle between owners and players, they’re blowing the chance.
I’m not saying there’s an easy solution, or that the players should just concede to whatever the owners demand. That’s ridiculous and the owners are just as seemingly greedy in this situation.
It’s disappointing, nonetheless, that the two groups of people can’t come together when it would be a huge feather in their cap to do so.
Atlanta Buzz?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Geoff Collins enters his second year at Georgia Tech after coming up with the best recruiting class in years for the Jackets.
Change is in the air in Atlanta. Will the buzz return in 2020? Let’s take a look at the Georgia Tech 2020 schedule and my win/loss predictions.
*ACC games
Thursday, Sept. 3 – Clemson* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): Will the Jackets be ready for prime time on a Thursday night kickoff to open the season?
The answer is no. Trevor Lawrence and Clemson start another college football playoff run, and drill the Jackets 48-13. GT is 0-1 on the year.
Saturday, Sept. 12 – Gardner-Webb (Bobby Dodd Stadium): Just what the doctor ordered for Tech or you would hope so. GT wins 33-14 and goes to 1-1 on the season.
Saturday, Sept. 19 – UCF (Bobby Dodd Stadium): As I look down the rest of the schedule this looks like one of the best opportunities for a win at home against the Knights.
I feel generous today by picking a GT win over UCF 24-22. Jackets go to 2-1 on the season.
Saturday, Sept. 26 – at North Carolina* (Chapel Hill, N.C.): Mack Brown is going to get Carolina back on track. The Jackets can be competitive here, but will not know how to win a road game like this yet. Paul Johnson left this program in bad shape.
Carolina beats GT 28-16. Jackets drop to 2-2 on the year.
Saturday, Oct. 3 – at Virginia Tech* (Blacksburg, Va.): October and November look bleak for the Jackets. Teams trying to rebuild, don’t pencil in wins in Blacksburg. VT 35-17. Jackets drop to 2-3.
Saturday, Oct. 17 – Virginia* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): Virginia is one of the better teams in the ACC and GT is not quite there yet. Virginia went the Orange Bowl last season and Tech was starting fights with George Pickens. Virginia 41-21. Jackets fall to 2-4.
Saturday, Oct. 24 – at Pitt* (Pittsburgh, Pa.): Could Tech win this one? Maybe in Atlanta, but not in Pittsburgh. Pitt wins 27-23. Ramblin’ Wreck falls to 2-5.
Saturday, Oct. 31 – at Syracuse* (Syracuse, N.Y.): The Cuse will beat GT at home 27-20. Jackets fall to 2-6 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 7 – Duke* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): The Jackets will have this one circled on the calendar because this will be a winnable game. The Yellow Jackets beat Duke 35-23 to go to 3-6 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 14 – Notre Dame (Mayhem at MBS, Mercedes-Benz Stadium): Nope not happening. Notre Dame wins 34-13. Jackets drop to 3-7 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Miami (Fla.)* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): I’m not sold on Miami being a good team in 2020.
Yeah, I know they are the U, but they got shut out by Louisiana Tech in a bowl game last season. GT upset Miami in 2019, and this will be the Georgia Tech upset special for 2020. Yellow Jackets beat Miami in Atlanta 31-28 to go to 4-7 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 28 – at Georgia (Athens, Ga.): Georgia will maul Tech in Athens by the tune of 49-10 and it could be worse.
GT will finish the 2020 season with a record of 4-8.
Best case scenario for the Yellow Jackets would be 7-5 and a bowl game if they can get by North Carolina, Pitt and Syracuse, and worst case scenario could be 1-11 with the only win being over Gardner-Webb.
Another couple of recruiting cycles that focus on the Atlanta metro area will be needed to rebuild this roster.
Will the buzz return in 2020? Not quite yet, but I hear a buzzing sound on the horizon for say 2021 or 2022.
Top Tight Ends
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As I continue my position-by-position analysis toward the best returning players in the SEC, this week we look at the tight ends. They are the unsung heroes when it comes to pass catchers.
Tight ends have some of the most important responsibilities on offense. They have to effectively block and move the chains on key third downs. All the players on this list have displayed these traits, and they are looking to deliver in the clutch in 2020.
- Tre’ McKitty, Georgia: With Eli Wolf and Charlie Woerner departed, it was necessary for Kirby Smart to go out and find an available veteran to work with an otherwise young and inexperienced group of tight ends.
McKitty, a former three-star tight end, has spent the last three seasons at Florida State. McKitty’s stats at Florida State were 50 receptions for 520 yards. Georgia landed the number two high school tight end in 2020 in Darnell Washington.
They will likely be involved in one of the more explosive 1,2 punches at the tight end position in the SEC.
- Jamal Pettigrew, LSU: Jamal Pettigrew is a redshirt senior that missed all the 2018 season with a torn ACL. With limited playing time in 2019, Pettigrew caught only 2 passes for 17 yards.
LSU secured the number one tight end in the 2020 recruiting class. Arik Gilbert, a 6-foot 6 253 pound athlete from Marietta, Georgia.
LSU is in a similar boat as Georgia, as Pettigrew will be the experienced player mentoring the athletic freshman.
- Kenny Yeboah, Ole Miss: Yeboah is a graduate transfer from Temple. The 6 foot 5, 240 pound Yeboah comes to Ole Miss after catching 47 passes for 538 yards and 6 touchdowns during his time at Temple.
He shows impressive bursts from the tight end position by averaging 12.3 yards per catch, including his longest of 53 yards.
Head Coach Lane Kiffin’s system fit Yeboah’s skill set. Kiffin’s tight end last season at Florida Atlantic won the Mackey Award for the nation’s top tight end after leading D1 Football with 65 catches.
- Jalen Wydermeyer, Texas A&M: Wydermeyer made a name for himself in the SEC and led the Aggies in touchdown receptions as a true freshman.
He was Freshman All American, SEC All Freshman and second team All SEC after catching 32 passes for 447 yards and 6 touchdowns.
A strong bond developed between Wydermeyer and quarterback Kellen Mond over the course of the 2019 season.
The 6 foot 5, 260 pounder looks to take advantage of size and frame in 2020. Jimbo Fisher has a long track record of utilizing the tight end in the passing game.
- Kyle Pitts, Florida: Pitts is the most athletic and dangerous tight end in the SEC, hands down. He has tremendous size standing 6 foot 6, 240 pounds and he uses his frame to his advantage.
Pitts had at least five or more receptions in four different games in 2019.
After an impressive breakout year in 2019, Pitts is ready to take his talent to the next level.
He recorded 54 receptions for 649 yards and 5 touchdowns and earned first team ALL SEC. With the departure of four starting wide receivers, Pitts should earn more targets from Kyle Trask.
He is too fast for linebackers and too big for safeties in 1-on-1 coverage. Pitts could improve his blocking, but remains an exploitable mismatch in the passing game.
Just outside the top five: Major Tennison, Alabama; Austin Pope, Tennessee; Hudson Henry Arkansas; Break out player John Samuel Shenker, Auburn.
Down Here
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Free agency and the NFL Draft have already taken place so we have an idea of what each roster will look like.
The NFC South has received a lot of attention with the arrival of Tom Brady to Tampa. Let’s take a look around the division and make some predictions.
Tampa Bay: The Buccaneers made the biggest splash in free agency by signing Tom Brady. They also traded for his former retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.
They drafted Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs in the first round. Wirfs played 10 games at right tackle and three at left tackle last season. He was named an All-American and he should be able to help protect Brady.
Tampa Bay ranked 25th in total defense and they probably will struggle again in 2020.
The Bucs have received a lot of hype this off season. I don’t think they can live up to it. Brady will turn 43 in August and he’s going in to his 20th season.
Think back to Peyton Manning’s final season when his play drastically deteriorated. I think age and attrition will hamper Brady. The Bucs will win 8-9 games, but they will not be legitimate contenders.
Carolina: The Panthers got rid of their franchise quarterback Cam Newton and signed Teddy Bridgewater.
They are led by All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. He’s really the only weapon on offense and they lack a talented wide receiver.
Carolina used all seven draft picks on defensive players. They did struggle defensively in 2019, ranking 31st in total defense. They gave up 28.8 points per game.
The best-case scenario would be for three or four of the players they drafted to step in and contribute immediately. That would mean they have young players making mistakes but gaining experience. The Panthers will win 4-5 games.
Atlanta: They were a tough team to figure out last season. The Falcons were bad, but they beat New Orleans and San Francisco, two of the best teams in the NFC.
They drafted two offensive linemen in the first round of the 2019 draft but they both dealt with injuries. Protecting Matt Ryan has been a recurring issue. If that can get solved, they might have one of the most potent offenses in the NFL. They still were fifth in total offense.
The running game struggled last year, and it was addressed by signing running back Todd Gurley. Gurley has dealt with a knee injury that has decreased his play significantly.
They ranked 20th in total defense. Dan Quinn’s job is on the line and I think he will be fired. Atlanta should win 7-8 games.
New Orleans: The Saints were 13-3 in 2019. They were one of the best teams in the league and they return many players from that team.
Future Hall of Fame QB Drew Brees sustained a torn ligament to his right thumb that caused him to miss five weeks. He’s also 41 years old so his window to win another Super Bowl is closing.
The offense has playmakers like Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas that defenses have to plan for. They ranked ninth in total offense and 15th in total defense.
They will win 10-11 games. New Orleans has to hope they don’t play the Vikings in the playoffs and they will have a chance to get to the Super Bowl.
Shake It Up
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
“The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles where there are no lakes. The Oilers moved to Tennessee where there is no oil. The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City where they don’t allow music”.
Even though those statements from the movie BASEketball are referencing teams moving to larger cities for profit, it also pertains to college conferences and the schools they’re affiliated with. (Missouri isn’t really in the South or the East.)
If you were to rearrange the conferences so the SEC was based on teams only from this region (NC, SC, Georgia, and Florida) instead of money, how would that look, and would it be more advantageous for all those involved?
Currently, the ACC and SEC are home to eleven teams from the area- UNC, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Miami- so they would automatically be included.
You could stop there, but due to their recent success in the football field, and the fact I like conferences to have an even number of teams, I’m going to throw Appalachian State in as well.
Now that we have the conference teams set, it’s a matter of how would this new lineup compare to the real ones. And even in the land of make believe, you start and end with football.
If you’re looking at the current overall picture, it would be a downgrade for the three teams presently in the SEC since they would be replacing programs like Alabama, LSU, and Auburn for basically Clemson and a cast of not ready for primetime players.
Of course, if I’m Georgia or Florida I’m not too upset because my path to the playoffs just became that much easier. However, that might not always be the case.
The thing that intrigues me about this lineup, and was essentially the basis for this article, is how potentially dominant this hypothetical conference could be.
I think just about everyone expects Clemson, Georgia, and Florida soon enough, to become some of the best programs in the country. Florida State and Miami may never get back to the level of dominance we saw from them during their heyday, but becoming perennial top 25 teams isn’t out of the realm of reality.
The remainder of the league would be comparable to the rest of the current SEC, if not a tad bit better, in a majority of the comparisons.
I haven’t referenced the ACC teams’ point of view because I’d like to think it’s pretty obvious, they would benefit from this configuration compared to their current one.
Much like this would be an improvement for the ACC teams in football, the same can be said for the SEC teams with basketball.
Although it may not be the most fortuitous move for those teams already playing in arguably the best basketball conference in the country, there would definitely be more exposure for Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.
I’m sure nothing like this particular alignment will ever come to fruition because as much as the NCAA loves to spout about how much they care for the student athletes, it’s all about the money.
So, instead of making the moves that would actually benefit the students and regions these schools represent, conference alignment will continue to look like it was decided by the creators of South Park and The Naked Gun movies, and the outrageous humor that goes with it.
A New-Man Day
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Every UGA fan I know is trying to find out what they can about UGA quarterback Jamie Newman, who many expect to be the starting quarterback for the University of Georgia this fall.
Newman attended Graham High School in Graham, North Carolina. He was a four-year starter at quarterback in high school. He committed to Wake Forest University to play college football. He was rated a three-star prospect coming out of high school.
Newman redshirted his first year at Wake Forest in 2016. As a backup to John Wolford in 2017, he completed two of four passes for eight yards and an interception.
Newman entered 2018 as a backup to Sam Hartman, but started the final four games after Hartman was hurt.
He was named the 2018 Birmingham Bowl MVP after throwing for 328 yards and a touchdown.
For the season, he completed 84 of 141 passes for 1,083 yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Newman beat out Hartman for the starting job entering 2019.
He enjoyed a breakout season as a redshirt junior in Wake Forest’s high-scoring offense, accounting for 32 total touchdowns, 2,868 passing yards and 574 rushing yards in 2019.
On January 10, 2020, Newman announced that he would transfer to the University of Georgia for his final year of eligibility.
He had a 10-6 record as a starter the last two seasons.
Newman will be counted on to replace Jake Fromm, while leading Georgia back to the SEC championship game for the fourth straight season. He brings a skill set to the position that UGA fans have not seen since the days of DJ Shockley and Aaron Murray; that is a QB who is true dual threat.
Newman at 6’4 and 225 pounds can run the football, and it’s on new offensive coordinator Todd Monken to make that work.
Head Coach Kirby Smart is saying all the right things about the QB position during the most unusual offseason any football coach has dealt with during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Newman is going into the fall without the benefit of a spring practice, and some are saying that he doesn’t have the reps to pick up the new offense in time for the fall. He comes to Athens with a degree from Wake Forest University so I wouldn’t worry about him not picking up the system in time.
The Question that many are asking: Will Jamie Newman be a drop off from Jake Fromm?
Many will say yes to this question, but I’m going to say it will be an upgrade and that is because Newman brings two things to UGA that Jake struggled with and that is throwing the deep ball, and being a threat with his legs.
Newman plugs into one of the most talented rosters in the country and his strengths will make the UGA offense dangerous. Georgia has talented skill people; vastly more talented that what Newman had at his disposal at Wake Forest.
Quick stats for you from 2019, Jamie Newman was ranked second behind Joe Burrow last season in throwing into tight windows and on 20 yard or more throws Newman ranked second nationally in 2019.
Newman was breakout player in 2019 and the likes of Oklahoma and Oregon wanted to plug Newman into their program badly.
Kirby Smart pulled out a huge recruiting win in landing Jamie Newman. UGA may have the best defense in the country in 2020, and now they have a true dual threat QB to run the offense. And let’s face, it’s an offense that needs major tweaks.
If Jamie Newman does what I think he can do this fall he could be a legend in the Classic City.
He has a better skill set than any other QB in the SEC East and would start for any of those teams.
Hole In One
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The sports world is still a far cry from being normal, but at least one item on my personal checklist returned on Sunday afternoon.
As has happened on countless spring and summer weekends, I accomplished half of the household chores my wife had asked of me, only to be lured to the television – and a nap – by golf.
In a charity event held at the esteemed Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson defeated Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in a skins match that raised over $5 million.
With every sport trying to figure out what strange new features will enable them to return to play as soon as possible, golf certainly seems like it can deliver the same sort of product while adhering to safety guidelines.
The lack of a crowd didn’t change my personal viewing experience. If anything, it allowed viewers to take in a spectacular Seminole Club course that had never appeared on television before.
The players wore shorts and carried their own bags, but – if anything – that made the action even more relatable to the high-handicappers watching at home who don’t play with caddies and who would never show up to a course wearing slacks on a muggy Florida afternoon.
Following Sunday’s event, it dawned on me that this could be a huge turning point for the sport and for how players choose to promote themselves.
To be sure, the marquee events on the PGA Tour and the four majors aren’t going anywhere. Ratings will be stellar if and when the tour is able to play its amended major schedule this fall, and attendance at those events figures to remain high as soon as crowds are permitted back on the links.
But as for many other dates on the golf calendar, who’s to say?
While current times are certainly an exception and not a rule, it’s not hard to fathom a future where huge names are reeled in for a payday in exclusive one-off events. Years of ratings prove that viewers follow the game’s biggest stars and plenty of non-pandemic TV specials have raked in tons of money.
If the money is there to be had, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to envision a golf club looking to make a name for itself ponying up the purse to put on a show.
If the television and online streaming eyeballs will be focused on the event, it seems like a no-brainer that top brands might organize an event featuring all the stars under their umbrella putting on a five-hour infomercial for the latest line of products.
Golf has been primetime viewing – at least during the biggest events – ever since Tiger Woods burst onto the scene. But prior to the late 90s, there was little hype for lesser events and nobody outside of the top 10-20 players in the world were getting rich off of the game.
And the truth is, anyone not consistently making cuts and finishing on the first few pages of the leaderboard every week still isn’t exactly a legend at their local bank.
It should come as no surprise that the lowest-level tour events – or those played concurrent to majors or big overseas tournaments – feature no-name players with sparse crowds and not much on the way of possible winnings.
The world’s top players already make more money in endorsements than they do through tournament checks.
If special events can guarantee big paydays – while also offering the lack of excessive media obligations, pro-ams, long days due to slow play from a 150-man field, etc. – there’s little that will stop the world’s top players from ditching smaller tournaments in favor of receiving top billing at a special event.
The Premier Golf League is currently trying to compete with the PGA. It aims to be a more global affair, playing only half as many tournaments while still offering huge purses.
However, many of the game’s biggest names have already declined potential offers to join.
But with more singular, unaffiliated events, it would be easy for big draws to pocket more money without the hassle of worldwide travel or learning the rules and format of an entirely new tour.
The PGA isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but if Sunday’s Seminole showdown proves anything, it’s that there could be more opportunities soon for the world’s top players might call in sick to lesser events in order to sneak out for a round of golf.
Wide Open
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Some wide receivers can beat you with their speed, while others can use their size and footwork as an advantage.
To be a productive wide receiver in the SEC, you have to be able to catch, block, and run crisp routes.
The SEC has produced first round wide receivers in 2019 with Jerry Jeudy (Alabama), Henry Ruggs (Alabama) and Justin Jefferson (LSU). The next class of future pro wide receivers in the SEC is ready to strike.
Here are my top five returning wide receivers in the SEC.
5.Elijah Moore, Ole Miss: Elijah Moore is more than just that guy who “pretended to pee on the field” at the Egg Bowl. Moore led all Ole Miss’s wide receivers with 67 receptions, 850 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Ole Miss’s seven other wide receivers combined for 55 catches.
With Lane Kiffen now running the show in Oxford, Moore should get even more opportunities to show he is one of the top SEC wide receivers.
4.Jaylen Waddle, Alabama: Jaylen Waddle has blazing speed. In two seasons at Alabama, Waddle caught 78 passes for 1,408 yards and 13 touchdowns, and had a breakout performance in the Iron Bowl with 230 all-purpose yards and 4 touchdowns.
Waddle’s prowess in the return game is electric. He led the nation in punt return average at 24.4 yards per return with 20 returns for 487 yards and a touchdown. He also returned five kickoffs for 175 yards and a touchdown.
3.George Pickens, Georgia: George Pickens may not have the same 2019 stats as the others on my list, but there are few receivers with his upside heading into 2020.
Pickens posted a stat line of 49 catches, 727 yards and 8 touchdowns (all SEC best for freshmen in 2019).
Pickens took his game to another level in the Sugar Bowl, making a game high 12 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown.
With new offensive coordinator Todd Monken and new quarterback Jamie Newman, Pickens’s game is about to get a lot more exciting.
2.DeVonta Smith, Alabama: It is hard to believe DeVonta Smith is already entering his senior season at Alabama. It seemed like yesterday when Smith wrote his name in college football history when he hauled in that 41-yard touchdown pass in overtime to seal a national title victory over Georgia.
In 2019, Smith caught 68 passes for 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He is a six foot one, 175-pound receiver who knows how to earn yards after the catch. Smith earned second team All-SEC and All-American honors in 2019.
Smith was one of the best playmakers in the country in 2019, with two first round draft picks on his roster. In 2020, Smith has a chance to be a bigger focal point in the offense and the opportunity to become a household name.
1.Ja’Marr Chase, LSU: The best returning wide receiver in the SEC is also last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner.
Ja’Marr Chase led the country in receiving yards with 1,780 and ended his season receiving 20 touchdowns.
Chase broke both the SEC single season receiving yards and touchdown catches, while earning unanimous All American and All SEC honors as a true sophomore.
In 2020, Chase won’t have Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow throwing to him, but nevertheless he should still have another monster season.
Just outside the top 5:Terrace Marshall, LSU; Seth Williams, Auburn; Jhamon Ausbon, Texas A&M. Break out player Osirus Mitchell, Mississippi State.
King Bees
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When we think of the best ACC basketball programs North Carolina and Duke come to mind. The conference has some other very good programs and once upon a time Georgia Tech was in that category. Let’s look at the best players in program history.
Mark Price (1982-86): He was a two-time All-American and four-time All ACC player.
Price lead the Yellow Jackets to an ACC Championship his junior year by beating North Carolina in the ACC Tournament championship game. He was the ACC Player of the Year in the 1984-85 season.
He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1991 and his jersey was retired. He holds several records and he’s the All-time leader in steals (240), consecutive games started (126), minutes played (4,604) and 3-point field goal percentage (.440). He was the first pick in the second round of the 1986 draft (25th overall) by the Dallas Mavericks.
Kenny Anderson (1989-91): He won ACC Rookie of the Year in 1990. Anderson was All ACC and All-American both years at Tech.
He averaged 23 points per game and 7 assists per game. He was a key member of the 1990 team that got to the Final Four. That team also won the ACC title. He was the second pick in the 1991 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets.
Stephon Marbury (1995-96): You may have noticed a theme here since we have another point guard on the list.
Marbury was a 1995 McDonald’s All-American along with Kevin Garnett, Antawn Jamison, Paul Pierce and Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
He averaged 18.9 ppg and 4.5 apg and was named a Third Team All-American. Tech was 13-3 in conference play which made them the regular season ACC champs.
They advanced to the ACC Tournament championship game but lost by one point to Wake Forest, led by Tim Duncan.
The Yellow Jackets got to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. He was selected fourth overall by Milwaukee in the legendary 1996 draft.
Chris Bosh (2002-03): Bosh was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2003.
He averaged 15.6 points, 9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 31 games. Georgia Tech had a disappointing season and finished 16-15. They got to the third round of the NIT. He was the No. 4 pick by Toronto in 2003, which is another legendary draft class.
Dennis Scott (1987-90): He led the Yellow Jackets to the NCAA Tournament each year he played.
Scott was ACC Rookie of the Year in 1988, ACC Player of the Year in 1990 and Sporting News Player of the Year (1990). He was also a consensus second-team All-American in 1990. In his career he averaged 21.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 3 apg. He was the No. 4 pick by Orlando in the 1990 draft.
Matt Harpring (1994-98): Harpring was a four-year starter and was named First Team All-ACC three times.
He set career highs in his senior season with 21.6 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, ranking second in the ACC in both categories.
He finished his collegiate career as Georgia Tech’s second all-time leader in points (2,225) and rebounds (997).
Harpring is the institute’s all-time leader in free throws attempted (675) and made (508).
His jersey was retired in his final regular season home game. He was the 15th pick by Orlando in the 1998 draft.
Travis Best (1991-95): The McDonald’s All-American led Tech to the 1993 ACC Tournament Championship.
He averaged 16.6 ppg and 5.6 apg. He was one of only three ACC players to score 2,000 points with 600 assists. He was the 23rd pick in 1995 by Indiana.
Top Dawgs
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When you’re contemplating the best players in a college program you have to take into account whether or not you’re counting just their college career or if you’re including their professional one as well.
Michael Jordan is the perfect example of this; he’s arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live, but you can make a very legitimate argument that he wasn’t one of the five best collegiate players to attend North Carolina.
So, for today, I’m basing everything off a player’s tenure at Georgia and ignoring what transpired afterwards. It’s kind of like how I’ll give my wife a hard time about not helping me with dishes, while completely ignoring how she does everything else around the house.
The first one is pretty obvious, regardless of what the criteria is, and that’s Dominique Wilkins. The talent the two time All-American, SEC Player of the Year, and Basketball Hall of Famer possessed is oftentimes overlooked due to his highlight reel dunks, which is a shame, because he was an outstanding player.
Wilkins, the third overall was one of those rare athletes that left school after his junior year, which at the time was almost unheard of.
I’m going to cheat on the next two names and go with Vern Fleming and Jarvis Haves, due to the fact they were both two-time Associated Press All-Americans.
I was only a few years old when Fleming played at Georgia, but his All-American stays, combined with his contribution to Georgia’s only Final Four team as well as his 1984 Olympic gold medal is more than enough accolades to earn him a spot.
I did see Jarvis Hayes play and I always wondered how he ended up at schools like Western Carolina to begin his college career because he could play. Two years at Georgia, two First Team All-SEC awards along with the All-American hardware; not sure you can be more productive than that.
This whole article would be a joke and a sham if the all-time leader in points and assists was excluded from this list, so please give a warm welcome to Litterial Green. The former Bulldog point guard was three-time All-SEC selection and led the program to their first, and I believe only, SEC Championship in 1990. Plus, he may have the coolest name on this list, right next the one remaining player I’ve yet to mention.
With all due respect to Bob Lienhard (2 time Helms Association All American) and Yante Maten (2018 SEC Player of the Year and the one who undoubtedly would’ve had the coolest name on this list) I went with Kentavious-Caldwell Pope to round out the top five. I never saw Wilkins play, and I don’t remember Green, but KCP was the best Georgia player I’ve seen come through Athens.
Of course, the one omission from this list is the likely number one overall pick in this year’s draft, Anthony Edwards.
Look, Edwards was a really good player and may have the best NBA career of anyone from Georgia not named Wilkins, but I would still take any of the five I mentioned over him in terms of college performance.
I know Georgia doesn’t have the history of a lot of other major college basketball programs, but those five players are nothing to be ashamed of. Just don’t look at their professional careers too closely- there’s a reason I left those out.
