Basketball team ready to get back to work
For members of Georgia’s basketball team, it’s almost time to get back to work.
On Monday, Tom Crean and his staff can begin taking part in initial practice sessions with players who, like their classmates on the football team, have been dealing with the fallout caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday via Zoom, Crean said he’s ready to get busy.
“Bottom line is, we’re excited to get on the court. There are some limitations as far as what we can do. There are different groups; there are stages we’re bringing them in, and I think that’s been good,” Crean said. “Some of it has been based on what they've been able to do at home, what proximity they’ve had, because there’s been nothing normal about this summer.”
When workouts begin, Crean expects the entire team to be here. Currently, the only Bulldogs not on campus are sophomores Sahvir Wheeler and Toumani Camara, along with grad transfer P.J. Horne, who is completing his academic requirements at Virginia Tech.
“We obviously knew P.J. had to finish his academics. And with Sahvir and Toumani, they had phenomenal situations (at home) to work with, so we weren’t going to uproot them,” said Crean, who added that sophomore Jaekwon Walton arrived Tuesday.
Signees K.D. Johnson, Mikal Starks, Jonathan Ned, Josh Taylor, and junior college transfer Ty McMillian are already on campus.
So are grad transfer Justin Kier and Andrew Garcia.
“Some people had better situations than others; some people had more proximity, more availability than others,” Crean said. “Some were just younger, and we wanted to get started with the strength program and let Sean Hayes (team strength coach) start working with them in the voluntary workouts.”
It’s also been a time for introductions.
“When I met Ty, when I met Justin, when I met Andrew, these were the first times we had personally met outside of phone, Facetime, or Zoom,” Crean said. “That’s completely different. But it’s extremely different times, and we’re trying to make it as positive and encouraging—but most importantly, as thorough—as it can be in helping them develop individually.”
Once workouts begin, Crean said they will conducted with the individual player in mind.
“Some of what we do will be in one-on-ones; some will be in bigger groups,” he said. “But the bottom line is, anything we do will be based around what does this individual need this day to get better. And that’s exactly how we need to treat this, through this situation we’ve been in.”
