Homecoming set for couple of UGA hoop foes

It's going to be a homecoming of sorts for a couple of Georgia basketball opponents when Tom Crean's squad takes part in the Global Sports Invitational in November.

Athens will serve as the host for several games in a multi-team event that will also include Charleston Southern, Wofford, and SMU.

Georgia will entertain Wofford and Charleston Southern at Stegeman Coliseum on Monday, Nov. 16 and Sunday, Nov. 22, respectively, and round out the tourney with a trip to SMU on Wed. Nov. 25.

Wofford is coached by former Bulldog Jay McAuley, who lettered with the Bulldogs from 2003-2006, while Charleston Southern senior Philandrous Fleming, Jr. is an Athens native who starred at a local high school, Cedar Shoals.

McAuley, a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, helped the Bulldogs secure postseason bids to the NIT as a freshman in 2004 and a senior in 2006. He played in 46 games during his career, including a pair of starts as a junior.

His best two games came during his junior season against Clemson, when he played all 40 minutes, scored six points, and handed out five assists; and at Kentucky, when he scored a career-high eight points. He served as a team co-captain for the Bulldogs as a senior and was awarded the team’s “Heart and Hustle” Award. McAuley is in his second season as the Terriers’ head coach.

Fleming, meanwhile, led Cedar Shoals’ Jaguars to a runner-up finish in the Georgia Class 5A State Tournament as a senior in 2017. He also was named the Class 5A Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal Constitution that season, and was a two-time all-state honoree. Last season, he was the Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big South, after averaging 17.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game for the Buccaneers.

The game will also feature a pair of Texas natives for the Bulldogs: sophomore guard Sahvir Wheeler and freshman Ty McMillan, who averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds last year for Kilgore (Texas) Junior College.

Last year, Wheeler propelled the Bulldogs to an 87-85 win over SMU in double-overtime at Stegeman Coliseum. He scored with four seconds left in the first overtime to tie the score and extend the game. He split two defenders and scored with 1.9 seconds remaining in the second OT to secure the victory. Wheeler started 17 of 31 games played as a freshman and broke the Bulldogs’ freshman assists record with 139 on the season.