On paper, the depth of Georgia’s basketball team is such that you may not see Mike White rotate players in and out of different positions as you did his first two seasons as head coach of the Bulldogs.
One player who will maintain a dual role is sophomore Dylan James.
As the Bulldogs prepare for next Tuesday’s exhibition against UCF with the season-opener against Tennessee Tech the week after, the 6-foot-9 James is being counted on in more ways than one.
“He’s being asked to execute more stuff, primarily offensively, than some of these other guys,” White said.
James began to emerge in the second half of last season, including a 14-point effort in the win over Wake Forest in the NIT Tournament.
James said just staying patient was the key to his later success.
“It’s kind of like my mantra, though, patience,” he said. “God’s time and your time will come, so I just waited my turn and when the time came around, I just tried to perform as best as I could.”
James’ on-court minutes took a jump.
After averaging just over nine minutes per game in the 14 contests he played to start the year, James saw that average explode to 26 minutes per contest over Georgia’s final eight games.
Even with a better-supporting cast, there should be no shortage of opportunities for James this season while alternating between a four and a five to a three-guard when White opts for a bigger lineup.
“It's not easy. That's the thing. It's not easy at all,” James said. “It’s been a challenge, but I'm taking it day by day. I'm getting better every day. I'm watching film and just working on it.”
Teammate Brandon Klatsky said James is holding his own.
“I think Dylan's been playing really well, especially in practice. He's shooting the ball really well compared to last year at this time,” Klatsky said. “But I also think the way that he's able to constantly switch from running the offense as a four or five to a guard is really impressive to him. And he's been doing a good job with that so far.”
James’ guard skills are what he’s having to work on the most to improve.
“Definitely my guard skills because that's kind of what I feel like is going to push me over the edge in terms of my skill set,” James said. “I played forward most of my life, so I'm trying just to round out my guard skills, kind of make myself more of a versatile player.”
It’s definitely a bigger, leaner team than Georgia had a season ago.
The Bulldogs boast six players 6-foot-8 or taller, with four 6-9 are above, including Somto Cyril and Asa Newell at 6-11.
“I think we're really trying to hang our hat on defense this year. So definitely protecting the rim is something that at least five or six of us are at least capable of, but probably five or six of us, we really excel at protecting the rim,” James said. “But we're more focused on improving the defense and team defense as a whole.”
