Georgia at No. 4 Alabama
WHERE: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 15-6, 3-5; Alabama 18-3, 7-1
TV/RADIO: ESPN2 (Matthew Schumacker, Richard Hendrix); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie)
The player Mike White refers to as “Everyday Dyl” may be setting himself up for an even bigger role with the Georgia basketball.
If Dylan James’ performance in the Bulldogs’ win Tuesday night against South Carolina is an indication, he’s going to have that chance.
After combining to score 10 points and grab five rebounds in Georgia’s first seven SEC dates, the Winter Haven, Florida, native matched those totals with 10 points and five boards in 21 minutes against the Gamecocks.
James single-handedly gave the Bulldogs the spark they were looking for late in the first half.
That included a 3-pointer at the 4:54 mark, highlighting eight straight points by James to extend Georgia’s lead from five to 11 points.
“My mindset is to maximize every opportunity,” James said. “Every chance I get, I go 100 percent, so coach tells me every day, just be the same guy every day, go out there, play hard, and then opportunities are going to come. I feel like today was that day.”
James’ consistency in the gym is earning him some extra looks, along with his nickname.
“We've got guys that have just got a consistent approach to work, consistent demeanor, pretty unique. It’s probably the most on any team that I've coached,” White said. “But to have four, five, six guys that you know are going to be the same every day with their approach to practice, and none of them have a better approach or a better consistency than Dylan.”
He’s now being rewarded for his efforts.
The 21 minutes against South Carolina represented a season-high for James, who did not play at all against Auburn and only saw one minute at Tennessee.
“We'll continue to reevaluate that because he just continues to do positive things for us. He's also one of these guys that's more switchable defensively for us. Offensively, he's more of a versatile guy,” White said. “He’s the only guy on the team that's playing multiple positions every day and he embraces that. He’s a luxury to have.”
Freshman Asa Newell appreciates the effort he’s seen from James. He’s seen it before.
Newell and James were teammates on the same AAU team as 14- and 15-year-olds, respectively.
“This is no surprise to me. He works extremely hard, so just him coming out and giving us a huge boost off the bench,” Newell said. “It’s just what we needed to get this thing back rolling, and my flowers go to him.”
White said that the same confidence he had seen from James on the practice floor showed up during the game.
“It was just the way he came in and impacted the game offensively and defensively. He played with confidence,” White said of James, who did not have a single turnover in his 21 minutes.
Even Lady Luck was smiling.
One of James’ two 3-points during banked off the glass and in.
“I know he had one go in off the glass, but if anyone deserves that, it's him. As much time as he spends in the gym, as much time as he's worked on his stroke and skill level,” White said. “But he gave us a huge lift, 21 minutes, no turnovers, no one that's what we're emphasizing as much as anything. He did some good stuff on the interior as well.”
James said he’ll continue to do whatever he can.
“I wasn't really worried about scoring or anything like that,” James said. “My teammates trusted me, my coach trusted me, or my coaches trusted me, and I just went out and did what I do.”
Scouting Alabama
Alabama enters Saturday’s game at 18-3 overall and 7-1 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 4 in both the AP and coaches polls. Alabama began the season ranked No. 2 in both ledgers, dropped outside the top 10 for one week (Dec. 2) before a steady ascent back into the top 5.
The Crimson Tide is 11-1 at Coleman Coliseum this season, with a lone loss coming to No. 21 Ole Miss on Jan. 14.
Mark Sears owns team-high averages of 18.0 points per game and 5.0 assists per game, tallies that rank fourth and third, respectively, among SEC leaders. The Tide sports a trio of additional active double-digit scorers, with Grant Nelson at 12.7 points per game, Aden Holloway at 11.7 points per game and Labaron Philon at 11.0 points per game.
This and that
• Georgia travels to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to face No. 4 Alabama at Coleman Coliseum, the Bulldogs’ fourth matchup overall – and third on the road – against a top-10 opponent in their last six games.
• After using the same starting five for 20 games, Georgia altered that lineup and sent Dakota Leffew to the floor for the opening tip against South Carolina. He responded with a team-leading “+17” which featured 14 points, a team-high four assists, and season-high tallies of three steals and 35 minutes.
• Asa Newell was named to The Athletic’s Freshman All-America team on Wednesday. Among freshmen nationally, Newell ranks No. 11 in scoring, No. 10 in rebounding, and No. 3 in field goal percentage.
• The Bulldogs enter the weekend ranked 37.5 in an average of six popular metrics (NET, KenPom, Torvik, KPI, BPI, and SOR) – an increase of 181.5 spots since Mike White became UGA’s head coach.
• Joe Lunardi currently has the Bulldogs as a 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament.
