Morehouse (4-2) at Georgia (4-2)
WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum
WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
TV/RADIO: SECNetwork+ (Jeff Dantzler and Jarvis Hayes); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Tony Schiavone)
NOTE: One interesting aspect of today’s game is Morehouse, a Division II team, is counting Tuesday’s game as exhibition while Georgia is not. According to head coach Mark Fox, he could have brought in a lower-ranked Division I team, but it ultimately would have hurt the team’s RPI for post-season. Games against Division II teams are not counted toward the RPI one way or the other, so the decision was made to play Morehouse instead.
Head coach Mark Fox isn’t one to worry about recruiting rankings when it comes to players who join his Bulldog basketball team.
At least that’s what he says.
So, although the Bulldogs did themselves well with the recent signing of four-star Rayshaun Hammonds and three-star legacy Nicolas Claxton, Fox said players’ star rankings are the last thing he and his staff consider when recruiting players to Georgia.
“I don’t think anyone would want to trade J.J. (Frazier) or Yante (Maten) off our team,” Fox said before practice on Tuesday. “Their ratings out of the gate where probably not where people would be excited about them, so take that stuff with a grain of salt.”
In the case of Maten and Frazier, Fox has a point.
Both Frazier and Maten were unranked three-stars coming out of high school with only the latter adding receiving major offers from Michigan State and Indiana late in the process. The slightly-build Frazier did not have a single high-major offer except for UGA. Today, they’re considered two of the better players in the entire SEC.
While Fox claims he doesn’t know where Hammonds (the nation’s 60th-ranked player according to Rivals.com) and Claxton come in as far as the latest rankings are concerned, he believes the Bulldogs have a couple of good ones.
“I thing (Hammonds) will make an immediate impact on our team and I think he will have the ability to play a couple of different spots for us right out of the gate,” Fox said. “Nick, depending on where he is weight-wise, I mean he continues to grow, at nearly 6-11 and he’s got really good skills. He’s got a great three-point stroke. He should be a guy that gives us an element we don’t have on this team with that length and skill combination. We’re excited about both of them.”
The son of former Bulldog letterman Charles Claxton, Nicholas Claxton chose to attend his parents’ alma mater, despite a number of top offers.
“He visited Florida State, NC State, South Carolina and he visited Baylor, so it’s not like just because his dad played here that it was a sure thing,” Fox said. “It was a heavily contested recruiting battle, but I do think the fact his dad and mother both had a good experience here, it worked out for us at the end of the day.”
Fox said there’s no limit to what kind of player Claxton can ultimately become - even though at just 185 pounds – he’s going to have to add more weight and muscle. The Bulldog head coach is confident that he will.
“He’s not going to be a low block player right of the gate, so he doesn’t have to have a lot more than he has right now,” Fox said. “He’s going to be a real terrific SEC player. I don’t think we’ll see him on the low block until his sophomore year because he’s so tall that getting the lower center of gravity and strength is going to take some time. But that’s not his game. His game is his ability to shoot the three, and he can really pass. He’s going to be a really good player.”
