Silas Demary Jr. saw the highlights of new teammate Savo Drezgic before the latter arrived on campus almost two months ago.

In those highlights, Drezgic makes some of the most amazing passes you’ll ever witness on the court.

Now that he’s played with and seen Drezgic in action, Demary is even more impressed.

“Yeah, to finally see it in person, you’re like ‘Is he really making that pass?’” Demary said. “He’s definitely making it.”

Head coach Mike White concurred.

“Savo’s a terrific passer and competitor,” White said. “He’s got that European experience, playing against high-level professionals over there for quite some time to where he’s mature beyond his years. He’s got a really high basketball IQ. He’s a big-body point guard.”

Still, as with all freshmen, there’s some adjusting to do.

That includes simply growing accustomed to playing with new teammates.

“I think he'll be ready. We're pushing him now, right now, to get him ready, because I mean, obviously, you want everybody to be ready,” Demary said. “It’s kind of a language barrier, but we're trying to help him figure that out. I feel like we're all pushing him. We're all pushing each other to be better every day.

…Apparently, touted freshman Asa Newell has grown an inch he’s now officially listed as 6-foot-11 (220 pounds).

“He’s got a very high motor,” White said. “He’s a big-time mover at 6-11, and laterally, the way he changes ends, he plays with a lot of energy. He’s had a really good summer.”

…With the first of official day of practice set for Monday, White said many of his early conversations will revolve around culture, and what he wants to see his program become.

“There are different challenges, different personalities in the locker room. We spend a lot of time talking about it,” White said. “We'll have a meeting here at 3:15 where we'll talk about culture and growth and process. Whether or not we're going to a tournament this year, whether we're going to the NIT and all that stuff, we won't talk about it.”

For example?

“How do we get better today offensively? How do we shoot better? How do we get connected defensively? Just that growth process is a big part of what we talk about,” White said. “To promote that culture, that's what we're looking for with this team and with next year's team.”

…After ranking ninth in the SEC in offensive rebounding and 10th in blocked shots, White is counting on the new additions Newell, Justin Abson (6-9, 255), Somto Cyril (6-11, 260), RJ Godfrey (6-9, 230) and returnee Dylan James (6-9, 210) to make a significant impact.

“I’m optimistic. This program, the last couple years, we've done some good things, but we’ve had some deficiencies. We haven't had a lot of easy baskets, whether they're in transition or on the offensive glass.”

White said hopefully, that’s about to change.

“We haven't protected the rim at a high level. We haven't blocked many shots. We haven't altered a ton of shots, although we had a couple of timely blocks last year,” he said. “It hasn’t been a strength of ours, but I think that those areas will see a bunch of improvement this season.”

…On Dylan James: He’s gotten stronger. He’s gained a little bit of weight, though not a ton,” White said. But he's definitely gotten stronger. He works at it. His ball skills have improved a lot. He's a guy that's unique in that he's playing a few different spots for us, and so he actually has to have a better understanding than the rest of our guys because we played him a lot in the backcourt, believe it or not, this summer.”

…On Justin Abson: “Justin's had a couple really good practices lately. He got adjusted to this level, of course. Really quick thinker, good passer,” White said. “He’s got instincts defensively, and timing defensively with blocking shots with either hand, you know, kind of got a unique ability there. On the ball, too, which is a little bit unique; not rotational blocks, but one-on-one blocks.”

…On Somto Cyril: “Somto’s got a 7-foot-6 wingspan and really, really elevates off the floor as well. So, it's a couple plays each day he makes that a couple jaws are dropped, you know, athletically,” White said. “He’s got to improve his motor over time. You know, he's a spurtability (sic) guy right now where he can play really, really hard in short spurts. We've just got to improve that consistency.”

Demary joked that he’s been on the receiving end of one of Cyril’s “athletic” plays.

“He dunked on me one time in practice, because I think earlier in practice, like, I was talking trash to him and then he got me back,” laughed Demary.

…On Tyrin Lawrence: “We're hopeful to see some late-game production by Tyron that we saw over the past few years competing against him and watching him in these lead games,” White said. “At times, he's been really confident and had some big practices, but he's still learning what we're doing.”

…On R.J. Godfrey: “He was a heck of a player on a really good team there for a couple years, playing alongside a couple other really, really good frontcourt players,” White said. “He's been terrific. His consistency, his motor, his toughness … we know exactly what we're getting out of R.J. every day.”

…On Dakota Leffew: “Whether he's a one or a two, he's equally as effective, you know, sprinting into shots, dribbling into shots, or getting other guys' shots,” White said. “He's really steady. He's a guy that doesn't play with a lot of emotion, but he plays very hard. Offensively, you like his poise on and off the ball.”

…White on Georgia’s potential: “I think we're better. I think there's a chance we can be significantly better than last year. Where does that put us in our league? I have no idea,” White said. “I don't spend time worrying about it. I'm spending time on us getting better today. I just want us to become our best version, and I don't know where that puts us in our league.”