Georgia at Florida
WHERE: Exactech Arena, Gainesville, Fla.
WHEN: Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 10-18, 1-14; Florida 17-11, 9-6
TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Daymeon Fishback); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Tony Schiavone).
When you’ve endured the kind of season that Georgia has, finding positives within an avalanche of mounting losses can be a difficult task.
At least with the Bulldogs, that’s actually not the case.
Take junior Jordan Harris, for example.
Although the Bulldogs enter Saturday night’s game at Florida (17-11, 9-6) essentially playing out the string before the SEC Tournament two weeks from now in Nashville, Georgia players continue to play with a lot of effort and energy, much to the delight of head coach Tom Crean.
Harris epitomizes that desire. The junior from Bainbridge has put up career-high point totals in each of the last four games, starting with a 12-point effort against LSU, 13 against Mississippi State, 15 at Ole Miss, and 18 in last Wednesday’s loss to Auburn.
Not surprisingly, his minutes are up as well.
Harris has gone from averaging approximately 10 minutes per game to 33 and 28 over Georgia’s most recent two contests.
So, what’s clicked?
“Being healthy and being confident and working out every day. I have been working on my sweet spots and focusing on where I need to score the ball,” Harris said. “Just watching a lot of film and having the guys and the coaches around me telling me what they need and what they're looking for. It has been really helpful and really good for me as an individual to be able to go out there and play my game the way I know how to play it. I've just been myself, honestly.”
Crean certainly likes what he’s seen.
“It didn’t start out with ‘you have to score more’ - no it was ‘you have to rebound more’. He is as good of an athlete as anybody on this team, but you have to rebound with confidence and a vengeance,” Crean said. “Great rebounds have a vengeance, because they think every ball is theirs. He has rebounded that way.”
As a result, it’s made Harris a more complete player, one who not only figures to play an integral role the rest of the year but one who will no doubt be asked to carry more responsibility next season.
“It's never about how you're going to score, or shoot, but it is about how you can do the other things. The things other than what you'd like to do and focus on the things you need to do, like defending, rebounding, loose balls, moving the ball quick, moving without the ball, screening better,” Crean said. “They are all things that lead to scoring. That is what you're seeing with Jordan. He moves well without the ball, and there are areas on the court where he's phenomenal at shooting. He goes after the ball defensively and goes after the board defensively, which is really important.”
Harris mentioned being healthy as one of the keys. It’s been a tough year for Harris in that department. After dealing with an early-season toe injury, a recent concussion kept him sidelined before he finally returned in full health.
“Nothing major, just a little banged up,” Harris said. “It just took some time. Not long, but I'm back now and I feel good.”
NOTE: According to Crean, sophomore Rayshaun Hammonds remains day to day with the foot injury he suffered a week ago at Ole Miss.
