NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Georgia’s star forward Yante Maten made his way over to the scorer’s table, donning a cumbersome knee brace and in an unfamiliar role.
After missing five games, many thought that Maten would see slim minutes and that the rust would be evident. Despite an offensive foul on his first possession of action, it was nearly a seamless transition for the junior big man, who helped carry the Bulldogs to a 59-57 win over Tennessee in the second round of the SEC Tourney.
“It felt good to contribute in whatever way I can,” Maten said. “I was fine, nothing hurt too bad. I always try to do my best to play within myself, not try to do too much that I don’t normally do.”
Maten saw a significant workload in his first game back from injury, logging 26 minutes off of the bench. Georgia was forced to extend his minutes when sophomore Derek Ogbeide picked up his fourth personal foul with 6:48 remaining in regulation.
Entering the game, Georgia head coach Mark Fox had a target in terms of how frequently to play Maten, but the flow of the game allowed Georgia to increase his load in the final half. Maten said that he didn’t feel a great deal of discomfort after the game, and believed he could play over 30 minutes in Friday’s quarterfinal game against Kentucky.
“I felt like we could get 22 or 24 minutes out of Yante,” Fox said. “I knew with about three minutes to go, he was just over that. We were worried about his conditioning, but there were enough stops in the game that he looked fresh. I asked him if he needed a rest, but he said ‘No, I’m good.’ I don’t think I managed his re-entry into our team as well as I hoped. I thought we were very out of rhythm and had more turnovers at the half than we’ve been averaging the last couple of games. We have to bridge that gap a little better than we did tonight.”
When Maten went down, the final stretch of the regular season was placed solely on the shoulders of senior guard J.J. Frazier. He filled the void sufficiently, averaging 28 points per game and sending Georgia to a 3-1 record in his absence, keeping it in discussion for a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
While Fox said that Maten’s addition back into the rotation made it significantly difficult to manage his substitution patterns, it was only beneficial for the players and no issues were present in terms of the game flow.
“I’ve been playing with him for two years, and I know what he likes to do,” Frazier said. “It’s not a chemistry issue. He played well, and he started making plays once he started figuring things out.”
It became apparent that Maten would play in the SEC Tournament just 24 hours before Georgia began its postseason stretch in Nashville. It was a looming question for nearly three weeks as the regular season concluded as the Bulldogs’ leading scorer could provide a boost to the offense.
Fox said on a radio show Monday – somewhat lightheartedly – that Maten was pleading to play the second half of Georgia’s regular-season finale against Arkansas. Then on Tuesday night, he was cleared to play by team doctors before making the trip to Nashville.
From that point on, both Maten and Fox knew the time was right to return to action after the pain and swelling from his Grade 2 MCL sprain had diminished.
“It was a mutual agreement, because we thought I would be ready,” Maten said. “There wasn’t much convincing because I thought I would be ready by this time, and we have to get (the knee) back to where it was.”
Georgia is set to face top-seeded Kentucky in the tournament quarterfinals, which could potentially either cement or dismiss the Bulldogs’ tournament hopes. Georgia unanimously shows excitement in having another chance at beating a top-tier opponent.
It’s a bit more cautionary for Maten though, who suffered his injury on Feb. 18 after Isaiah Briscoe crashed down on his knee in the Bulldogs’ loss. Now, he’s looking to change that narrative.
“I’m pretty excited. No more injuries though,” Maten said.”
