MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – When second-year head coach Mike White and his assistants began searching for nine new players to fill out the roster for the 2023-24 season, he said his program hit the portal with a lot more to sell.
“Just the fact that we laid a foundation, and we went 16-16 as opposed to the sell the previous year,” White said at the SEC spring meetings. “The new staff, a new era had started. Not that we had an unbelievable year by any stretch, right, but the foundation was laid. There was more familiarity with the people we were recruiting. It was less of a leap of faith for both the high school kids and the portal kids.”
The familiarity White spoke of was apparently a two-way street.
Not only were Georgia coaches already familiar with the players they brought to Athens, but many of the recruits at one point had previously been recruited by a member of the Bulldog staff.
“On top of my head, three of the four high school kids we were involved with beforehand for quite some time. And one of them was previously committed to the University of Georgia,” White said. “So, you’ve got those as ins for the high school guys and some of the portal guys at the same thing. At least one person had previously recruited these guys at one point or another.”
White said he’s thrilled with the talent, and he feels their skills will make Georgia a much more competitive team this season.
From the length, depth, and size, White said he’s excited about the players.
“We have a couple of the guys who can play multiple positions. A couple of guys that are really good defensively. A couple of freshman guards, three really that are very talented,” White said. “I wish our backcourt was a little bit more experienced. That said, I think our backcourt is talented and I think our freshmen are going to have a chance to impact immediately. Four freshmen and five portal guys. Excited about the class.”
The nine additions include Noah Thomasson (Niagara), VCU transfer Jalen DeLoach, Illinois transfer RJ Melendez, Division II Player of the Year R.J. Sunahara, and South Florida center Russel Tchewa.
The Bulldogs also added four freshmen, including former Southern Cal commit Silas Demary Jr. (No. 54) from Lincolnton, N.C., and former Georgia Tech signee Blue Cain (No. 94), out of Knoxville, Tenn. Those two, along with 6-9 Dylan James (81) and Mari Jordan, put Georgia's 2023 signing class at No. 14 in the Rivals team rankings for 2023, which is second-best among SEC schools behind No. 1 Kentucky.
An improved NIL situation did not hurt Georgia’s cause.
“It did because we were able to sell that our players from last year’s team were able to benefit off their name, image and likeness,” White said. “Again, it’s something that we can sell, just like having won some games and laid the foundation overall.”
Getting the 7-foot, 280-pound Tchewa was literally one of Georgia’s biggest off-season moves.
“He will be one of the best defensive frontcourt guys in our league from Day 1. He was one of the best bigs in the American last year, an improving scorer throughout his career, but just a physical presence,” White said. “Since the day he got in the portal, he was a high-level target for us. We consistently recruited him, very aggressively. Jalen DeLoach as well. He played the five, but we feel like he can play the four at times as well. He’s coming off a 27-win season at VCU. He’s a guy who doesn’t bring as much girth, but in regard to activity, and length, he’s got great wheels for a big, can really change ends, and he’s a switchable guy, too.”
White says Thomasson gives Georgia a proven scorer, something the Bulldogs needed after Terry Roberts and Kario Oquendo moved on.
“He’s a guy that analytically is off the charts. I mean, 19.5 (points per game) with an incredibly high usage rate but with good percentages, a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (his last team’s) best defender. He’s a good player,” White said. “He’s one of those guys who hasn’t experienced as much winning as some of the other guys that we signed both at the high school and portal level, but he’s really anxious to do so and it’s important to him.”
White said the fact Thomasson chose Georgia is a testament to what the Bulldogs are doing.
“That was somewhat of a leap of faith for him because he had some programs involved that were coming off a better year than we had. Everyone that we signed understands we’re still in a rebuilding process,” White said. “But he feels like he’ll make an impact immediately and help us.”
Sunahara, who comes to Georgia as the reigning Division II player of the year, is an interesting case.
Although the Florida native will certainly have to adjust to the step up in competition, White there’s no doubt he will help the team.
"I think it would be hard for him to be the National Division I Player of the Year this year, but can he contribute to a winner? Yeah, absolutely. He is a winner. He's tough, he's versatile. I mean, he's the epitome — he hasn't lost in more than a year now, right?” White said.” Obviously, he's going to have to make some improvements and there's going to be a learning curve between that level and this level. The players he competed against look a little bit different now this year ahead for him in the SEC of course. But he’s a really good defender. A guy that lets it come to him. He's got at everything. He plays within himself. He plays to win, you know? He'll play as hard as anyone on our roster. I watched it closely on film. I'm really excited to coach him."
