DESTIN, Fla. – New Georgia basketball coach Mike White has been a busy man.
When he’s not spending every waking hour trying to build his Bulldog program, he’s simultaneously trying to be the good husband and dad to his family still in Gainesville, where they’ve staying through the end of school.
White joked during a 10-minute session with beat writers at the SEC Spring Meetings that he’s gotten to know the roads between his former city and Athens well.
“A lot,” said White, when asked how many times he’s made the drive. “I just did the Gainesville to Destin drive. But yeah, I’ve put a lot of miles on my dealer car (a Ford Explorer). That might come as an unpleasant surprise to the guy who was very generous to us.”
Fortunately, White said the entire family will be together soon when they will be in Athens permanently in approximately another month.
“They’re finishing up school this week, then we’ve got some family stuff going on,” White said. “They’ll do more commuting in Athens over the next three or four weeks. For the most part, I’ve been commuting.”
Of course, filling out his staff and roster have been Job 1.
Last week, Georgia officially announced the signing of seven transfers who are now part of the program.
The group includes a fifth-year player (Mardrez McBride from North Texas), a senior (Terry Roberts from Bradley), three juniors (Frank Anselem from Syracuse, Justin Hill from Longwood, and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe from Oklahoma State), a sophomore (Jusaun Holt from Alabama) and a true freshman (KyeRon Lindsay from Denton, Texas). Because of eligibility extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Anselem, Hill, Holt, Moncrieffe and Roberts could play one more season than their classifications would traditionally indicate.
They join five returnees from last year, including graduate Jailyn Ingram, who was recently granted a seventh year of eligibility by the NCAA.
White still has two scholarships available to fill but told reporters he’s unsure if that will take place.
Nevertheless, he’s exited about the players he has and the potential he believes they’ll bring.
“It was important for us to bring in some guys who have won,” White said. “We didn’t bring in a guy who has just won a national championship. But each one of these guys has won at a level, whether it be winning big in high school, a really good year at a mid-major, or back-to-back championships at mid-major, which is the case with one of our guys.”
White said he expects all the players he signed to make quick contributions.
“I do feel overall we improved the level of athleticism. When you’ve got a bunch of scholarships you’re filling, you’re really improving the level of everything, shooting, scoring, and defending,” he said. “I think we’ve put together a pretty versatile group, a pretty athletic group, which we hope will be a really competitive group comprised of bunch of guys who have won at least one area or another.”
After seven years at Florida, White said he could not be more excited with the opportunity he has with the Bulldogs.
This week’s SEC Spring Meetings provided White an opportunity to not only renew some old acquaintances, but as one of six new head coaches in the league, make some new ones.
“There’s always a level of urgency. When we left Louisiana Tech and came to the SEC, walking into these meetings was a little bit different, right? This is the SEC,” White said. “Although I’ve got a new shirt on, everything else is the same. This is high level, good coaches, good players, grueling schedule … high-level competition. It’s a heck of a league for basketball.”