Georgia at Alabama
WHERE: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 15-12, 6-8; Alabama 16-10, 9-5
TV/RADIO: ESPN2 (Tom Hart, Sean Farnham); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Tony Schiavone).
Projected Starting Lineup
Georgia
G- J.J. Fazier (17.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
G- Juwan Parker (9.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
F- E’Torrion Wilridge (1.5 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
F- Mike Edwards (4.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
F- Derek Ogbeide (6.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
Alabama
G- Dazon Ingram (10.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
G- Riley Norris (9.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
F- Braxton Key (12.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
F- Bola Olaniyan (3.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
F- Donta Hall (5.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
There’s an old saying that there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Thursday night at Alabama (7 p.m., ESPN), Mark Fox and the Georgia Bulldogs will see if that’s true. With Yante Maten out for the rest of the regular season, Fox and his staff certainly have to figure out something – and quick.
“Obviously, our team was built largely around Yante so we’ll have to re-design some things,” Fox said. “We’re not going to be able to re-invent ourselves completely this late in the year, so other guys are going to have to step up and play bigger roles.”
One such player is sophomore Mike Edwards.
With Maten sidelined, look for Edwards to assume most of his minutes.
“It’s changed a lot with Yante being out. I’m just going to have to step up and play through it,” Edwards said. “I’m ready. I’ve been preparing for a moment like this for a while now.”
But while Edwards will attempt to fill Maten’s shoes in terms of minutes, expecting him to fill the scorebook in a similar manner is probably unfair.
Although he scored 10 points in Georgia’s 82-77 loss to Kentucky, Edwards' main charge for most of the season has been that of a minutes-eater, as he comes into Thursday’s contest averaging just 4.3 points per game.
Even when fellow big man Derek Ogbeide is included, the two combined are barely scoring in double-figures.
“It changes a little bit because we’re missing 19 points and eight rebounds a game,” said guard J.J. Frazier, who figures to have to carry the brunt of Georgia’s offensive game.
“But we’ve got capable big men, we’ve got capable players. It’s going to be harder but I don’t think it’s going to be as tough as you might think,” he continued. “You prepare for situations like this. To an extent, that’s what practice is for. You put guys in situations just in case something like this happens. I feel like Coach (Fox) knows what he’s doing and he’s going to put us in the best position to succeed.”
Fox said he’s confident that Edwards and Ogbeide will be ready to do whatever is asked of them.
“I think those two kids the other night certainly did a nice job, but we’ll have to be a little smarter, stay out of foul trouble and be very efficient with how they play,” Fox said. “That was the thing the other night, the difference in the game with Kentucky was offensive rebounds. The first half, they got one and the second half - either because we wore down or Derek fouled out – they got 13 offensive rebounds and that was the difference in the game. It’s going to be important for us to manage that.”
Although Fox indicated there won’t be much time to re-invent what the Bulldogs do offensively, there will obviously be some other changes made and other players will have to step up their respective games.
That list includes junior Pape Diatta, and presumably guards Turtle Jackson, Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris.
“We started putting in a couple more things. Obviously, it’s going to change the rotation and the way we do things,” Edwards said. “The plan Coach Fox has is going to work well with the situation we’re in.”
