With Claxton gone, what's next?

DESTIN, Fla. – Now that Nicolas Claxton has decided to remain in the NBA Draft, exactly what does that mean for the immediate future of the Georgia basketball team?

Head coach Tom Crean was asked that very question following meetings Wednesday at the SEC Spring Meetings.

“It’s not a brand new roster, but there’s a lot of new people who have to figure out how to play college basketball,” Crean said. “I can’t even begin to tell you what our learning curve is going to be. It will start to show itself when we get on the court, but we’re in a rebuild stage, there’s no way around it."

Although the Bulldogs won’t be short on bodies, there’s going be plenty of youth who will be learning to play college basketball for the first time.

With Wednesday’s commitment of Rodney Howard, Georgia’s roster will include six true freshmen, led by five-star guard Anthony Edwards, but will also include transfer Donnell Greshman, Jr., meaning half of the roster will feature players who were not on the team last year.

“It’s going to take a lot of growth. We’re going to have a lot of learning to do, I don’t think there’s any way around it,” Crean said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys who have to learn the physicality of the game, the spacing of the game, the multi-dimensional, and the multi-skill you’ve got to play with—build their versatility, get stronger, gain endurance. It’s going to take time, so hopefully people will understand.”

As for Claxton, Crean said his decision did not come as a particular surprise.

“We knew it could go either way,” Crean said. “Now when it comes time for him, we will do everything we can to help him, and now turn that up even more. But now, we have to recruit even more.”

Claxton made his announcement official Tuesday night with a post on his Instagram page.

“After going through the process and getting positive feedback, I have decided to forgo my final two years of college eligibility to remain in the 2019 NBA Draft."

ESPN.com predicts Claxton as the No. 32 overall prospect.

Crean praised Claxton, who averaged 13 points and 8.6 rebounds. He also led the SEC in blocked shots (2.5 per game).

“He got a lot better. He had one double-figure game as a freshman, averaged 3.9 and 3.9 (rebounds); this year he had 21 double-figure games, averaging 13.5 and 8. He improved. Free throw percentage, everything, went up for him,” Crean said. “He epitomized what we wanted to have happen in terms of someone who brought a lot of energy to the team and was a big part of your player development.

“It’s inevitable when you have a player with that much skill level on both ends of the floor, and what he brings defensively. We knew that, but you have to be happy—I’m happy for him because he’s getting to chase a lifelong dream, and it’s a very viable dream, a very achievable dream.”

Crean knows replacing him won’t be easy.

“We just have to really pay attention to what’s out there, what could be out there, and just keep looking for what’s best for us. But we can’t replace that size, defensively ability at the moment,” he said. “We’ve got to develop our own guys and figure out if there’s somebody we can get involved with who could make a difference in our team, even if it’s not that way, who could come in and make a difference for our team.”

Crean said junior Rayshaun Hammonds continues to improve from a fractured foot that resulted in surgery and forced him to miss the latter part of last season.

“He’s better, much better. He’s the one who’s been back; he’s been rehabbing. I haven’t seen any of it, I’ve seen him, and his body looks good, I know he’s working hard in the sense of training and rehabbing,” Crean said. “He’s in a sweat more often than not when I see him around the facility. But we’ll get started at the end of next week with him. I don’t think he will be 100 percent clear, but he should be pretty close.”

Hammonds averaged 12.3 points per game for the Bulldogs before the injury occurred.