Bulldogs to begin life without J.J. Frazier
A disappointing season for the Georgia men’s basketball program ended Wednesday night with two injured starters watching from the bench.
The Bulldogs started their 2016-17 schedule with high expectations, including playing in the NCAA tournament. But after failing to reach that goal, Georgia hosted a first-round game in the National Invitation Tournament only to have Yante Maten and Juwan Parker sitting out as the Bulldogs were ousted by Belmont, 93-84.
It was a disappointing finish to coach Mark Fox’s eighth season, but athletic director Greg McGarity gave Fox a vote of confidence March 7 following a report by Yahoo Sports that Georgia was evaluating possible candidates to succeed the coach. McGarity did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press on Thursday for his final review of Fox and the season.
Fox acknowledged the results — Georgia finished 19-15 and reached the SEC tournament quarterfinals — did not live up
to expectations.
“We had some disappointments this year,” Fox said. “We still were able to win 19 games and get in the postseason. There was more that we wanted to do, and we fully recognize that.”
Now Fox and the Bulldogs will turn their attention to next season. They will lose high-scoring guard J.J. Frazier, but second-leading scorer Maten — who sat out the finale with a sprained right knee — is expected
to return for his senior year.
Georgia said Parker will see specialists to determine the proper treatment for the partial tear in his right Achilles’ tendon, which would have forced him to miss the remainder of the NIT if Georgia had won. Parker, the team’s third-leading scorer, missed last season with a torn left Achilles’.
Georgia announced about an hour before Wednesday’s game that Maten aggravated the knee sprain in Georgia’s SEC tournament loss to Kentucky last week and would not play.
Forward Derek Ogbeide, who emerged as Georgia’s top rebounder, is expected to join Maten and Parker, if healthy, as the top returning players. Guards William “Turtle” Jackson and Jordan Harris, who started 12 games as a freshman, also are expected to return.
Frazier, Georgia’s only starting senior, finished his Bulldogs career by scoring 29 points against Belmont, and he scored 28 or more points in each of Georgia’s five games without Maten this season. Frazier received an ovation from fans at the end of Wednesday’s game.
“It was nice to know that the fans appreciated my hard work,” he said. “I put my heart and soul into this university. If you were to cut me open, my blood would be red and black. I love Georgia. It’s nice that my efforts didn’t go unnoticed.”