Georgia Basketball: Mike White, Bulldogs in action at practice

On3 imageby:Palmer Thombs10/05/22

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ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia Basketball practiced before the eyes of media members on Wednesday, one of the team’s first practices in the Mike White era in Athens. The Bulldogs were without a few key expected contributors but there were things that could be taken away from the session.

“We’ve got a ways to go, I’m sure the other 13 coaches in our league feel the same way though,” White said afterwards. “I like our seriousness in terms of our approach and our consistency on a daily basis. My biggest issue today with our guys, and we addressed it after practice, was getting out of our comfort zone and fighting through that wall of fatigue if you will. We’ve got to get tougher. It takes a lot of mental and physical toughness to win in the SEC, and I think we’ve got a fair amount of physical toughness. But we’ve also got a group that, at this point in their careers, don’t know how to win consistently at this level. Mental toughness is a big factor. We put guys in positions to fail in practice, and we’ve got to handle it consistently better than we are right now.”

  • White, known as a coach for his defense, has brought with him that emphasis, something surely to be welcomed in The Classic City after Georgia allowed 75.0+ points per game in each of the last three seasons. No “rhythm 3s,” five players blocking out – or what White calls “hits” – and “side defense” were all major brought up several times while speaking with White.
  • Asked about whether he studied Georgia’s defensive tendencies from last year to find areas for improvement, White said that he didn’t look into it too much with so many newcomers – creating so many different defensive identities – and such different philosophies. He did say that everybody is adjusting well to the new scheme.
  • White brought up a few specific players and their skillsets in the pre-practice film session. Jaxon Etter‘s ability to draw charges, Braelen Bridges as an “elite passer” and newcomer Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe for his high motor getting to the offensive glass. White also noted that Mardrez McBride could be a combo guard, that Kario Oquendo is becoming a better cutter and Frank Anselem is becoming a better passer.
  • On the topic of offensive rebounding, White noted that he feels they “could be a great offensive rebounding team,” although said that there’s still plenty of improvement needed in that category.

  • The Bulldogs were banged up in practice, limited to just 10 players primarily and even having to turn to 4v4 for the scrimmage session. Justin Hill has been battling hamstring problems and has been limited in practice recently while Terry Roberts and walk-on Jaden Newell were sick. Good news for Georgia though came as Jailyn Ingram made his first appearance in a transition offense drill, going 4-for-4 in his first trip through. The team displayed a noticeable excitement when Ingram, who was working off to the side in the early portions of practice, made his way into the line with the big group.
  • “You know it as well as I do how far along he is. It’s the first thing I’ve seen him do, you know, since we’ve been here,” White said on Ingram. “I missed his second rep, but his first time up and down the court, he went 4-for-4. Pretty good percentage, you know. So, I’m happy for him. The guys were really happy. He’s such a likable guy, and our guys were fired up to see him out there.”

  • There were a couple of standouts from the competition portions of practice. Kario Oquendo had a BIG dunk that almost brought the goal down while Jusaun Holt showed promise in a 1-on-1 period working off of the pass. He had a block and a bucket for his White Team. Frank Anselem, also suited up in white, was in an animated battle with Braelen Bridges of the Red Team all practice. Expect both of those guys to battle for playing time in the post at 6-foot-10 or taller.
  • In the scrimmage, Jaxon Etter shot the ball incredibly well, making back to back threes. Jabri Abdur-Rahim tied the game up for the Red Team with an acrobatic layup with under 10 seconds to go before Oquendo hit a game-winning three from deep.
  • “Terry [Roberts], Justin Hill, M.A. Moncrieffe, Frank Anselem, Jaxon Etter are just a handful of guys — I probably left a guy or two out — that stick out in terms of getting out of their comfort zone and making multiple efforts defensively,” White said about who has stepped up as leaders on this team. “When guys are a little bit winded, those guys sometimes will stick out a little bit.”

  • Georgia ended practice with free throws, something that’s certainly an emphasis for Mike White and company. In between drills, the team had to shoot 80% from the free throw strip to avoid the losing team running a sprint. They did that at least three times during practice. And at the end of practice, seemingly every member of the team shot free throws to try and avoid sprints. Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who stood out as a leader during practice, confidently stepped up to the stripe to hit back-to-back shots to avoid double the number of sprints.
  • “A lot of it. A lot of it, and we’re going to put our guys in situations every day where we’re going to shoot free throws while we’re winded, while we’re physically and mentally taxed,” White said after practice on how much of free throw shooting is mental. “When you’re shooting them in games, it’s the best way for us to try and replicate it.”

Georgia Basketball hosts Stegmania on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET at Stegeman Coliseum which will feature both the men’s and women’s teams. The Bulldogs take on Georgia College October 31st for an exhibition and Western Carolina on November 7th in the season-opener.

“We have a couple that have had a lot of success that didn’t go today, and you could feel it. But they’ve, to this point in practice, put a stamp on this team and this program,” White said about the team’s veteran leaders that have experienced some success before. “We’ve got to take it a little bit further and it’s got to spread. And throughout this year, we’ve got to learn how to win in the SEC, starting with our returners. We’ve got some other guys that have won at other places, most of them lower levels. This is a real league now.”

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