Kario Oquendo named Preseason All-SEC for Georgia Basketball
Georgia Basketball’s Kario Oquendo was named Second-Team Preseason All-SEC on Wednesday according to the league’s 14 coaches. Oquendo led the Bulldogs in scoring last season, averaging 15.2 points per game overall and 18.3 points per game in league play. Among SEC returnees, Oquendo ranks atop the list for scoring during conference action last season.
Oquendo finished in double figures 23 times last season including in 15 SEC games. He notched ten 20-point performances including a season-high 33 points at Texas A&M. It was the highest single-game total across the league all of last season. Last night in Georgia’s opening exhibition of the 2022-23 season, Oquendo tied for first on the team in scoring with 15 points in a 66-52 win over Georgia College.
Oquendo entered the transfer portal after last season and weighed his options before ultimately deciding to come back to Georgia under the new regime of Mike White.
“The transfer portal, for me I knew that I had to make a decision based on basketball and my future,” Oquendo said. “Going into the transfer portal, I just wanted to see and my family wanted to see what else was out there and what would be the best situation for me.”
White said that when Oquendo entered the portal, he and his coaching staff were quick to tell him that he was absolutely welcome back in Athens if he their goals aligned. They were honest and transparent however and absolutely understood if Oquendo decided to go elsewhere.
“I’ll never forget, I was out recruiting after a few of those conversations, and he actually called me and said, ‘You know, Coach, I’m actually thinking about coming back.’ At that point, it was a little bit of a surprise because, you know, if you listened to anyone else, we were hearing he might take off,” White said. “He wants to help Georgia get going. He wants to win, and he wants to make us a competitive program. He’s pushing himself every day to get out of his comfort zone, and he’s got a chance to be a really good player. He had a very good individual season of course. He knows there’s some stuff that he can continue to get better at. Daily, he’s working on it.”
“That was a lot of it,” Oquendo added to what White had to say about him wanting to help get Georgia going. “I think when you go out and you see anybody, they’re proud to be a Georgia Bulldog and they’re proud of their team. So, I think we just come in with that mindset, put the team first, don’t think about, like, personal accolades. And if we come in and we just put defense first, I think we can do it. We’ve got a pretty good team.”
Georgia opens the season next Monday at home against Western Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network+, but the Bulldogs’ women’s team plays before at 6:00 p.m. ET so that is subject to change.
