ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia men’s basketball team conducted its first official practice to prepare for the 2023-24 season on Monday.
The Bulldogs will open the season on Monday, Nov. 6 – the first official day of the college basketball season – by facing Oregon in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
During head coach Mike White’s first season in Athens last winter, the Bulldogs upped their win total from the 2021-22 campaign by 10 victories. That represented the second-largest increase of regular-season wins by any Power 5 program in the nation.
This season’s Georgia roster features nine newcomers – four freshmen and five transfers. The Bulldogs are one of only three teams in the nation to have both their groups of freshmen and transfers ranked among the top-20 groups nationally.
Prior to Monday’s practice, White and seniors Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Justin Hill discussed Georgia’s preseason preparations and expectations for the upcoming season.
Head Coach Mike White
On what currently knows about the team and what he wants to learn in the coming weeks…
“There’s a lot of parity, a lot of depth. This team is pretty competitive. Practices have been very spirited, guys are getting after each other. This team likes to work, they like to compete. I’ve really have enjoyed working with this group. I’m really excited for practice and getting our guys fired up. I think everyone will get a taste of it too, as you witness the first part of it. There will be a lot of energy in the gym.”
On how to gauge the intangibles of players that enter the transfer portal…
“You do your best. There are ways - you study film, you try to make educated guesses and do your homework. Some of these guys, you’re able other people throughout the recruitment process in their circle. You do as much homework as you possibly can. It is recruiting, though, its evaluation, it is inexact, to a certain extent. We’ve got some guys that, for the most part - we brought in nine new guys, seven that have won at a really high level and the other two I’ve been really pleased with their work ethic and eagerness to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Be a part of Georgia and take the next step.”
On the closeness of this team on a day-to-day basis…
“It’s refreshing to be a part of a lot of guys that really seem to like each other, of course. This team hasn’t faced a lot of adversity yet, but I do think that the amount of character on and off the court with these guys, the time in the locker room with these guys. Especially given the opportunities and experiences from this past summer. We spent a lot of time together outside the lines. We’re going to continue to challenge them to have real, authentic relationships with each other, not just everything being positive. We talk about family a lot, there’s going to be some arguments. ‘Hey, I was open.’ How do we talk these out? Is it healthy or is it going to be avoided? The strongest cultures have conversations with one another consistently. We above me, when we win, we all win. I think this team has a chance to do that, to help us become our best version - what that is, who knows - down the road. I think they really like each other and this group is competing at a really high level in our practices so far. Hopefully today we bring it up to another level, with the first official practice.”
On Jabri Abdur-Rahim’s improvement and work ethic…
“In his overall approach, he’s just provided more maturity. His responses to a missed shot or two or a blown defensive assignment, because we’re all going to make mistakes. A huge part of the game of basketball, a game of inches and milliseconds, is being able to respond to the last mistake or made shot, the last positive or negative and being able to stay in the moment, focus on ‘What’s the next responsibility?’ and move forward. I think he’s grown a lot in that regard. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, as do a lot of young men that are as talented as he is. He’s one of the best shooters in our league. He’s tried to get out of himself a little more, too. I think the more he’s communicating with teammates and leading helps him stay in that moment.”
On the leadership of Abdur-Rahim, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and Justin Hill…
“They’ve all grown, Jabri the most from a vocal standpoint. Justin, too. Matthew-Alexander probably the most from an extortion, intensity level standpoint. Not that those other guys aren’t playing hard, they are - we don’t have a guy that’s not playing hard, which gives you a chance to have good practices and have a good base. But Matthew-Alexander has been playing really hard with a lot of intensity on the glass and on the defensive end.”
On how much of the scheduling for this season was his doing…
“We did not inherit much of the schedule for this year. This was, if I’m not mistaken, other than Georgia Tech, I believe that might be the only one that we inherited. This was us just wanting to get better, take the next step, challenge ourselves as a program and as a team. The signees that came to Georgia wanted these type of opportunities, for development but also, who knows, you win enough of them and we’ll see where those opportunities take us come March.”
On how intense scheduling helps with team focus…
“I think that this group will embrace it. They’re excited about this tough schedule that’s in front of us and excited to compete against one another in practice today.”
On what stands between Georgia and the NCAA Tournament…
“A lot. Putting it in the hoop, getting some stops, rebounding better. As much as we talk about being process driven and not results driven, we’re running our race, and Jabri is running his race individually, Russel Tchewa is running his race. Let’s get better today, let’s attack today, we’re huge believers in that stuff. At the same time, we want to go to the NCAA Tournament. Georgia wants to go to the NCAA Tournament. These guys want to go to the NCAA Tournament. I’ve probably talked about that goal with this team, to be totally transparent with you, than I have in a long time. I left it alone, as a head coach, really the whole time I’ve been in. This year we’ve actually talked about it a little bit. Like, ‘Hey, what’s the goal for this program?’ It’s to break through and get back to a tournament. Now, 95 percent to 99 percent of the time, we need to talk about the process in order to get there. How are we going to shoot free throws at a higher rate? How are we going to respond to one another, communicate effectively, all those types of things. How are we going to be a top, upper-half defensive efficiency team? Get our assists up and our turnovers down? That’s all process-driven stuff that we’ll work on today. Ultimately, if we’re not trying to get to the tournament, we’re wasting time in this league. Teams in this league that get in the tournament have a chance to make a run. We want to be there with them.”
On a quality this team has to make him comfortable to share postseason goals…
“We’ve got three graduate transfers, we’ve got four guys that will graduate in the spring, we’ve got seven older guys, we have freshman that come here with big aspirations of doing something special at the University of Georgia and laying a foundation. I feel like, sometimes, you wonder if those young people feel like you’re avoiding it. So, let’s just talk about it. We all want to get there, but if we’re going to get there, we should be way more concerned of how we’re going to get there, and, at the end, see what the results are.”
On how receptive recruits are to trying to build a program up rather than joining an established one…
“They embrace the honesty. We’re trying to build something, and we are building something, we laid the foundation last year. I really liked the pieces that we brought in. I feel strongly that we’ll be better this year. We were third in the league this past year in tempo, committed and convicted on playing fast. We’re hoping to be first or second in tempo this year, really getting up and down the floor. The process piece I think is really important in recruiting because this is a team sport, but it is also an individual sport, and that process is extremely important for their individual aspirations. For our guys to get better individually as we all get better together, collectively as well.”
On the team’s identity…
“Toughness, attitude, mental toughness, physical toughness, doing what’s hard all the time, attitude - the way that we approach everything, the way that we respond to everything, on and off the court. Daily growth - let’s get better today, stack a bunch of good days and let’s get better over the next month and the following month, let’s see where it goes. Great attitude, connectivity, those are things we’re talking about on a daily basis. If we can get all those things, good things will with this group.”
On the team’s identity and its relation to Coach White’s playing career…
“I was out there playing football, but my teammates were really good at basketball. I threw it to them and ran to the corner before I turned it over. I fouled a lot. We built something special there, though. Rob Evans texted me yesterday, wishing us luck on the first day of practice. It meant a lot to me, he was a big mentor in all of our lives. We had a great group of guys that really got along, got after it, sold out to defending and rebounding. Certain nights, it would be Keith [Carter]’s night to get 20 points, certain nights, it would be Ansu [Sesay]’s night to go get 20 points. That’s how you build something. Let’s take our shot, not my shot.”
On the upgrades on Stegeman Coliseum…
“I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about it, honestly. It’s something I can’t control. I stuck my head in there the other day, it looks great, the ceiling looks great. I’m sure at some point, they’ll say, ‘Hey, this is when we can get back in the building,’ and we’ll take advantage of it. We’ve taken advantage of our facilities up here to this point. We’ve got a great facility up here. When I took the job, we were the only program in the league, out of 14 schools, that didn’t have a weight room, a strength and conditioning room devoted just to men’s and women’s basketball, and that has been fixed. I mean, we’re in it and it’s beautiful. From what I gather, it’s the largest in our league devoted just to men’s and women’s basketball. It gets us, not only just up to par, but maybe gives us an advantage in recruiting. I was down there this morning trying to work off some of this Italy pizza.”
On Noah Thomasson’s game and how it has translated thus far…
“Noah Thomasson is really good. He’s a guy that was close to three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio off the top of my head at Niagara as a big. He was a usage guy, their best defender and got 19 and a half points a game. He played well against the high-major opponents that they played and some of the better teams in their league. He’s really good. He’s good at a lot. He’s also a leader, he’s positive, he’s incredibly smart, he always talking, he’s a split-second thinker, brings a ton of positive energy to practice. I love coaching him.”
On the impressions of the freshmen…
“I really like them. It seems like every other day, you catch yourself saying, ‘Boy, he was our best freshman today,’ or ’This guy played better today.’ They each have their own day, whether it’s Dylan [James] or Blue [Cain] or Mari [Jordan] or Silas [Demary Jr.], they’re all a little bit different, all compliment each other well, they’ve all won at different places in their process and their journey to this point, but I feel like those are four really good building blocks to build around and guys that have a chance to be really good players and great people.”
On the maturity level of the freshmen…
“All four of them are just winners. A couple have been banged up a little bit at different times. We haven’t had a day where all four of them have played really well yet, but that’s part of the process for freshmen. I really like those guys, I really like the character of them. They get along well. It is unique that you have a guy like Noah Thomasson in Italy go to lunch with a Silas Demary Jr., who’s a fifth year senior and a freshman. That’s part of that connection. Those relationships can be fast tracked by the maturity level and the understanding of the importance by these older guys to speed up these young guys.”
On the importance of connection and honesty to building chemistry…
“It’s huge. Everyone thinks they’ve got their chemistry right now because we’re 0-0. I’m positive about the expectation of this team handling adversity, because of the character on and off the court, what they’ve shown through long practices. There’s some travel adversity, I guess a little bit that we’ve seen off the court. But it’s what we’re building this thing around. We want to have a stronger culture, something that’s a little bit easier to control, whether shots go in the net that night or not. We want to have as strong of a culture that we can possibly have. That’s built through real relationships, something that we talk about on a day-to-day basis. Work ethic, honesty. Telling them stuff like, ’Today wasn’t your best practice. Yesterday you were unbelievable. Let’s talk about why and let’s watch a little film.’ Our staff is doing a great job of helping these guys get better and having fun at the same time.”
On what he got out of the team’s trip to Italy…
“From a basketball standpoint, [we learned] a ton. Really from the practices rather than the tournaments over there, although we gained a lot from being able to play three games over there against a different opponent. The extra hours the NCAA gave us we took advantage of, we did a lot of installing this summer so that today is a little bit different than the last few years, the way we approached it, because we’re a little bit ahead of where we were a year ago.”
Justin Hill | G | Sr.
On what stands out about the team so far…
“Probably the way we stay together. With things not really going our way, we can huddle up. There are different people calling the huddles, so I think that’s a good thing.”
On taking on a leadership role as one of the few returning players…
“Yeah, I do, but I would say it’s the same. It’s just having a voice, bringing my teammates up with me so we can all be there and being a player-led team.”
On what it will take for the team to reach the next level…
“It means going hard at practice every single day and taking no days off, no matter how we feel.”
On preparing for a tough schedule…
“It’s exciting, but it shows us that we have to be locked in really early because every game matters. We’re thrown in the fire early, so we’re ready.”
On the team’s trip to Italy this summer…
“I feel like it was a good experience just bonding with the team. Everybody loves everybody. It was a crazy experience to go out there and win and play together early.”
On the bonding experience that the Italy trip offered…
“I think it was really important. We only have four guys who stayed, so it’s basically a brand new team. Just learning people’s tendencies, I think it was good to get it going early.”
Jabri Abdur-Rahim | Sr. | G
On being a student-athlete representative on the UGA Athletic Board...
"I take it very seriously. It's a great honor to be chosen for that, and I know how important it is. Just to be selected means a lot and I'm definitely going to take it seriously and try to represent our university to the best of my ability."
On excitement of season starting and return to practicing...
"I'm really excited. All summer and fall, we only had like 50 minute to an hour practices. Finally getting to go out there and be able to play and practice with the guys for an extended amount of time is really exciting."
On what benefits the team got out of their trip to Italy...
"I think it was really beneficial. We spent a lot of time together. I mean, we had no choice. We were in a different country and especially with a lot of new guys. I'm just getting to know everybody and getting that playing experience, getting that chemistry, getting to know everybody's game. Then actually playing against real competition, I think it was really valuable. The amount of time that we spent together was valuable too, so it was a great trip."
On the team's chemistry developing on the court...
"I think it's really helped on the court because when you're close to somebody or you have that connection to somebody, you are able to tell them things in a respectful way but without criticizing them. You're able to know how certain people react to certain things. I think it's just knowing people's personalities and knowing how they react. I think that's really helpful on the court and just kind of building that trust with somebody and getting close with them. They trust you and you trust them to kind of have your interest that's best for the team. I think that was really important for us."
On taking up a leadership role with a new roster, experience with staff...
"I definitely try to. Especially with four or five new freshmen, so I just try to be an example. I've been playing in the SEC for going on my third year now, played under coach White last year, so I know what he wants and what's expected in the SEC. I'm just trying to help the young guys as much as I can."
