Congratulations to these Bulldogs basketball players who shone through a disappointing season to earn SEC postseason awards:

• Sundiata Gaines: Second team All-SEC, SEC All-Defensive Team
• Dave Bliss: SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year with a 3.45 grade-point average in Political Science and Real Estate
• Jeremy Price: SEC All-Freshman Team

Also congratulations to Vanderbilt’s Shan Foster for being named SEC Player of the Year. Kevin Stallings said it would be a "travesty" if someone else won the award, and I agreed. Lofton’s a great player, but Foster really carried his team.

With all the buzz around this year’s team and no conflict with the Masters, it should be a well-attended G-Day. Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and avoid a ticket window crunch on the day of the game. Here’s the UGA release:

General Admission Tickets for the 2008 G-Day football game are on sale online via georgiadogs.com . This year’s spring football game is scheduled for Saturday, April 5th at Sanford Stadium. All online orders will be mailed out the week of March 24.

G-Day tickets are $5 (adults) and $3 (youth) when purchasing in advance of game day. UGA Students who are admitted for free when showing their valid UGA ID card at the gates on the day of the game.

In expectation of a large G-Day crowd, the Athletic Association encourages Georgia fans to purchase their spring game tickets in advance via www.georgiadogs.com. Purchasing your tickets in advance will provide quicker access into Sanford Stadium on the day of the game without waiting in line to purchase tickets at the gates.

Despite the disappointing outcome of the basketball season, there have been a few bright spots.  There’s Sundiata Gaines of course.  Billy Humphrey has developed into a solid and more consistent guard.  Dave Bliss continues to make the most of his senior year.

Recently the story has been the emergence of Albert Jackson.  Jackson was, to put it bluntly, pretty clumsy on the offensive end up to this point.  He rebounded well, but he either fumbled passes or put up shots with no aim or purpose.  That’s changed lately.

It started with a 9 point, 8 rebound performance at Vanderbilt.  Not Tim Duncan, but it was one of his better games of the year.  He followed it up with 12 points and 7 rebounds against Florida.  He was less of a factor at LSU as Bliss and Price got most of the frontcourt minutes, but he returned with a vengeance in Wednesday night’s game at Auburn.

Jackson had a career high 16 points and added 8 rebounds (6 on the offensive glass!) to lead Georgia in both categories in a 59-54 win at Auburn.  Over the last four games, Jackson has shot 67% from the floor (18-27).

It was Georgia’s first SEC road win of the season, and it wasn’t pretty.  Georgia turned the ball over, Auburn couldn’t shoot, and Georgia struggled to seal the game from the line, but finally they made just enough plays at the end of a game to come away with the win.

The Dawgs trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, led by as many as 7 in the second half, and Auburn got back ahead by 5 midway through the second half.  Neither team could grab control down the stretch, and it wasn’t until Billy Humphrey’s free throws with 0.1 second remaining that Georgia could feel certain of the win.  The Dawgs are now 4-11 in the SEC and will close the regular season by hosting Ole Miss on Saturday in the final home game for Sundiata Gaines and  Dave Bliss.

The SEC Women’s Tournament returns to Nashville this weekend. The tournament last took place in the Music City in 2004, and the results were generally kind to the Lady Dogs. It was also the last time that Georgia didn’t earn a first-round bye and entered the tournament as the #5 seed with a game on Thursday.

In 2004, the Lady Dogs overcame the disadvantage of the extra game and moved into the championship game after a semifinal upset over Tennessee (Georgia’s last win against the Lady Vols). The championship game was a painful loss for Georgia as they built a 20 point lead and watched it evaporate in the second half against hometown Vanderbilt. We’d find out later that a stomach virus had struck the team, but it didn’t make the loss sit any better. Georgia built on that SEC Tournament run to go deep into the NCAA Tournament, losing to LSU in the final seconds of the regional finals with the Final Four on the line.

The 2008 bracket seems as favorable as it could be for Georgia to have more success in Nashville. They should get by Alabama easily. Kentucky is as weak a 4-seed as the conference has seen in a while (LSU was #4 last year), and the awful 47-44 home loss to Kentucky still has to dig at the Georgia team. If they can get past Kentucky to the semifinals, they’ll likely face LSU. LSU is a great team of course, but Georgia played them well in Baton Rouge and shouldn’t back down if the teams meet again.

Cream of the crop

• #1 LSU (14-0). Candace Parker will likely win more postseason honors and be drafted higher, but none of the teams contending for the national title rely on one player like LSU relies on Sylvia Fowles. She scores when she wants to, and inside shots are often sent right back at high velocity. Three of LSU’s four losses came when Fowles was injured prior to SEC play, and the only other loss was a close one to UConn. LSU has a bit of an outside game with Quianna Chaney for balance, but Fowles is still the key to the machine. LSU doesn’t have an especially explosive offense, so expect their scores to be low unless turnovers factor in.
• #2 Tennessee (13-1). It can’t sit well that they’re not the top seed at the SEC Tournament, not with a #1 NCAA Tournament seed still in play.  Tennessee has had a solid season as always, but they’ve had moments that make you scratch your head.  Long scoring droughts have been the biggest problem for the Lady Vols this year, and the perimeter game can be hit or miss.  While the Tennessee supporting cast is stronger than LSU’s, more is expected of it.

Pain in the ass

• #3 Vanderbilt (11-3). I can think of no better way to describe them. You hear LSU, Tennessee, blah, blah, blah, and there’s Vandy cutting down the nets. They can score points in a hurry, and their defense challenges your perimeter game. They beat likely second-round opponent Auburn by around 30 points just a week ago, so go ahead and pencil Vandy into the semifinals. To advance to Sunday, they’ll have to beat a Tennessee team that’s beaten them twice by double digits.

Something to prove

• #4 Kentucky (8-6). Everyone expected Kentucky to stumble at some point. They didn’t play particularly well out of conference and are 14-14 overall. They had the Schedule of Death this year playing both LSU and Tennessee twice. Despite that, they beat Georgia and Auburn and went until the final game of the season before they lost to a team seeded 5 or below. South Carolina’s win at Lexington to close the regular season was perplexing after the Wildcats had just come within four points of LSU a week earlier.
• #5 Georgia (8-6).  Georgia’s 13-0 start masked more close finishes than I care to recount.  The team was exposed soon enough and started SEC play 4-5 with a pair of nonconference losses thrown in as well.  This has been one of the weakest Georgia backcourts that I can remember, but they got it together a bit during the end of the season and won four in a row before dropping the regular season finale to Tennessee.  Defense has been strong for much of the year.  Close losses to teams like Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma have shown Georgia’s ability to play with most programs, but they have yet to get over the hump and beat a ranked team this year.  Advancing to Saturday would be nice, but they might have to knock off LSU to avoid an unfavorable NCAA seed.
• #6 Auburn (7-7).  Auburn started 12-1 with a win over Ohio State in there.  That start earned them a ranking, but they soon went into a 1-5 tailspin interrupted only by a 30-point win over Georgia.  Losses to Florida and Ole Miss have them very much on the NCAA bubble, and they might have to beat Vanderbilt to guarantee a spot.  They’ll have 20 wins if they can beat Arkansas, and that always looks good on the resume.

Might make it to Friday

• #7 Florida (6-8).  All in all, this wasn’t a bad year for a Florida team that was the 11-seed a year ago and welcomed a new coach this year.  They were a better team, and their seed reflects that.  Their best win of the year was probably an upset of Auburn.  They’re just a few wins short of being NCAA Tournament material, but that might be getting ahead of things for the first year of the turnaround.  They should still receive a WNIT berth, but they can’t overlook South Carolina in the first round.
• #8 Ole Miss (6-8).  Ole Miss has had an unremarkable season with a win over Auburn the lone standout win.  They had won 3 of 4 before blowing a lead to Florida in the last game.  You’d call them the favorite in this 8-9 matchup, but they split the season series with their rival.
• #9 Miss. St. (4-10).  The Bulldogs have had a bit of a disappointing season. As usual, they have a strong record at home (Starkville is just one of those places), but this year they haven’t done much away from the Hump.

Upset Special?

• #10 South Carolina (4-10). Last year I got lucky and picked Florida’s first-round upset win at the #11 seed. I’ll go with South Carolina this year over Florida. The Gamecocks beat Florida recently, and South Carolina has a bit of momentum after knocking off Kentucky in Lexington last weekend. Florida had to put together a big comeback to beat Ole Miss over the weekend, and they have a new coach in her first SEC Tournament.

No hotel reservations

• #11 Arkansas (2-12). Yes, this team started 15-0 and was ranked at one point. Then they lost a key player to injury, and the season has more or less imploded on itself. Their season should come to a quick end against Auburn.
• #12 Alabama (1-13). An “upset” of South Carolina is their only SEC win in two seasons.

You remember Joey Waldrop – the massive walk-on who became an unlikely fan favorite on the basketball team in 2003-2004. He left the basketball team to concentrate on his acting, and it seems as if that was a great decision. His acting career is starting to gain momentum, and he just finished a television pilot. Here’s hoping that the “dumb jock” thing doesn’t become a typecast for him. He’s actually pretty bright.

It’s getting tough to keep writing the same things about Georgia basketball. Though the effort that seemed lacking against Florida was back for the LSU game, the outcome was the same. With Sundiata Gaines’ ejection, the Dawgs found another way to shoot themselves in the foot and make the odds even longer. All we need now is for Tubby Smith to send some video to the SEC offices.

I thought that people were underestimating Florida a bit when folks lumped the Gators in with Georgia’s final three opponents as "winnable games". Sure, Florida is a bubble team and no great shakes this year, but they’re a good bit more talented than Georgia and had a great deal more motivation playing for their postseason fate. Coaching was more than a slight advantage too.

Now it’s left to Auburn and Ole Miss to get the Dawgs more than three SEC wins. Auburn isn’t a good team, but they’re hosting Georgia, and we know how well road games have gone for the Dawgs lately. Ole Miss has been road kill all season and needed a clock malfunction to hold off Alabama in Oxford, but several teams have reversed road woes in Athens this year. Both of the remaining games are toss-ups. At least Gaines should be available.

SEC Men’s Power Ranking

1. Tennessee: Capped off an emotional week with a win over Kentucky.
2. Miss. State: Quality road win in Gainesville. They’re for real.
3. Vanderbilt: Petitioning to have the SEC Tournament moved to Memorial Gym.
4. Kentucky: Good effort in Knoxville, but can they survive the loss of Patterson?
5. Arkansas: Big win to hold off Vanderbilt.
6. Florida: Does an NCAA bid depend on winning at Rupp?
7. LSU: Three wins in a row, and it could be four after playing Bama.
8. Ole Miss: Homecourt (and clock) the difference in a win over Alabama.
9. South Carolina: Nice road win at Auburn.
10. Auburn: Dropped two straight since beating Alabama.
11. Alabama: Likely stuck on four wins.
12. Georgia: Hey – spring practice starts today!

Lady Dogs

A lackluster win at South Carolina on Thursday night combined with an Auburn loss to Vanderbilt assured Georgia of a winning conference record and no worse than the #5 seed for the SEC Tournament. An unexpected win by South Carolina at Kentucky on Sunday opened the door for a possible #4 seed and first-round bye, but the Lady Dogs would have to beat Tennessee to move ahead of Kentucky.

For a half, it looked as if Georgia had what it took to beat Tennessee. A flurry of three-pointers gave the Lady Dogs a three-point halftime lead. But as nice as it was to lead at halftime, I think that Georgia missed some good chances to take advantage of Tennessee’s miscues on offense early. The Lady Vols weren’t hitting from outside, they were called for several traveling violations, and no one other than Candace Parker was scoring. Georgia was out in front, but you wondered if they could hold on once Tennessee started to find the basket.

As we found out, they couldn’t keep up. In a marquee game, Tennessee’s stars shone brighter than Georgia’s. While Candace Parker was able to score 30 and Shannon Bobbitt came up huge in the second half, Ashley Houts and Tasha Humphrey couldn’t step up. Humphrey struggled to score all night against the Tennessee interior defense, and two second half shot clock violations showed a shocking lack of awareness from the All-American candidate on Senior Night. A defense that had carried Georgia for much of the season relented in the second half as Tennessee broke down Georgia players individually off the dribble.

Despite the loss to Tennessee, Georgia is in decent shape entering the SEC Tournament. As the #5 seed, they’ll face hapless Alabama on Thursday evening. A January loss to Kentucky still stings, and Georgia will get a chance at revenge on Friday. I’d be really surprised to see Georgia drop either of those games and miss another SEC semifinal appearance, but nothing is a given with this team.

SEC Women’s Power Ranking

1. LSU: Perfect SEC regular season.
2. Tennessee: Will free throws cost them in March?
3. Vanderbilt: Definition of the team that no one wants to play.
4. Georgia: Loss to Tennessee halts four-game winning streak.
5. Kentucky: Nearly blew the #4 seed with a home loss to South Carolina
6. Auburn: Is 7-7 in the conference good enough for the NCAA Tournament?
7. Florida: 17-point comeback for a road win at Ole Miss.
8. Ole Miss: Blew a chance at the #7 seed and must play in-state rival in Nashville.
9. Miss. St.: Lost 6 of 8 to end the season.
10. South Carolina: Win at Kentucky makes them eligible for the WNIT.
11. Arkansas: 15-0 out of conference, 2-12 in conference.
12. Alabama: Won’t bring a change of clothes to Nashville.

Junior Courtney Kupets, arguably the best collegiate gymnast in the nation, tore her her Achilles tendon during Saturday’s home meet against Arkansas. The Gym Dogs won the meet easily, posting their highest team score of the season. Katie Heenan scored a perfect 10.0 on the vault to lead the way.

In her time so far at Georgia, Kupets has been two-time all-around national champion, five time individual NCAA champion and 10-time All-American. She also has a team silver and individual bronze medal from the 2004 Olympics.

We wish Courtney the best as she recovers from the latest in a mind-numbing number of injuries for such a young athlete. Collegiate gymnasts are the “senior citizens” of the gymnastics world, and as Coach Yoculan said, “It’s just years of wear and tear.” It’s true, but it’s incredible when you realize that we’re talking about a 21-year-old.

Georgia is the three-time defending national champion, and they’ll have to pull together without one of their best in their pursuit of a fourth-straight national title.

Georgia coach Mark Richt was presented several pineapples by Athens-Clarke Mayor Heidi Davidson on Friday to celebrate the Bulldogs’ victory over Hawaii in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The pineapples were given to Davidson by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann to make good on their friendly wager on the game.

The pineapples were immediately taken from Richt and smashed on the sidewalk by Marcus Howard.

Former Bulldog safety Thomas Davis is getting married. If you check out the wedding Web site, you’ll see some very familiar names among the wedding party. I’d love to see video of when the garter is thrown into that group. Congratulations to Thomas and his lovely fiance.

(Post title blatently stolen from the DawgVent.)

Back in January I picked three things I thought might work against the Georgia football team in 2008. One of those was the offensive line. The 2007 line weathered the storm to become a very competent unit despite a new position coach, three freshmen on the first team, and very little depth. In 2008 the line will face a new set of challenges starting with the replacement of the two seniors who anchored the 2007 unit.

The release of the spring depth chart shows why I singled out the line.

LT
77 Trinton Sturdivant (6-5, 293, So.)
78 Josh Davis (6-6, 293, RSo.)
61 John Potts (6-3, 285, RFr.)

LG
72 Vince Vance (6-8, 320, Jr.)
54 Tanner Strickland (6-5, 328, RFr.)
66 Micky White (6-3, 331, RSo.)

C
63 Chris Davis (6-4, 292, RSo.)
76 Ben Harden (6-3, 310, RFr.)
74 Kevin Perez (6-3, 270, RSo.)
61 Ben Jones (6-3, 300, Fr.)

RG
60 Clint Boling (6-5, 290, So.)
79 Justin Anderson (6-5, 328, RFr.)
73 Chris Little (6-6, 330, RFr.)

RT
75 Kiante Tripp (6-6, 270, RSo.)

The youth of the line jumps out at you immediately. Vance is the only upperclassman in the group, and even he is just entering his second year of the program. No Georgia lineman has more than a year’s experience on the field.

Depth at the tackle position is also hard to miss. You have three scholarship players, and only Sturdivant has significant experience. The situation isn’t as bad as it seems: we know Boling can play tackle if necessary, and others will surely cross-train at tackle this spring.

The good news is that Boling, Sturdivant, and Davis form a solid core for the unit. Davis has an adjustment learning the center position, but he came on nicely at guard last year. And though it’s young, there is talent in there. The depth chart doesn’t include incoming freshmen (except Jones who has already enrolled), and we saw last year how true freshmen can help in a pinch. The job for Searels and his line is as big if not bigger than it was last year, but it’s not an impossible task.

The talk of the weight room so far has been Kiante Tripp. He’s up to 290 lbs. and instantly draws comparisons to Chris Terry, a converted defensive lineman who blossomed at offensive tackle. Tripp’s position change last summer caused a stir, but he saw only very limited reserve action as he adjusted to his new position. Obviously much more is expected of him in 2008.

We can be certain that the depth chart is sure to change even before G-Day. The "starting" offensive line going into spring in 2007 was Josh Davis, Vince Vance, Velasco, Adams, and Chris Davis – at center.

You probably remember that Georgia conceded the removal of the Sanford Stadium hedges in order to host soccer events for the 1996 Olympics. The field had to be widened at the corners to meet specifications, and the hedges were in the way.

That decision produced a minor outcry, but officials reassured the public that replacement hedges would be grown offsite and ready. In fact, they claimed, the existing hedges were facing trouble from parasites and would need to be replaced anyway. With those assurances, Georgia fans were placated, and the new hedges did indeed grow back in thick and full…until the 2000 Tennessee game.

It looks as if they pulled one over on us.

At a recent roast for former Athens mayor Gwen O’Looney, the conspiracy that reached all the way to the top of the Athletic Department and University was revealed:

While supporters said (O’Looney) brought a new openness to government, she was a party to at least one white lie. Former University of Georgia President Chuck Knapp recalled bringing an Olympics official, "a Middle Eastern potentate," to Sanford Stadium to convince him to play soccer there at the 1996 Atlanta games.

The official loved the stadium, but there was a catch.

"There is one minor problem," Knapp quoted the official as saying. "You’ll have to remove those bushes."

O’Looney, Knapp and former football coach Vince Dooley, after consulting UGA horticulturalists, made up a fib that nematodes, a parasitic roundworm, had struck the famous hedges, and they had to be cut down.

Apparently Dooley was still living the lie two years later at a University Round Table in 1998:

The athletic director recounted the uproar among alumni over the advent of women’s Olympic soccer in the stadium and the quest to cure the hedges of killer nematodes infesting the famous privet.
”We sent a couple of nematode experts over there,” he said. The hedges were removed and regrown with cuttings. ”We replaced them with Hedges II,” he said.

The ABH is confirming that tight end NaDerris Ward will leave Georgia after this semester. His likely destination is a PAC 10 school closer to his home in California.

Ward said the health of his grandmother, Hazel Brown, is the main reason behind the transfer. She has bone cancer and will undergo surgery next month, he said. Ward lived with his grandmother in Oakland, Calif., when he played for McClymonds High School.

“She got diagnosed during my first semester at the university, and I’ve just been trying to keep on pushing and working out and going to school,” Ward said. “It’s just been bothering me a lot. When I found out she needed to have another surgery, I just wanted to be closer to her. It’s hard being that far away from my family.”

We wish him well and understand the need to be with family at this time.

Ward’s transfer makes the signing day defection of Dwayne Allen to Clemson that much more significant. Tight end is suddenly a position of need for the Bulldogs.

Not many people expected a favorable result from a road swing to Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and the 0-2 result is no surprise. While we can take some pride in being in position to win at Kentucky or leading after a half in Nashville, losses continue to pile up. It’s becoming very much like the 2004-2005 season where the Dawgs were often competitive but usually ran out of gas against deeper and more talented SEC teams. While this Georgia team is a bit more talented than the group that went 2-14, the results are looking similar.

After a home game against Florida, Georgia gets three opportunities against struggling SEC West teams. Can they break through with road wins at Auburn and LSU? Can they prey on the road woes of Ole Miss?

Florida comes to Athens on Wednesday in the unique position of being both the two-time defending national champion and also a bubble team. The Gators are just over .500 in the league, and their nonconference resume isn’t particularly impressive. With the spoiler role one of the few things left for Georgia, making Florida sweat the postseason would be a small consolation.

Speaking of the postseason, I think there are only three SEC teams who can feel certain of a bid at this point – Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State. Kentucky, Florida, and Arkansas all have good chances thanks to conference records above .500, but those three teams also have plenty of warts that make them classic bubble teams.

SEC Men’s Power Ranking

1. Tennessee: Welcome to the top of the mountain.
2. Kentucky: Got a big win over Arkansas to keep NCAA hopes alive.
3. Miss. St.: Survived against South Carolina.
4. Vanderbilt: There’s no place like home, but will that matter against Tennessee?
5. Arkansas: Missed a chance at Kentucky to solidify their postseason position.
6. Florida: Tough four games to finish the season. Are they on the bubble?
7. South Carolina: Took MSU to overtime.
8. Auburn: Holding their own against the dregs of the SEC West.
9. LSU: Impressive win over Ole Miss. This could be a dangerous SEC Tournament team.
10. Ole Miss: The freefall continues.
11. Georgia: Need to turn effort into wins.
12. Alabama: And still only a game out of third place.

Lady Dogs

As we enter the final week of the SEC season for the women, the postseason picture is becoming clearer. The top four seeds – LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky – are more or less set. Georgia’s win over Auburn combined with Auburn’s loss at Ole Miss have the Lady Dogs in good shape for the #5 seed. That means that the Lady Dogs would be playing on Thursday for the first time since 2004, but they should have an easy path to a quarterfinal meeting with Kentucky.

Georgia had some business to take care of on Sunday before they could look at the standings. After a 30-point loss at Auburn early in January, the Lady Dogs came out in Sunday’s rematch determined to show that the loss was a fluke. They quickly built a double-digit lead thanks to a 2-3 zone that made Auburn star Dewanna Bonner a non-factor for much of the first half. With Auburn unable to hit from outside, the zone was able to choke off the interior.

A 6-0 run to close the first half brought Auburn to within 13 points and gave them some momentum, but Georgia built the lead back to as many as 21 points with 9 minutes left. When it looked as if Georgia might be headed for a 30-point win of their own, Lady Dog turnovers fueled a 17-2 Auburn run that closed the lead to just six points with only three minutes left. A Tasha Humphrey baseline jumper stopped the bleeding, and Georgia was able to hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Congratulations to Tasha Humphrey who became Georgia’s #2 career scorer in Sunday’s win. She doesn’t have much chance of matching Janet Harris’s 2,600+ career total, but few players in SEC history have been in that class. Humphrey has passed such Lady Dog legends as Teresa Edwards, Katrina McClain, and Kelly Miller, and it seemed as if she showed up on campus scoring 20 PPG and pulling down 10 rebounds.

SEC Women’s Power Ranking

1. LSU: In control of the SEC, but UConn too much to handle.
2. Tennessee: Coasting.
3. Vanderbilt: Auburn should be their final tuneup before the postseason.
4. Georgia: Tough to beat when they get offense from the guards.
5. Kentucky: Put a scare into LSU, but offense remains a problem.
6. Auburn: Two straight losses have them looking at a .500 SEC record and the postseason bubble.
7. Ole Miss: Nice home win over Auburn highlights a 2-0 week.
8. Florida: Unforgivable home loss to South Carolina.
9. Miss. St.: Tough to close with Tennessee and LSU.
10. South Carolina: Proving to be pesky.
11. Arkansas: And to think that this team was ranked once.
12. Alabama: Sacrificial lamb for the eventual #5 seed.

Anthony Dasher of UGASports.com reports that Georgia receiver Israel Troupe is not on the 35-man Georgia baseball roster and will focus on football. For someone hoping to make an impression during spring practice and get on the field next fall, that’s the right choice.

Two basketball programs – one a titan and one…not so much – have recently opened new showcase practice facilities with much fanfare. Each looks very impressive and should be assets to those programs both in player development and in recruiting. Since Georgia’s own facility opened less than a year ago, it’s worth taking a look at how Georgia’s investment stacks up against Duke and SMU. Sure, $30 million is an impressive amount to put into a building, and the place looks great, but when you see Georgia’s facility relative to similar projects, you really can appreciate the athletic department’s commitment to these programs.

Note: Remember that Georgia’s facility also includes significant space for the nation’s top gymnastics program; not all of this investment is for basketball.

SMU: Crum Basketball Center

• Cost: $13 million
• Area: 43,000 sq. ft.
• Dedicated practice courts for men’s and women’s programs: Yes
• Connected to arena
• Other: "Players’ locker rooms and lounges, a fully-equipped training and rehabilitation room with in-ground hydrotherapy pools, a state-of-the-art strength and conditioning room, an on-site laundry facility, coaches’ offices and conference facilities for both programs, coaches’ locker rooms and film editing rooms"
• Quotable: "This facility is as nice as any basketball facility in the country! I designed UNC’s locker room, weight room and practice gym…..and "The Crum" is nicer!" – SMU coach Matt Doherty

Duke: Michael W. Krzyzewski Center for Athletic Excellence

• Cost: $15.2 million
• Area: 56,000 sq. ft.
• Dedicated practice courts for men’s and women’s programs: Kind of. The facility includes two adjacent full-sized courts.
• Located next to arena, connected by underground tunnel
• Other: Weight room, banquet room, academic support center, "legacy locker room" for former players, film rooms
• Quotable: "We didn’t cut corners but we didn’t go crazy. We were able to be very efficient with our money and time." – Duke associate athletic director Mike Cragg

Georgia: Coliseum Training Facility

• Cost: $30 million
• Area: 120,000 sq. ft.
• Connected to arena
• Dedicated practice courts/space for all programs: Yes
• Other: Locker rooms, training areas, student-athlete lounges, film rooms, coaches’ offices, conference rooms, meeting/banquet space
• Quotable: "Once we had drawings to show (recruits) that it would be a spectacular facility – it started to make an impression." – Dennis Felton

Which facility is the best doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve been in Georgia’s – it’s incredible, and I’m sure that the others are visually stunning as well. What’s important is that Georgia has given these programs an investment at least on par with a basketball program with the tradition, following, and fundraising ability of Duke.