Not ten years ago, you’d go to a Georgia basketball game on a January weekend to scan the crowd. It was official visit time for football recruits, and obsessive fans had to know who was there, who was hosting them, what snacks they got from the concession stand, and to what extent they were enjoying the game. The final month of the recruiting process was a zoo with almost half a class still to assemble. Each weekend brought a half-dozen or more high-profile prospects to Athens, and it was disaster if verbal commitments didn’t follow.

Here we are now a month from signing day, and crickets are chirping. Tumbleweeds. Georgia football recruiting is more or less finished. Recruitniks are already moving on to look at the early standouts in the 2009 class. There are just a few storylines remaining for what might well be the top recruiting class in the nation:

• Maintain those who have committed to date. That includes some like TE Dwayne Allen who have been looking around a bit, but the recruiting pundits don’t expect any defections.
• Maintain the commitment of A.J. Harmon. Harmon, one of the state of Georgia’s top line prospects, switched his commitment to Georgia from Clemson over the weekend. Harmon still shows a bit of indecision, but it’s clear that he has been thinking about committing to Georgia for some time. In fact, he tried several weeks ago only to be told that there was no room left. The subsequent transfer of Blake Barnes opened up a scholarship for Harmon. Depending on whom you read, Harmon is either solidly in the Georgia camp now, or just "kinda" committed.
• Watch the decision of Zebrie Sanders. The story of Sanders, a standout offensive tackle from Ohio, has taken an interesting turn recently. Sanders was more or less down to Georgia or Florida, but both schools have put him on hold within the past week.

Florida’s sudden change of heart with regard to Sanders might be explained by last weekend’s commitment of tackle Matt Patchan. If they were considering Sanders as an insurance policy in case Patchan went elsewhere, they can move on to other priorities.

Why has Georgia suddenly cooled on a four-star tackle like Sanders? The reason might be named Omar Hunter. Hunter, a defensive tackle from Buford rated the #4 DT in the nation by Rivals.com, pulled his verbal commitment from Notre Dame last weekend. It was assumed that Hunter would simply switch his pledge to Florida, but rumors this week indicate that Hunter is also showing some late interest in Georgia.

I don’t get that involved in crunching scholarship numbers. All I know is that Georgia manages to field a team every year with the right number of scholarship players, so I leave the worrying and accounting to those paid to pay attention to those things. That said, we know that Georgia is very close to its limit even with Sanders and Hunter hanging out there. There was room for Harmon only after Blake Barnes transferred, so were the Dawgs holding a final scholarship for Sanders? Has the interest of Hunter made Georgia apply the brakes? One source shows how that might be the case:

Sanders came to the Under Armour game set to announce a commitment to Florida or Georgia. The 6-foot-6, 275-pounder had hoped to commit on ABC…but a pair of phone calls changed the plan.

"I was supposed to commit today," Sanders said after the game. "I called Florida up and I called Georgia up. Coach Meyer and [Georgia] coach [Mark] Richt both told me that right now wouldn’t be the right time."…

…This could be a "slow play," meaning Florida and Georgia coaches are encouraging Sanders to wait as they sort out their scholarship numbers and determine if they have room for him in their classes. NCAA rules allow schools to bring in only 25 new players a year, and some may not even have enough open scholarships to sign that many. So Sanders will wait until Sunday before announcing his final decision.

So even in this relatively calm homestretch, there is some drama worth keeping up with. Things should settle pretty quickly; Sanders is still planning on committing on January 13th, and Hunter is expected to visit Florida this weekend. Excepting the always-possible signing day surprise, it should be a pretty quiet finish to a great class.

With the sole exception of the brief Takais Brown era, Georgia basketball over the past four years has been defined by the fortunes of up and down guard play.  We seem to be back in that mode again this season. Fortunately the backcourt came up huge in a 79-72 win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday evening. 

The Dawgs had four guards and wing Terrence Woodbury as their top five scorers.  After a career-high 24 points against Gonzaga over the weekend, Billy Humphrey followed it up with another 23 points tonight.  He shot a blistering 9-of-12 from the floor and, more importantly, continues to find his game inside the arc.  Only three of Billy’s attempts were three-pointers.  Sundiata Gaines had another solid night with 16 points.  Like Humphrey, Gaines shot 75% from the floor.  As we’ve come to expect from Gaines, he was among the team leaders with six rebounds and had five assists against just one turnover.

Make no mistake, it was an ugly game.  The score was 2-2 at the first TV timeout.  The two teams missed 27 free throws between them.  Both teams were guilty of some pretty stupid fouls. These aren’t two teams with any delusions of greatness this year.  But it was still Georgia-Georgia Tech, and it mattered to both teams as they prepared for conference play.

Georgia was able to gain some separation after the slow start and led by as many as 12 in the first half before going into the locker room up by 9.  Tech made a pair of runs in the second half and eventually drew even at 51 midway through the half, but they were never able to take the lead.  After Tech tied the game, another Georgia guard, walk-on Corey Butler, drilled a three-pointer.  The Dawgs ran off seven in a row but were unable to put the Yellow Jackets away.  Tech soon drew back to within two, and the Georgia lead ebbed and flowed for the rest of the game.  Importantly, Georgia hit free throws – 9 of 10 in the second half at one point – and free throws proved to be a turning point in the game.

With just over two minutes remaining, Tech’s Jeremis Smith missed two free throws with a chance to tie the game.  Georgia center Dave Bliss was fouled on the rebound and drilled his two foul shots to put Georgia ahead by four.  Corey Butler followed that up with another clutch three-pointer to extend the lead to seven, and that was all she wrote.

With the win, Georgia remains perfect at home against their rival since the series returned home-and-home in 1995.  With Georgia’s 75-70 win in Atlanta in 2000 the sole road victory in the series, the Dawgs now hold an 8-5 mark against Tech since the game returned to the campuses.

Coach Dennis Felton deserves recognition for a good personnel strategy.  Georgia was able to find success with a smaller lineup that got three guards plus Woodbury on the floor.  I’m sure part of the strategy was dictated by foul trouble among the post players, but it’s getting hard to keep both Humphrey and Butler off the court.  If this is how we’re going to live and die this year, so be it.  Felton is now 3-2 against Georgia Tech.

The Dawgs are finished with nonconference play and head to Starkville this weekend to open the SEC slate against Mississippi State.  We’ve seen enough to know that the Dawgs will succeed or fail based on the play of Humphrey and Gaines, but what we don’t know is how far that will take them in a weak SEC.  Forgetting that for the moment, a win over Tech was big for Felton and the program if only to keep the fans behind the program heading into conference play.  Great showing by the students.

Player of the game:  Billy Humphrey.  A second-straight big game.  Consistency has been Billy’s weakness, even tending to disappear for stretches, and he was money all night long in this game.  Humphrey has feasted against Tech; he scored a team-high 19 in the 2005 win, and there’s no better way to get in my good graces than to come up big against Tech. On top of all of that, he led the Dawgs in this game while playing through a sore left knee that had him questionable for the game in the first place.

Play of the game:  Butler’s three-pointer to give  Georgia the lead for good at 54-51.  It put Georgia on top to stay.

• Box Score

Beautiful…then comes the crash

If the Sugar Bowl was, as Colt Brennan said, the biggest Hawaiian event since statehood , the aftermath has been the biggest disaster to hit the state since…well, we won’t go there.

First was June Jones’ departure for SMU. Jones chose the scorched earth strategy on his way out of town by firing off a letter criticizing the athletic department for its lack of support. Only when SMU showed interest did Hawaii make an attempt to improve its commitment to the program, claimed Jones.

It didn’t take long for athletics director Herman Frazier to be forced out, and of course speculation centers on that fact that Frazier couldn’t pull several million dollars out of thin air to fund the Hawaii program to the level Jones wanted.

In the span of a week, the Hawaii program has gone from the feel-good "Bad News Bears" story of the 2007 season to smoldering ruins of a program. I was completely wrong last year when I thought that Boise State’s 2005 loss to Georgia would result in lasting trauma for that program, but here I go again. The Hawaii program was on the brink of being dissolved when Jones took over, and it took his unique scheme to get some success from the limited talent base and limited resources available to him.

Receiver Davone Bess will head to the NFL, and of course Brennan is gone as well. There are definitely some quality players coming back, but one wonders how long the new coach will be able to keep things going. The Hawaii wave looks to have crested, and there’s no telling now what gets washed up onto the rocks. It’s kind of sad to see – there was something fresh and enjoyable about the state using the team as a point of cultural pride.

Congratulations to LSU.

For what it’s worth, Georgia finished #2 in the final AP poll and #3 in the final coaches’ poll. I’m among those who think Georgia’s final position matters; it’ll give the Dawgs a good starting position next season, and it’s something to recognize Georgia’s best AP poll finish since 1980. Congratulations to the Dawgs on a memorable and successful season.

Last week the Arizona women’s team had to finish a game 5-on-2. Hopefully it won’t get to that point for the Georgia men’s team, but at this rate of attrition who knows? Center Rashad Singleton has left the program to transfer to another school where he might see more playing time. He becomes the third player to leave the program since practice began. The 7’0" Singleton was still very much a project as a junior, and he had been replaced in the starting lineup by freshman Jeremy Price. Singleton was a factor if only for post depth, but his departure won’t have nearly the impact that the loss of Mercer and Brown had.

The Singleton-less Dawgs paid a return visit to the west coast over the weekend and dropped a game to Gonzaga. It wasn’t a surprise to lose to a quality team like Gonzaga, but the difference in offensive production from this game to last season’s win over the Zags was pretty stark. Billy Humphrey poured in four three-pointers for Georgia’s first 12 points of the game, but Georgia couldn’t keep up from there. To their credit, they were able to cut the lead to single-digits by the end (what a regrettable foul at the end by Corey Butler), but they never put the outcome in doubt.

It’s not worth harping on the team’s problems now because 1) they’re many and 2) they’re familiar and expected. Scoring is an issue without Brown and Mercer, and it’s just going to be that kind of year where significant games come down to Gaines playing out of his mind.

A weak SEC might be Georgia’s saving grace this year, but so far they are contributing to the conference’s weakness instead of looking to be in a position to take advantage of it.

I said a few weeks ago that a win over Tech was one of the big things I looked for this season, and this Wednesday’s game looms huge now. It’s not just the rivalry. Tech is a struggling, beatable team. It’s an opportunity for the Dawgs to show some balls against a vulnerable opponent in a game that means something to even casual Georgia basketball fans. With the personnel losses, even if understandable, and a lukewarm performance through the schedule so far, Felton ‘s program needs an injection of good news and goodwill. A win over Tech would give it to him.

Lady Dogs record their first loss

With a 13-0 start and a #7 ranking, one would think all was well in the world for the Lady Dogs. But that start and record was a bit of fool’s gold, and that was exposed in a decisive loss at Xavier on Sunday.

Georgia’s schedule this year has been uncharacteristically soft. Just a year ago, the Lady Dogs beat Stanford and Rutgers in the first few games of the season. This year, for the first time I can recall, the Lady Dogs have yet to face a ranked team. That fact will change, of course, as SEC play begins and the Lady Dogs take a midseason trip to Oklahoma. En route to that 13-0 start, the Lady Dogs struggled with several good-but-not-great teams like Temple, USC, Georgia Tech, and FSU. Those are teams that will likely be bubble teams at the end of the regular season, and it’s been all Georgia can do to get past them.

While no one was glad to see the first loss of the season come, it has also been clear for some time that this team wasn’t playing Top 10 ball. One can hope that the loss jolts a bit of urgency into the team on the eve of SEC play. It’s likely though that the problems are more fundamental. To sum up, the team has looked slow, soft, and shallow. They got a single point off the bench against Xavier, and the starters weren’t able to do nearly enough. While the radio team wrote it off as "one of those days," offensive production has been a problem for the team all season. Tasha Humphrey will usually – though not always – score in the high teens or 20s. Ashley Houts usually manages double-figures also. After that, consistency is out the window.

Coach Landers is disappointed with the lack of fight against a physical opponent. "What does a competitor do when someone comes out and punches? They punch back," he said. "We didn’t punch back. We didn’t compete. It’s surprising. It most certainly is. It’s sickening, is what it is, it’s sickening."

Both the depth issues and lack of offense are puzzling given that two very talented scorers are on the bench. Christy Marshall lit up the SEC as a freshman last year but has really struggled this season. A concussion back in December hasn’t helped her progress. Brittany Carter was one of the top prospects in the nation and drew comparisons to Deanna Nolan, but for whatever reason she hasn’t seen much playing time. The only newcomer to see significant time has been Angela Puleo who earned a starting job as a freshman. But Puleo seems to start out of necessity; players like her are usually sharpshooters who make an impact for a few minutes off the bench. They’re not everyday starting 2-guards.

It might look silly to seem down on a 13-1 team, but there are some big questions facing this team as they start SEC play with Ole Miss this Thursday. Coach Landers seems concerned too with ominous statements about bench production and toughness.

The Atlanta Sports Council has brokered a nationally-televised game between Clemson and Alabama to be played at the Georgia Dome on August 30 at 8 p.m., according to the AJC.

The game invites two regional powers and recruiting rivals into the backyard of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Naturally Clemson and Alabama coaches are giddy over a beachhead into the talent-rich state of Georgia.

Coaches from both schools see the exposure generated from the game as beneficial to recruiting,

"I thought it was a win-win for both schools," said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden. "Once the TV platform, the exposure and the opponent were explained, it was a no-brainer."

Saban said, "I’ve always been an advocate of us playing in a game that can get us national recognition."

The Sports Council probably did try to talk to Georgia and/or Georgia Tech first, but there’s no advantage to either school in moving a home game to the Georgia Dome. I’m sure Stokan and the Sports Council are proud of themselves for arranging what amounts to a preseason bowl game for the city of Atlanta, but allow me to say what Mark Richt won’t: suck it, Gary. Thanks for nothing.

Three schools were moved ahead of Georgia by the pollsters in the final BCS standings. Two have played their bowl game. Both have lost in upsets. Just sayin’.

Hey, but at least they won their conferences…

Orangebloods.com, the Texas Rivals site, is reporting that the Longhorns will add current Auburn defensive coordinator and former Bulldog player Will Muschamp to Mack Brown’s staff. Three years ago Texas raided Auburn’s defensive coordinator, and Gene Chizik produced a national title defense for them in 2005.

If the move pans out, it will add to an offseason of churn on the Auburn staff. Tommy Tuberville has already replaced offensive coordinator Al Borges, but he wasn’t planning on shaking up his aggressive defense. Muschamp had been mentioned in connection with the Arkansas, Southern Miss, and Georgia Tech head coaching vacancies, but a lateral move as defensive coordinator wasn’t expected.

Muschamp had said just a week ago that, “I have a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old and a wife that likes living in certain places. Quality of life is very important.” You can’t really compare Austin and Auburn in that respect. As someone with head coaching aspirations, perhaps Muschamp sees Texas as a better stepping stone on a career path that has to settle down soon. Even with his young family, the Texas position would be his fourth job since the 2004 season.

From Petrino to Chizik to Borges to Muschamp, Tuberville has made some pretty good hires along the way, and his decision to demote Hugh Nall in favor of Borges in 2004 has been credited with saving Tuberville’s job. Muschamp’s replacement should be no less interesting of a decision.

I’m sure Georgia did learn a lot from their 2006 Sugar Bowl loss to West Virginia, but even before last night’s Fiesta Bowl I thought it was a mistake to put West Virginia in the “little guy” class with Boise and Hawaii. West Virginia has been a quality nationally-competitive program for three seasons now, and they’ve sustained a reasonably high level of play over that time (with the occasional slip of course). While I’m glad Georgia approached this year’s Sugar Bowl the way they did, I’m still confident that the team which sleepwalked into the 2006 Sugar would have won pretty easily on Tuesday night.

It’s not news that most Division 1 schools provide special admissions criteria for student-athletes. Even academic strongholds admit student-athletes with academic credentials far below typical incoming freshmen at those schools. This reality is one of the things we live with for the sake of interesting and profitable intercollegiate sports, and we make it easier to stomach by rationalizing that schools are providing educational opportunities for those who would otherwise have none.

The NCAA sets the bare minimum guidelines to prevent the admission of student-athletes from becoming a complete farce, and it’s up to the schools to apply their own admissions standards above and beyond those minimums. Many do, some don’t. The University of Georgia, for example, generally grants admission to any prospective student-athlete meeting minimum NCAA standards. In Georgia’s case, a faculty oversight committee is an additional quality control on character and honor code issues.

Tension between athletic and academic interests over admissions standards is also not a new development. Georgia decided to deny admission to Jamar Chaney not because of more strict academic standards but because of honor code concerns. Even that decision drew criticism from a small handful of fans who claimed that any standards other than the NCAA minimums placed the University at a competitive disadvantage in recruiting student-athletes.

Steve Spurrier made headlines earlier this year when he clashed with University of South Carolina officials over the school’s rejection of two incoming recruits who met NCAA requirements. Spurrier went so far as to threaten "to go somewhere else" if the policy wasn’t addressed. South Carolina eventually agreed to amend their policy and, more importantly, provide feedback much earlier in the process so that the football program could devote its resources to prospects who weren’t admissions risks.

The latest development in the blurring of the lines between athletics and admissions comes from Florida International. Coach Mario Cristobal’s contract includes language that places authority for the admission of student-athletes solely with the athletic director.

University shall admit to FIU all student-athletes meeting the NCAA Academic Eligibility requirement … provided the student-athlete has been cleared through the NCAA clearing house and been approved by the Athletic Director.

Taking Spurrier’s threat to leave one step further, FIU would be in breach of contract if they failed to admit a student-athlete who met NCAA minimums and who had been approved by the AD.

Don’t mess with punters from Laurens County.

Last week we noticed how the local cable company in Hawaii was going all-out to provide HD service to customers in time for the Sugar Bowl. The saga continues…

Unfortunately for the cable company and especially for subscribers, cable service went out for 170,000 customers statewide during the second quarter.  Service was restored almost immediately for most, but several thousand households waited up to an hour into halftime for the problem to be fixed.

Cable operators are blaming vandals looking for valuable copper wiring.  We suspect a merciful Hawaii fan who had seen enough.

If it’s not Zook’s recruits, it’s his own top 1% of the top 1%: 

Well, for those guys who just put in their time and didn’t make any real contributions, it’s time for you to go. It won’t be hard to say goodbye to some of those guys who just went through the motions. Now for those kids who actually bought into the program, and who made some sacrifices and contributions — you know, like Bubba Caldwell….he’s a graduate of UF and had a great career — you’ll really miss those guys. But just because you’re a senior doesn’t mean you have any value.

We kind of felt like we had some answers early on and it took us awhile to figure out that we don’t,” he said. “Some young guys that we were counting on to play were not living up to the standards that we expect and I’m hoping that changes.

“Coach Carr made the comment after the game,” Meyer said, “that ‘One day you’re going to retire and your players are going to play as hard for you as they did for me today.’ ”  After such inspiring words from Meyer about his own troops, who could doubt Carr’s prediction?

Hawaii offensive line coach Dennis McKnight:

We didn’t block them. We didn’t execute. They’re no faster than guys we’ve played. Everybody has speed. We just didn’t do our job. We didn’t protect early. We didn’t play good at all on the offensive line. It’s that simple. We’re not trying to sugar coat it.

The standout quarterback who showed plenty of guts in the face of that pressure disagreed:

It was the hardest, fastest team I’ve ever seen.

Dennis Roland, Sr., father of former Bulldog offensive lineman Dennis Roland, passed away yesterday after a fight with cancer. Roland had coached at two schools in Gwinnett County, most recently Central Gwinnett, and had an impact on the communities in which he worked and lived.