Herbert Hoover was president the last time the Georgia men’s basketball team got off to a start like this.
When the Bulldogs beat South Carolina State in their final non-conference game of this year’s regular season, they secured their first 12-1 start since 1930-31. They didn’t stop making program history there.
Third-year head coach Mike White’s Bulldogs rebounded from an SEC-opener loss to Ole Miss by beating consecutive top-20 teams for the first time since 2007. Georgia stunned No. 6 Kentucky in front of a raucous Stegeman Coliseum crowd, and followed it up with another home win over No. 17 Oklahoma.
“We couldn’t have done it without the crowd,” freshman forward Asa Newell said, after the Oklahoma game. “They’re always there for us. Creating a home court advantage is something that’s super important to us as a team, and just going out there and keeping the standard up is something that we need to do every time we take home court.”
Newell has been a revelation for the Bulldogs. He’s looked every bit like the potential NBA lottery pick he was advertised as when he joined his brother, redshirt sophomore forward Jaden Newell in Athens. Asa Newell leads the Bulldogs in points and rebounds per game, and averages just over one steal and block apiece. He’s flashed scoring skills beyond his years and has a nonstop defensive motor to go with it.
Fellow freshman Somto Cyril has been a monumental addition to Georgia’s interior defense, currently averaging a team-high of two blocks per game. He’s already had five games this season with at least four rejections.
But it’s not just the youth taking over. Transfer swingman RJ Godfrey has been a steady presence all year, while Tyrin Lawrence and De’Shayne Montgomery brought some needed experience to the backcourt out of the portal. So has Dakota Leffew, who is second on the team in scoring. The Bulldogs have also gotten some solid defensive minutes from Appalachian State transfer Justin Abson.
And then there’s Silas Demary Jr. – he was arguably the most interesting player on Georgia’s roster last year as a freshman, with defensive instincts and playmaking standing out on a team that arguably wasn’t all that competitive in the SEC. Demary plays the game with a fire not seen in every college basketball player. This year, he’s been on a different level.
Demary is Georgia’s lead ball handler on offense and the most important perimeter player on defense. He’s become one of Georgia’s most vocal leaders on both ends of the floor and is, in many ways, the heart and soul of the team.
“A lot of stuff that he brings to this team and this program right now — and I hope he continues to grow in his role — does not show up on the box score that we’re looking at right now,” White said. “His leadership in huddles, the impactful things he’s saying in timeouts, the way he carries himself … He’s got an ability to affect the game in a big way without scoring, but he also can score.”
Georgia couldn’t pick up a road win at Tennessee on Wednesday, Jan. 15, falling to the Volunteers 70-68. The Bulldogs then lost a heartbreaker to top-ranked Auburn on Saturday after a last-ditch comeback effort fell just short. Those losses, combined with Georgia’s lopsided 75-28 combined free throw attempt margin in its two top-25 wins, has led some to doubt whether or not this team’s early success is to be taken seriously.
But for the Bulldogs, it’s just more motivation to prove people wrong.
“Since we’ve been here at Georgia, we’ve had outside noise like, ‘Why are you at Georgia? Georgia is not good at basketball, whatever,’” Cyril said. “We’ve been working for success since June. I know these guys like my brothers.”
The Bulldogs have a tough stretch of SEC games ahead, including No. 5 Florida – a true, deciding factor of this team’s legitimacy.