The Red and Black

Issue date: 1/13/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: FELTON FELTON [Click to enlarge]

The Georgia men's basketball team is on a three-game losing streak, but the team's attitude has remained positive.

With the SEC schedule now in full tilt, hanging heads would only complicate matters.

"We're still upbeat because we know that two of the teams we played are top teams in the country, Tennessee and Missouri," said Georgia guard Corey Butler. "Just knowing we could contend with those guys, compete with them at the highest level keeps us upbeat."

The Bulldogs are not counting close losses as moral victories, but rather as learning experiences to move them forward.

"We should have won those last three games," said Georgia point guard Zac Swansey. "We had a great chance to win all three of them and to come up short on all of those was disappointing. We just have to put it behind us and move on to these next 15 games in conference play."

For Georgia head coach Dennis Felton, coaching offensive systems and defensive tenacity is his day job. Fully preparing and motivating his team is an around-the-clock process.

"There is a tremendous amount of psychology that goes into it," Felton said. "All of us are amateur psychologists. Part of it is we spend of a lot of time trying to maintain our own sanity too. You just spend hours upon hours reflecting and thinking and trying to figure out the best way to lead your team."


Time for Georgia to get physical

Felton was clear in statements made in his office Monday that it's time to bring more physicality.

Up until the recent three-game skid, the Bulldogs relied on defense and rebounding to carry them through offensive dry spells. Struggles to pull rebounds have been cited as the cause of the losing streak.

"We might not be as long and as athletic as some teams," said Felton. "Some guys can just naturally rebound better, like [guard] Travis Leslie having a real knack for rebounding because of his instincts and his athleticism.

"Georgia Tech certainly has more guys than us like that, in terms of length and athleticism. Tennessee does too, but that doesn't mean we can't still do better than them on the glass."

Felton emphasized that the problem will be corrected, as rebounding is a sense of pride.

"Rebounding is toughness, effort, desire," Felton said. "Those sorts of things."


Youth and inexperience for team

No excuses have been made, but youth and inexperience have taken its toll on the Bulldogs.

Twelve underclassman are on the roster, with true freshmen Trey Thompkins, Dustin Ware and Travis Leslie getting significant run in the rotation.

"We know that we have to play through our youth," Felton said. "We know that young guys are going to make mistakes and aren't going to be as consistently disciplined because they're learning new habits. Those habits are not in tact as easily as they are for experienced guys."

The past two games have introduced the freshmen trio to basketball against rivals, of the in-state and conference variety (Georgia Tech and Tennessee). Vanderbilt offers another first, in the form of the initial conference road test.

"I've never been to Vanderbilt so I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like," Thompkins said. "Obviously it will be a competitive game because it's in our conference and it's really important to win."

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