Spring Break
Easy exhibition victory prepares Dogs for season
NICK PARKER
Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: News
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Although North Georgia was clearly overmatched from an athletic and talent standpoint, and despite the team still being "a work in progress in so many ways" according to Fox, the game still served as a tremendous opportunity for Fox to get to see a variety of players, with no player playing more than 23 minutes and 11 players seeing 10 minutes or more.
"We were able to get a lot of players a lot of looks and a lot of playing time," Fox said. "And that's what you want in an exhibition game."
The exhibition game offered fans their first chance to view the revamped Dogs under Fox in their new Triangle Offense.
And there was much to be optimistic about. Fans saw an athletic team that pushed the ball on the fast break and passed with a purpose in their half-court sets.
Gone were the stagnant offensive sets that resulted in so many rushed shots late in the shot clock last season.
"We played the way we're supposed to," Dustin Ware said.
For Fox, it was a chance to see how players would play in front of a crowd and react under the bright lights, while exercising a variety of lineup combinations, many of which will likely never be seen again.
And those players looked substantially different from last year.
None more important than the emergence of Travis Leslie, who Fox says he has arguably pushed harder than any other player on the roster and is critical in filling the voids left on the wings by departed seniors Terrence Woodbury and Corey Butler. Not because he isn't a hard worker but because Leslie is perhaps the best athlete in the SEC.
Leslie showed signs of greatness last year with a 23 point game against Loyola Chicago and a 19 point effort against Texas A&M - Corpus Christi but was inconsistent, averaging 6.3 points per game last season.
