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Basketball Bulldogs open Mike White era with exhibition in Stegeman

Mike White Mike White was announced as the Georgia men’s basketball head coach at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga., on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (Photo by Jack Ozmer)

There is basketball this evening in Athens: the Georgia Bulldogs, under first-year coach Mike White, play an exhibition game against Georgia College. There is no admission charge for the game that tips at 6 in UGA’s Stegeman Coliseum. The basketball Bulldogs will open the regular season next Monday night at home against Western Carolina.

From Mike Mobley, UGA Sports Communications…

The Georgia men’s basketball team will host its lone exhibition prior to the 2022-23 season on Tuesday when the Bulldogs face Georgia College at Stegeman Coliseum. The contest will tip at 6:00 p.m. ET. Admission will be free.

The outing will be the unofficial debut for head coach Mike White, who was named Georgia’s head coach in March following 11 successful seasons at Louisiana Tech and Florida. White arrives in Athens after averaging more than 22 wins per season and leading teams to postseason bids in nine of 10 possible seasons.

“We’re excited to tip it up and start a new era of Georgia Basketball,” White said. “Our guys, at this point, I think are sick of competing against each other, and we’re ready to play a true opponent and be able to play in front of our fans.”

Georgia’s roster is a mix of five returnees and nine newcomers.

All five of the returnees – Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Braelen Bridges, Jaxon Etter, Jailyn Ingram and Kario Oquendo – have starting experience with the Bulldogs. Oquendo is the SEC’s leading returning scorer in conference games. He averaged 18.3 points per game in league play last season. Bridges paced the SEC and ranked No. 7 nationally in field goal percentage during the 2021-22 season, connecting on 63.4 percent of his shots from the floor.

The list of newcomers features six transfers and three freshmen. Five of the transfers – Frank Anselem, Justin Hill, Jusaun Holt, Madrez McBride and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe – played on teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2021 or 2022. The sixth – Terry Roberts – was the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year last season. The freshmen are led by KyeRon Lindsay, a top-100 recruit from Denton, Texas.

“We have much to improve upon and a ways to go before we find ourselves and roles are completely defined,” White stated. “That said, everyone of these opportunities gives us a chance to move in that direction. Overall, this team has brought it pretty consistently in terms of daily growth.”

The Bulldogs will open the season a week from Monday on November 7 when the Bulldogs entertain Western Carolina in the second game of a Georgia Basketball doubleheader at Stegeman. The Georgia Lady Bulldogs will face Coastal Carolina at 6:00 p.m., and the Bulldogs will take on the Catamounts 30 minutes after the conclusion of that game. Tickets for Georgia’s 17-game home slate are now available at https://link.edgepilot.com/s/a247218d/-cMNHZ6veECsw3ZWyHOSkQ?u=http://www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

Tim Bryant

Tim Bryant

Tim Bryant hosts Georgia's Morning News, 6-10 weekday mornings on 98.7FM & AM 1340 WGAU in Athens.

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