The Blue Workhorse

Georgia’s Gaines, Bliss - Worst to First in 4 Days

University of Georgia (17-17) seniors Sundiata Gaines and Dave Bliss watched as there once 11-point lead slowly slipped away to the #3 seeded Xavier Musketeers (28-6) in the first round of the NCAA national tournament. The Bulldogs fell 73-61 but the score was not indicative of just how well UGA played throughout the game. They led by 7 with less than 10 minutes remaining and trailed by only 3 with just over a minute remaining before Xavier ended the game on a 9-0 free throw run.

The game was the culmination of the season and a span of 8 days that saw UGA go from basketball obscurity and a losing season to miracle run. It was also the culmination of Dennis Felton’s first five years at the helm of the Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball program and four years of struggles that included trials, tribulations, transfers, and tragedies for the hard-nosed Bliss and Gaines, Georgia’s leader in almost every significant category this season (points, rebounds, assists, steals, minutes played).

Felton Takes Over
It began in 2003, when Felton took over a basketball program swamped in as much turmoil as someone with multiple personality disorder whose personalities are warring against one another (ala Me, Myself, & Irene). The University of Georgia’s previous head coach, Jim Harrick Sr., had just resigned after several accusations were levied against him and his coaching staff, including his son Jim Harrick Jr.

Much like Indiana when bringing in Kelvin Sampson to coach, Georgia had brought in Harrick, a coach who’s reputation of scandal preceded him. Knowing it needed someone with an impeccable record who could clean up the program, Georgia brought in Felton, who had a squeaky clean record on and off the court.

In Felton’s first season (’03-’04), he inherited a team that lost it’s top 3 leading scorers, including current Detroit Piston Jarvis Hayes. But the team did still have several key players from the previous year’s top 25 squad, including current Seattle Supersonic Damien Wilkins. Felton set a precedent of discipline dismissing both Wayne Arnold and Steve Thomas from the squad. The Bulldogs went 16-14, but fell in the first round of the NIT.

Then with the graduation of the remainder of Harrick’s recruits, Georgia began, in earnest, the inevitable rebuilding process that occurs after a scandal rocks a college program. And thus began the last four years of trials, tribulations, and tragedies, Felton’s coaching staff and players have endured.

The Beginning (’04-’05)
In ‘04-’05, Georgia managed one upperclassman, junior reserve walk-on Jay McAuley (who is now a member of the coaching staff). The rest of the squad were freshmen and sophomores as Felton truly started over from scratch.

The veterans on the team were sophs Levi Stukes and Steve Newman. 6′1″ Sundiata Gaines and 6′9″ Dave Bliss were freshman on the 8-20 squad that struggled mightily being vastly overmatched in several contests. Due to NCAA scholarship restrictions, Felton only brought in two other scholarship freshmen with Gaines and Bliss (Channing Toney and Younes Idrissi). Instead, Felton had to use walk-ons, which included some procured from open tryouts held on campus the same way a high school junior varsity coach is forced to find talent.

Felton played six freshman walk-ons along with the scholarship frosh of Gaines, Bliss, Toney, and Idrissi. The baby Bulldogs barely defeated Gardner-Webb and Wofford, lost to Stetson, and were an atrocious 2-14 in conference play.

“We had to grow so close because we had so few players and everybody played so much. It kind of felt like it was us against the world,” forward Steve Newman later said.

The Great Hope…that never was (’05-’06)
In the off-season, Felton did what several other powerhouse programs couldn’t. He signed the #1 player in the nation, shooting guard Louis Williams. By offering a scholarship to Williams’s teammate, Mike Mercer, Felton got both players to sign. However, Williams decided to forego college and headed into the NBA Draft (where he was selected by the 76ers).

The team made strides finishing 15-15, but that was after starting 10-3 with a cupcake non-conference schedule. They did beat Georgia Tech and Clemson, but in conference play, the team finished 5-11 losing 7 of their last 8 games. Felton again showed he would discipline those who didn’t meet the standards of the team by suspending Mercer and fellow freshman Billy Humphrey for a game for violating team rules.

“The standards of our program are more important than winning any particular game,” Felton said. “We’ve got to come to grips with that. We need to understand the value of living like winners and champions all the time, on and off the court.” - Athens Banner Herald [link]

The Tragedy
In the summer of 2006, the Georgia family lost one of its own as Kevin Brophy was killed in a tragic car accident. As a team, it’s always hard to deal with a tragedy, but it makes it even tougher when the player “was the most loved player in the program, from top to bottom” as Felton said about Brophy after his death.

Brophy, an Australian native who fell in love with UGA while being an exchange student in Savannah for two years, walked-on but had earned a scholarship by his sophomore season. Brophy wasn’t a starter or a leading scorer, but he was an emotional leader with a contagious work ethic.

The death greatly affected the coach:

Brophy was not a name known nationally. In fact, he might not have been well-recognized within the SEC. Still, he left his mark with Felton and Georgia — so much so that Felton clearly has been affected by his death. You can see it. You can hear it. You can sense it. - Andy Katz, ESPN.com [link]

“Do It For Broph” (’06-’07)
Georgia also lost their leading post scorer, Idrissi (transfer to Iona), and promising 6-foot-10 freshman Kendrick Johnson (transfer to San Jose CC) before the season and Toney (transfer to UAB) just after the beginning of the season. However, the team rallied around their fallen Australian teammate behind the motto of “Do It For Broph.”

With the addition of JUCO transfer Takais Brown, Felton finally had a true inside post prescence. UGA started off 13-6, including a win over top 25 Gonzaga and a loss to top 5 Wisconsin that was close throughout, leaving them as a possible bubble team 3/4 of the way through the season.

But they finished 5-8 in the regular season with a torn ACL ending Mercer’s season, who finished as the second leading scorer, and effectively putting an end to Georgia’s national tourney bid. During the rough stretch, Felton suspended Stukes, a senior, for conduct detrimental to the team late in the season showing he was concerned with more than just wins and losses even at a tough point in the year.

Georgia was invited to the NIT but lost to Air Force in the second round to end with a 19-14 record.

Promising Season Over Before It Starts?
Coming off a 19-14 season, the Bulldogs appeared primed for a NCAA tournament run as they returned four starters and almost all their key role players. But then:

• Mercer, Brown, and Albert Jackson were each suspended for games to begin the season for missing summer academic classes and/or meetings (Mercer -15 games, Brown -9, Jackson -6).
• Brown was dismissed from the team by Felton for failing drug tests after his suspension.
• Mercer and Humphrey’s room was searched after a custodian found “a substance that looked like marijuana.” No drugs were found, but Humphrey ended up being arrested for possession of a weapon (a pocket knife) on school property.
• Humphrey was suspended for a game. Mercer was eventually dismissed from the team for being a continued distraction to the team during his suspension. (He has since transferred to South Florida.) [ESPN.com link covering all of the incidents]

Felton knew dismissing his top two scorers could eventually lead to the demise of the team’s season, but he still felt it was the right thing to do. The team struggled through the regular season going 13-16, including going 4-12 in conference and losing to subpar squads such as East Tennessee State and Tulane. Seven footer Rashaad Singleton decided to transfer at Christmas break because he wasn’t satisfied with his playing time, and heading into the SEC tournament, the team had lost 11 of their last 13. They were also coming off a 14-point home loss to Ole Miss, their first round SEC opponent. Rumors were spreading about the potential dismissal of Felton. Athletic director Damon Evans was following around Felton, and many people were calling a new head coach.

Overcoming Adversity & A Miracle
In sports, the word “miracle” is reserved for college kids beating the Soviet Union’s professional hockey juggernaut. “Miracle” is kept for Buster Douglas defeating the rock-hard machine that was Mike Tyson. “Miracle” is left for Villanova beating the powerhouse Georgetown Hoyas. “Miracle” is reserved for a hobbled Kirk Gibson on two bad legs hitting a walk-off home run to end a World Series game.

And as Bob Sacamano said in a comment to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Miracle is reserved for an undermanned last place team, seemingly rudderless winning four games in three days after a Wrath of God weather event, winning two of those games within seven hours of each other, to earn a place in the Dance the absolutely only way possible: by winning an automatic bid as SEC Tournament Champions.” [link]

Bliss hit a buzzer-beating bank shot to beat Ole Miss 97-95 in overtime to get the Dawgs to the second round of the SEC tournament. A tornado invaded the tournament at the Georgia Dome while UGA waited in the locker room for their impending game. The severe weather forced the Bulldogs to have to postpone their second round game and change venues. After getting to the hotel around 1:30 AM and likely not going to bed until 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning, the team was later informed, despite objections from Georgia, they would play at noon the following day at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, home of Georgia’s most hated rival Georgia Tech.

Georgia rallied behind their seniors, Bliss and Gaines, had an early walk through in a hotel suite, and went out and defeated Kentucky in overtime 60-56 on freshman reserve Zac Swansey’s turn around three pointer. The team was rushed back to the hotel, where 5 or 6 players had to take IVs in order to replenish their bodies in time for the team’s doubleheader night cap game against SEC West #1 seed Mississippi State.

Gaines scored 20 but fouled out with 7:18 remaining, and UGA trailed 60-59 with 1:37 left. Humphrey, though, played the hero as he scored all six of his points in the final two minutes, and Georgia won 64-60 to advance to the championship game.

Playing their fourth game in 3 1/2 days, the Bulldogs jumped out to as much as a 19-point lead on Arkansas and held on in the second half despite the visible fatigue to several players to win 66-57. The win gave Georgia an improbable NCAA tournament bid and 4 wins in 4 days after only accumulating 4 wins in the two months of conference play.

Felton said he received a phone call from Texas coach Rick Barnes, who Felton was an assistant with previously, after his team cut down the nets and prepared to head to Washington D.C. after getting the #14 seed in the West region:

“He didn’t even say hello,” Felton said, smiling again. “He was on the tarmac getting ready to get on the team plane. He was screaming, ‘Do you understand what you just did? It’s impossible to do what you just did.’ “ - Washington Post [link]

Making a Splash in the Big Dance
If that was impossible, it would have been even more unlikely Georgia would be able to upset #3 seeded Xavier in the first round of the NCAA tournament, but for more than a half it appeared they would. If anyone could do it, it seemed this Georgia team could.

However, with an outrageous discrepancy of free throws attempted (33 to 5 in Xavier’s favor) and a squad with tiring legs and exhausting bodies (Gaines played all but 18 of the 191 minutes he was eligible during the SEC and national tournament, including 38 against Xavier), Georgia lost their 11-point second half lead and succumbed to a strong and very deep Xavier squad.

Regardless of the final outcome against Xavier, this Georgia squad will be long remembered for doing the improbable, because they were able to do what Felton told them prior to the SEC championship:

“I told them to go make history, to go do something that’s never been done and hopefully will never be done again,” Felton says. [link]

As for the two captains, seniors Bliss and Gaines:

“Certainly this one stings a little bit right now,” said Georgia senior co-captain Dave Bliss, who fouled out with 33 seconds remaining. “But what we were able to do, not only last weekend but the whole season, is something I’ll be proud of forever. I hope that our younger guys have learned what it takes, the kind of effort it takes, to play on this level and take that forward into next year.”

Said fellow captain and senior Sundiata Gaines: “We made a special run. We weren’t even supposed to be here, but we had a chance to win this game. The only thing that’s disappointing is that we let that big lead slip away so easily.” - AJC [link]

Gaines, who is taking 20 hours this semester and is scheduled to graduate with a degree in sociology in May and started every game in his four years at UGA, also added:

“I’m just glad I was able to help get Georgia back to the NCAA tournament before I left. I don’t think anybody is going to forget this team. I know that I won’t.” - AJC [link]

And neither will anyone else Yatta. Thanks for the memories and the magical run.

Shotgun Spratling

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