Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Tue Nov 22, 2022 4:16 am

SEASON FOUR
2025-26


Coach Information
Name: Dale Connover
Age / Record: 39 (69-37, .651)
Conf. Titles: 1 (2025)
National Coach of the Year: 0
SEC Coach of the Year: 1 (2025)
National Titles: 0
Final Fours: 1 (2025)
Elite Eights: 1 (2025)
Sweet Sixteens: 2 (2024, 2025)
Reputation: 77% (+9)
Contract: $491,000 / 6 years
Offense: 81%
Defense: 64%
Recruiting: 94% (+4)
Scouting: 72%
Development: 95% (+6)

School Information
School: Georgia Bulldogs
Location: Athens GA
Conference: SEC
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523 Cap)
Budget: $220,250 ($162,000 Assistants / $57,750 Recruiting)
Facilities: B+
Academics: B (SAT Min: 940)
School Prestige: 65% (+8)
Conf. Prestige: 77%

Scouting Reports
Southeast Premium ($30,000)

Camps
None.

Remaining Recruiting Budget: $27,750 (2 Scholarships Open)

NBA Draft
None.

Norton Nominees
Jason Sanders and Ajibayo Zuraaba have been nominated for the Norton Award. Either one of them could leave early for the NBA, along with some other players. So I am definitely wanting to make the most out of this season while we have this core group together! (It also makes me nervous as hell about recruiting, as we’re not liable to have much money left at the end of the season if they do choose to bail. On the early list of nominees, Zuraaba is ranked 36th while Sanders is 22nd.

Committed Recruits
6’2” SG David Patrick (HS Senior, Miami FL) 3.1 GPA (#17 Ntl, #6 Reg) 19.3 ppg 3.7 apg 6.5 rpg 2.6 spg 1.2 bpg
6’6” PF Craig Smith (HS Senior, Germantown TN) 4.0 GPA (#58 Ntl, #17 Reg) 18.8 ppg 2.0 apg 10.1 rpg 1.4 spg 1.6 bpg

David Patrick comes in as a WSSN ***** recruit, giving us a Blue Chip player and a guy in Craig Smith who looks to be a real diamond in the rough. I’m happy with this class, but hoping that we don’t lose anyone and have to fill extra spots because I aimed high and most of our remaining interested recruits are likely to sign elsewhere and we lack the funds to begin a new search.

Redshirts
Derrick McCarter and Ryan Hill will both redshirt this season. They both have huge upside and would not get much playing time this season considering our depth among experienced veterans. Playing either of them now would waste their eligibility, and I think both could have strong first-year seasons like Scott Ware did after his redshirt season.

Schedule
11/16 - @ #17 Uconn
11/23 - @ Ohio State
11/26 - @ #20 Brigham Young
11/30 - #25 Cincinnati
12/3 - Alabama St.
12/7 - #24 Memphis
12/9 - (n) Tulsa - Golden State Classic
12/13 - @ Clemson
12/17 - @ #5 Arizona
12/21 - Georgia Southern
12/28 - #10 North Carolina
1/4 - @ Auburn
1/7 - #8 Kentucky
1/11 - @ Tennessee
1/14 - #7 Florida
1/18 - @ LSU
1/21 - Texas A&M
1/25 - @ South Carolina
1/28 - Auburn
2/1 - @ #8 Kentucky
2/4 - Alabama
2/8 - Arkansas
2/11 - @ Vanderbilt
2/15 - Mississippi St.
2/18 - @ Mississippi
2/22 - @ Missouri
2/25 - Tennessee
3/1 - @ #7 Florida
3/4 - LSU

Roster
PG - Ajibayo Zuraaba (6’2” 175 lbs Jr) International HS (Nigeria) 2.8 GPA (4.5/5.0) 13.1 ppg 2.7 rpg 6.8 apg 0.7 spg 0.5 bpg
SG - Jason Sanders (6’3” 205 lbs Jr) Athens Christian HS (Athens GA) 3.3 GPA (4.5/5.0) 16.7 ppg 4.8 apg 1.9 apg 0.5 spg 0.7 bpg
SF - Mike Lampley (6’6” 216 lbs Fr) Baypoint HS (Miami FL) 3.7 GPA (2.0/4.0)
PF - Scott Ware (6’6” 193 lbs So RS) Gulf Breeze HS (Gulf Breeze FL) 4.0 GPA (3.0/4.5) 10.1 ppg 3.7 rpg 2.0 apg 0.8 spg 0.3 bpg
C - Gary Taylor (6’8” 246 lbs Jr) Temple Christian HS (Titusville FL) 3.8 GPA (4.5/4.5) 13.3 ppg 10.4 rpg 1.5 apg 1.6 spg 2.3 bpg

6 - Clarence Lawson (6’9” 242 lbs Jr) Rome HS (Rome GA) 2.1 GPA (2.5/4.0)
7 - Drew Hartsfield (6’9” 255 lbs Sr) Westside HS (Augusta GA) 3.8 GPA (3.0/4.0) 6.5 ppg 4.8 rpg 0.8 apg 0.9 spg 0.6 bpg
8 - Derrick Paige (6’4” 212 lbs So) Le Queen HS (Le Queen AR) 3.6 GPA (1.5/4.0) 3.8 ppg 0.7 rpg 0.6 apg 0.1 spg 0.1 bpg
9 - C.J. Demond (6’4” 206 lbs So) Beech HS (Hendersonville TN) 3.1 GPA (1.5/3.5) 3.5 ppg 1.3 rpg 0.8 apg 0.5 spg
10 - Brian Eidson (6’6” 224 lbs Sr) Carrollton HS (Carrollton GA) 3.4 GPA (1.5/3.5) no significant minutes
11 - Eric Brinson (6’10” 237 lbs Fr) Jackson Southside HS (Jackson TN) 3.0 GPA (1.0/2.0)
12 - Roberto Traylor (6’7” 207 lbs Jr) Apalachee HS (Winder GA) 3.1 GPA (3.0/3.5)*
13 - Wayne Redden (6’2” 201 lbs So) Cartersville HS (Cartersville GA) 3.2 GPA (2.0/3.5)*

RS - Derrick McCarter (6’1” 201 lbs Fr) Munford HS (Munford AL) 3.2 GPA (1.5/4.5)
RS - Ryan Hill (6’5” 193 lbs Fr) Campbell HS (Smyrna GA) 3.2 GPA (0.5/4.0)
__________
* Walk-on

Last year’s lineup has aged a year, and added freshman Mike Lampley to the starting core. Clarence Lawson, as our sixth man, will start out with plenty of minutes coming off the bench as a forward / center hybrid, something in the range of 18-20 minutes a game, while Lampley will start at small forward but play only 22-24 minutes a game until he gets his feet wet. Zuraaba, Sanders and Taylor will each play 30-34 minutes a night at the least, which will leave Hartsfield, Paige, Demond and Eidson coming off the bench for just 8-10 minutes apiece. But yes, Eidson should get some minutes as a Senior. He has earned it … in three seasons he has played in only eight games, during garbage time, picking up a total of 16 minutes. But he’s been a strong practice motivator, and he’s earned a chance to at least play meaningful minutes and hopefully score his first points (he has earned one steal and one assist in his time as a Bulldog).
We’ll start the season ranked #21 in the nation, the first time we’ve ever been ranked in the preseason.
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Tue Nov 22, 2022 4:34 am

I'm trying to make this diary format as easy to follow / skim / gorge as possible. But I know it's a lot of imformation to post in such big chunks. Is there anything in particular you guys would like to see in these posts? More analysis on my part? More stats / figures? I'm all ears ;) Having a ton of fun with this one, it's the most I've gotten into a dynasty report in years! Since Coach Connover started at age 36, i'm hoping I can keep this one going long enough to turn him into Georgia's own Mike Krzyzewski ;)
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby PointGuard » Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:10 pm

Your dynasty thread is flowing well. Only thing I can think of to suggest is to maybe just show the pre-conference games when displaying the schedule. Once conference play begins we all know you're going to be playing every team in your conference once or twice during the season.
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Fedora-CB;Town Crier-CB;FIve Friends/Foes-CB;Media Perspective-CB;Whatever It Takes-CB;Who's Bret Vandergard-CB;Gym Rat-CB;Repairman-CB;S. Mastroani-TPG;V. Stevenson-TPG
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Wed Nov 23, 2022 12:15 am

PointGuard wrote:Your dynasty thread is flowing well. Only thing I can think of to suggest is to maybe just show the pre-conference games when displaying the schedule. Once conference play begins we all know you're going to be playing every team in your conference once or twice during the season.


Makes sense :) I mostly have the full list typed out there so I can easily copy / paste it to the next page where I space everything out for the CODE sections.


- - - - -

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
11/16   #21   @ #17 Uconn            W 85-59        1-0              J. Sanders (32 pts 10 reb 2 blk) G. Taylor (14 pts 9 reb 3 ast)
11/23         @ Ohio State           W 61-58        2-0              A. Zuraaba (19 pts 4 reb 3 ast) J. Sanders (17 pts 8 reb 3 ast)
11/26         @ #9 Brigham Young     W 73-66        3-0              A. Zuraaba (21 pts 2 reb 6 ast) G. Taylor (11 pts 17 reb 3 blk)
11/30         #25 Cincinnati         W 76-43        4-0              J. Sanders (25 pts 6 reb) S. Ware (13 pts 8 reb 3 blk)
12/3          Alabama St.            W 89-67        5-0              A. Zuraaba (25 pts 4 reb 11 ast) J. Sanders (15 pts 8 reb 4 ast)
12/7    #19   Memphis                W 94-59        6-0              A. Zuraaba (20 pts 4 reb 12 ast) J. Sanders (21 pts 7 reb 4 ast)
12/9    #19   (n) Tulsa              W 68-58        7-0              J. Sanders (32 pts 10 reb 1 blk) G. Taylor (8 pts 19 reb 1 blk)
12/10   #19   (n) #10 W. Virginia    W 83-76        8-0              J. Sanders (26 pts 10 reb 2 ast) G. Taylor (15 pts 11 reb 3 blk)
12/11   #12   (n) #4 Syracuse        W 88-85        9-0              G. Taylor (18 pts 12 reb 2 blk) J. Sanders (18 pts 6 reb 2 stl)
12/13   #12   @ Clemson              W 73-66        10-0             G. Taylor (10 pts 18 reb) A. Zuraaba (23 pts 6 reb 6 ast 2 blk)
12/17   #12   @ #1 Arizona           W 84-76        11-0             A. Zuraaba (13 pts 4 reb 9 ast) G. Taylor (7 pts 17 reb 4 blk)
12/21   #4    Georgia Southern       W 83-60        12-0             J. Sanders (27 pts 7 reb 7 ast) G. Taylor (17 pts 12 reb 5 blk)
12/28   #4    #9 North Carolina      W 82-75        13-0             A. Zuraaba (15 pts 4 reb 12 ast) S. Ware (15 pts 11 reb 1 ast)


No respect at all! We’re getting none from anyone in the media … pre-season ranked, but we drop out despite three top-25 wins and then barely get back in at #19. Then we beat two top ten teams and only move up to #12. THEN we manage to get a stunning eight-point win over #1 Arizona ON THE ROAD and they move us up to #4 while letting the 10-2 Wildcats STAY at #1. We had the top NET rating in the nation and yet nothing. But all we can do is keep playing our games out and know that when they disrespect us, they can expect the Bulldogs to claw their eyes out on the court. Bottom line: We’re undefeated, we’ve beaten SEVEN TOP 25 TEAMS, and we’re gunning for the undisputed SEC Championship this team seems destined for.

Good news academically worth noting -- Clarence Lawson has worked his ass off all semester, getting his GPA up to a respectable 3.1! I knew he was a JuCo transfer worth sticking my neck out for!


Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
1/4     #4    @ Auburn               W 97-71        14-0 (1-0)       J. Sanders (30 pts 5 reb 6 ast) S. Ware (15 pts 7 reb 2 blk)
1/7     #4    #12 Kentucky           W 64-58        15-0 (2-0)       J. Sanders (22 pts 4 reb) G. Taylor (14 pts 14 reb 10 blk)
1/11    #3    @ #10 Tennessee        W 66-63        16-0 (3-0)       G. Taylor (23 pts 8 reb 3 stl 5 blk) A. Zuraaba (12 pts 5 ast)
1/14    #3    #7 Florida             W 77-59        17-0 (4-0)       J. Sanders (28 pts 8 reb 2 ast) G. Taylor (14 pts 8 reb 2 blk)
1/18    #1    @ LSU                  W 84-67        18-0 (5-0)       J. Sanders (28 pts 4 reb 2 ast) A. Zuraaba (12 pts 5 reb 9 ast)
1/21    #1    Texas A&M              W 85-67        19-0 (6-0)       J. Sanders (18 pts 15 reb 3 ast) A. Zuraaba (17 pts 4 reb 6 ast)
1/25    #1    @ South Carolina       L 74-79        19-1 (6-1)       J. Sanders (22 pts 5 reb 2 ast) G. Taylor (11 pts 11 reb 1 blk)
1/28    #1    Auburn                 W 62-58        20-1 (7-1)       A. Zuraaba (16 pts 3 reb 3 ast) D. Paige (14 pts 3 reb 2 ast)


We became the last undefeated team standing on January 7th, and we FINALLY ascended to the #1 spot in the polls on January 15th. And I’d like to say we were all just focused on playing one game at a time, but it gets hard to not dream hugely when you have a team like we do this year -- it seems like destiny the way we were asserting our dominance on the court day in and day out. But once we lost our first game, against South Carolina on the road, I was able to get the team to focus more on the goal at hand: winning an outright SEC Title.

Jason Sanders and Ajibayo Zuraaba are now officially Quarterfinalists for the Norton Award! Jason Sanders is currently ranked #4 on the list, putting him on track for All America status, while Zuraaba is ranked 27th and is unlikely to make the next cut. Sanders told me this week that he’s been discussing with his family whether, with NIL rights keeping him pretty comfortable right now, whether he should stick around for his senior year or whether he should test the NBA waters. I told him do what is best for him -- he has played his heart out, keeps doing so, and owes us nothing. (But I’m keeping my fingers crossed …)
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Wed Nov 23, 2022 1:07 am

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
2/1     #2    @ #15 Kentucky         W 68-57        21-1 (8-1)       A. Zuraaba (22 pts 2 reb 7 ast) J. Sanders (11 pts 8 reb 3 ast)
2/4     #2    Alabama                W 85-54        22-1 (9-1)       A. Zuraaba (20 pts 4 reb 6 ast) M. Lampley (15 pts 1 reb 2 stl)
2/8     #2    Arkansas               W 80-64        23-1 (10-1)      J. Sanders (13 pts 9 reb 3 ast) G. Taylor (16 pts 10 reb 5 blk)
2/11    #2    @ Vanderbilt           W 75-60        24-1 (11-1)      J. Sanders (14 pts 9 reb 2 ast) G. Taylor (13 pts 13 reb 3 ast)
2/15    #2    Mississippi St.        W 78-64        25-1 (12-1)      S. Ware (14 pts 9 reb 1 ast) G. Taylor (6 pts 13 reb 4 blk)
2/18    #2    @ Mississippi          L 70-86        25-2 (12-2)      A. Zuraaba (18 pts 1 reb 6 ast) G. Taylor (12 pts 7 reb 3 ast)
2/22    #2    @ Missouri             L 65-69        25-3 (12-3)      G. Taylor (9 pts 18 reb 4 blk) J. Sanders (11 pts 8 reb 3 ast)
2/25    #2    #17 Tennessee          W 78-67        26-3 (13-3)      G. Taylor (23 pts 11 reb 4 ast) J. Sanders (14 pts 6 reb)
3/1     #3    @ #4 Florida           L 75-87        26-4 (13-4)      J. Sanders (17 pts 5 reb 3 ast) A. Zuraaba (16 pts 1 reb 9 ast)
3/4     #3    LSU                    L 86-87        26-5 (13-5)      G. Taylor (18 pts 8 reb 4 ast) A. Zuraaba (18 pts 1 reb 5 ast)


Jason Sanders was named a Norton Semifinalist on February 12th, though his recent performances knocked him to sixth in the polling. Meanwhile, losses on the road against Ole Miss and Missouri took us from leading the SEC by a game over Florida to suddenly needing a win against Tennessee just to stay in the race. We got that win, and Florida lost 56-62 on the road to Alabama, setting us up for an epic must-win rematch against the Gators, this time on the road, for the whole enchilada with both of us at 13-3 in the conference. Unfortunately we came up short, letting them outscore us 50-36 in the second half to win the game by a dozen. And though we could have backdoored our way into a tie when Florida lost their last game to Vanderbilt by three, instead we then went out and lost ours to LSU by one. So Florida is your regular season SEC Champion this year. Congrats, Gators! We’ll get you next time.

Good news: Jason Sanders did finish as a Norton Finalist, though it looks like he’s going to be a 2nd Team All American unless he really shines in the postseason tournaments. The better news is he’s chosen to return for his Senior year!
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Wed Nov 23, 2022 4:55 am

SEC Tournament
Code: Select all
Date    Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
3/9     (7) Texas A&M          W 101-59       27-5             J. Sanders (29 pts 9 reb 2 ast) S. Ware (21 pts 5 reb 1 stl 2 blk)
3/10    (11) Alabama           W 91-72        28-5             A. Zuraaba (13 pts 13 ast 2 stl) J. Sanders (21 pts 9 reb 3 ast)
3/11    (5) LSU                W 88-73        29-5             J. Sanders (26 pts 7 reb 2 ast) A. Zuraaba (16 pts 10 ast 2 stl)


We won the SEC Tournament for the second year in a row, beating LSU in the rubber match after splitting our two meetings during the season, and avenging the loss we took on our home court just a week prior! I’d say LSU did a lot to boost their NCAA tourney seeding by beating Auburn, Mississippi and Florida to get to the finals. Alabama, at 18-15, is likely heading to the NIT. Had they beaten us in the semifinals it might have been enough to win over the committee.

The following teams made it into the NCAA Tournament:

Charlotte: (1) Georgia
Charlotte: (2) Florida
Milwaukee: (5) Kentucky
Milwaukee: (7) LSU
Orlando: (11) South Carolina
Orlando: (8) Texas A&M
Spokane: (3) Tennessee

Missouri and Mississippi made it into the NIT. Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Alabama made the CBT. I think I’m not alone in saying that 12 of 14 teams in a conference going to the postseason is a bit much. Only Mississippi State (12-18) and Auburn (14-19) missed out.

NCAA Tournament

Code: Select all
Date    Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
3/16    (16) Towson            W 88-58        30-5             J. Sanders (22 pts 2 reb 2 ast) G. Taylor (14 pts 12 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
3/18    (9) UCLA               W 78-53        31-5             J. Sanders (21 pts 5 reb 2 ast) C. DeMond (10 pts 2 reb 1 ast)
3/23    (13) Houston           W 84-73        32-5             J. Sanders (20 pts 9 reb 4 ast 1 stl) A. Zuraaba (22 pts 4 reb 5 ast)
3/25    (2) Florida            W 78-73        33-5             G. Taylor (15 pts 10 reb 3 ast) J. Sanders (17 pts 6 reb 2 ast)
4/1     (1) Syracuse           L 77-82        33-6             J. Sanders (22 pts 6 reb 4 ast) A. Zuraaba (10 pts 2 reb 11 ast 2 stl)


On Thursday in the Round of 64, we played in one of the early afternoon games, obliterating Towson as we led from wire to wire. Florida got their first win in the tourney in years, beating (15) Canisius 94-83. Kentucky survived a close one against (12) Michigan, winning 72-68. LSU fell to (10) Western Kentucky’s Hilltoppers 66-73, becoming our first SEC team to fall out. On Friday South Carolina upset (6) Virginia 77-69, Texas A&M outshot (9) Jacksonville 87-76 and Tennessee beat up on Harvard to win 73-50.

On Saturday afternoon we punched our ticket to our third Sweet Sixteen in a row by beating UCLA by 25, giving me my 100th career win! Florida punched their ticket with a win over (10) Washington by a 72-48 margin, but Kentucky fell to (4) Boise State 60-71. It was a pretty “chalk” day … only (13) Houston managed to upset their way into the second week. Meanwhile on Sunday, (1) Arizona steamrolled A&M 96-67, while South Carolina gave (3) Texas a real run for their money before losing 62-72. Tennessee then was knocked off by (6) Georgetown 59-66, making the Hoyas the second highest seed to advance. Looks like the best teams are going to truly get to battle it out!

Particularly in our bracket, where on Thursday we handled Houston handily, while Florida won a close one against Villanova 87-80 to set up our third meeting of the season, this time in the Elite Eight! And this time they didn’t have the energy to fight us off for forty minutes -- we emerged down the stretch witn enough motivation to put the Gators away 78-73, advancing to our second Final Four in a row! That set up a rematch against (1) Syracuse, who we beat 88-85 to take home the Golden State Tourney title in December. They are a tough team to face now, however, as they’ve spent the bulk of the year ranked #1 in the nation, and they play like it. We found out the hard way as we battled for 38 minutes in a dead heat only to let the Orange squeeze past us in the end 82-77. ‘Cuse went on to be humiliated by (1) Arizona 93-69, while we went home knowing we had only one more shot to get a title for this, the greateast team to play for Georgia outside of football.

Team Leaders
Scoring: Jason Sanders (18.8 ppg) Ajibayo Zuraaba (12.9 ppg) Gary Taylor (11.4 ppg)
Rebounding: Gary Taylor (11.0 rpg) Jason Sanders (7.2 rpg) Scott Ware (5.6 rpg)
Assists: Ajibayo Zuraaba (7.8 apg) Jason Sanders (2.6 apg) Derrick Paige (2.1 apg)
Steals: Gary Taylor (2.0 spg) Mike Lampley (0.8 spg)
Blocks: Gary Taylor (2.9 bpg) Scott Ware (1.1 bpg)

Graduating Players
Brian Eidson (3.4 GPA) 1.4 ppg 1.2 rpg 0.7 apg 0.3 spg (42 games)
Drew Hartsfield (4.0 GPA) 5.1 ppg 4.0 rpg 1.0 apg 0.7 spg 0.6 bpg (122 games, 21 starts)

Awards
2nd Team All American: Jason Sanders
SEC Coach of the Year: Dale Connover
SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Gary Taylor
1st Team All SEC: Jason Sanders
1st Team All SEC: Gary Taylor
2nd Team All SEC: Ajibayo Zuraaba

Arizona’s head coach Tim Davis won National Coach of the Year in a landslide. I have to settle for remembering that our team beat his on their own court, and we would have relished that rematch in the title game. Maybe next year. We met all our goals again this year by making it back to the Final Four, winning the Conference Tournament and putting up another 20+ wins … hell, we did 30+ for two straight years! Next year anything less than competing for that National Title will feel like a disappointment with the team we’ve put together. I suspect I’ll coach a lot of solid young men in the coming years, but I have a hard time imagining we’ll ever have a starting core this talented.

I’m a little miffed that the board denied my request for a budget increase. Next year we’ve got to fill the shoes of this entire class, and my coaches will be in contract negotiations, but I’m doing “just fine with what I have” so go get us a Championship! Figures. I’ll get ‘em next year!

Our recruiting class is ranked 15th in the nation. Kentucky (#3), Florida (#8) and Tennessee (#9) beat us, and Vanderbilt came in 44th. No one else in the SEC had a class within the top 100.
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Thu Nov 24, 2022 5:06 pm

SEASON FIVE
2026-27


Coach Information
Name: Dale Connover
Age / Record: 40 (102-43, .703)
Conf. Titles: 1 (2025)
Conf. Tourney Titles: 2 (2025, 2026)
National Coach of the Year: 0
SEC Coach of the Year: 2 (2025, 2026)
National Titles: 0
Final Fours: 2 (2025, 2026)
Elite Eights: 2 (2025, 2026)
Sweet Sixteens: 3 (2024, 2025, 2026)
Reputation: 85% (+8)
Contract: $491,000 / 5 years
Offense: 81%
Defense: 64%
Recruiting: 94%
Scouting: 72%
Development: 95%

School Information
School: Georgia Bulldogs
Location: Athens GA
Conference: SEC
Arena: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523 Cap)
Budget: $220,250 ($162,000 Assistants / $57,750 Recruiting)
Facilities: B+
Academics: B (SAT Min: 940)
School Prestige: 69% (+4)
Conf. Prestige: 79% (+2)

Scouting Reports
Southeast Premium ($30,000)

Camps
None.

Transfers
Eric Brinson was unhappy with his playing time, and I acknowledged he probably isn’t ready to play at this level so I’m honestly hoping he finds a better fit for his skills. He certainly wasn’t going to be playing for us much this year either. I looked at the guys in the transfer portal and I decided I’d rather spend our money recruiting rather than taking someone else’s castoffs.

Remaining Recruiting Budget: $27,750 (5 Scholarships Open)

NBA Draft
None.

Norton Nominees
Jason Sanders and Ajibayo Zuraaba are both again nominated for the Norton Award. Both are within the top thirty at this point of the season, but are not considered “Preseason All Americans” on the hot list. I know Sanders in particular seems to really want to be a 1st Team All American this year, but he’s always been a team player this far, so I don’t expect the Norton race to go to his head.

Committed Recruits
6’9” C Eddie Hancock (HS Senior, Fairburn GA) 3.0 GPA (#6 Ntl, #2 Reg) 25.2 ppg 16.1 rpg 1.5 apg 3.5 spg 3.9 bpg
6’10” C Wil Burrough (HS Senior, Jacksonville FL) 3.1 GPA (#40 Ntl, #10 Reg) 15.4 ppg 13.8 rpg
6’5” SG Corey Finley (HS Senior, Jonesboro GA) 2.8 GPA (#54 Ntl, #14 Reg) 17.7 ppg 3.8 rpg 2.0 apg 1.6 spg 0.9 bpg
6’2” PG Brandt Gunn (HS Senior, Columbia SC) 3.0 GPA (#95 Ntl, #28 Reg) 15.6 ppg 4.6 rpg 5.0 apg 2.3 spg 0.6 bpg
6’7” PF Jeff Robins (HS Senior, Tampa FL) 3.1 GPA (#182 Ntl, #24 Reg) 13.9 ppg 7.5 rpg 1.6 apg 2.3 spg 1.9 bpg

Eddie Hancock is the star of the class, a top-ten five star player who has the potential to be a one and done. Burrough and Finley look to have the potential to be strong four-year players, and Brandt Gunn is a borderline three to four star player who looks to have the willingness to be a role player who could handle decent minutes off the bench. He and Robins look to be redshirt candidates at the least.

Redshirts
I am not going to use any redshirts this year. However, Craig Smith will have to prove himself this year as a freshman. He says he wants to play big minutes, and if he doesn’t deliver off the bench this year he will likely be a redshirt candidate next year to giv him time to develop. But I believe in giving a chance to players, and we’re not particularly deep on our bench. I expect Lampley, Smith and Lawson to play our biggest minutes off the bench, with McCarter, Paige, Demond and Hill mostly serving as cleanup. Hill, despite his redshirt last year, still looks quite raw and will need to show he can play at this level. His attitude to this point has been lacking, but if he works hard he’ll keep a spot on the team.

We’re only using two walk-ons this year despite having room on the roster for three. I don’t see the need, quite frankly.

Schedule
11/14 - UNLV
11/17 - Indiana St.
11/21 - Ball St.
11/24 - @ Gonzaga
11/28 - Illinois
12/1 - @ Wichita St.
12/5 - Dayton
12/13 - Clemson
12/16 - Long Beach St. - Las Vegas Winter Jam
12/19 - @ #4 Syracuse
12/26 - #9 Notre Dame

We are preseason ranked #15 this year.

Roster
PG - Ajibayo Zuraaba (6’2” 175 lbs Sr) International HS (Nigeria) 3.1 GPA (4.5/5.0) 12.9 ppg 2.9 rpg 7.8 apg 0.7 spg 0.7 bpg
SG - David Patrick (6’2” 190 lbs Fr) Braddock HS (Miami FL) 3.1 GPA (4.0/5.0)
SF - Jason Sanders (6’3” 205 lbs Sr) Athens Christian HS (Athens GA) 3.5 GPA (5.0/5.0) 18.8 ppg 7.2 rpg 2.6 apg 0.5 spg 0.8 bpg
PF - Scott Ware (6’6” 193 lbs Jr RS) Gulf Breeze HS (Gulf Breeze FL) 4.0 GPA (3.5/4.5) 7.7 ppg 5.6 rpg 0.8 apg 0.6 spg 1.1 bpg
C - Gary Taylor (6’8” 246 lbs Sr) Temple Christian HS (Titusville FL) 3.9 GPA (4.5/4.5) 11.4 ppg 11.0 rpg 2.0 apg 2.0 spg 2.9 bpg

6 - Mike Lampley (6’6” 216 lbs So) Baypoint HS (Miami FL) 4.0 GPA (2.5/4.0) 7.3 ppg 2.1 rpg 1.6 apg 0.8 spg 0.2 bpg
7 - Craig Smith (6’6” 207 lbs Fr) Houston HS (Germantown TN) 4.0 GPA (2.0/4.0)
8 - Clarence Lawson (6’9” 242 lbs Sr) Rome HS (Rome GA) 3.1 GPA (3.0/4.0) 6.6 ppg 4.3 rpg 1.0 apg 0.8 spg 0.6 bpg
9 - Derrick McCarter (6’1” 201 lbs Fr RS) Munford HS (Munford GA) 3.5 GPA (2.0/4.5)
10 - Derrick Paige (6’4” 212 lbs Jr) Le Queen HS (Le Queen AR) 3.6 GPA (1.5/3.5) 5.7 ppg 0.9 rpg 2.1 apg 0.1 spg 0.1 bpg
11 - C.J. Demond (6’4” 206 lbs Jr) Beech HS (Hendersonville TN) 3.2 GPA (2.0/4.0) 3.4 ppg 1.4 rpg 0.9 apg 0.4 spg 0.1 bpg
12 - Ryan Hill (6’5” 193 lbs Fr RS) Campbell HS (Smyrna GA) 3.6 GPA (1.0/4.0)
13 - Roberto Traylor (6’7” 207 lbs Sr) Apalachee HS (Winder GA) 3.1 GPA (3.0/3.5) no significant minutes*
14 - Wayne Redden (6’2” 201 lbs Jr) Cartersville HS (Cartersville GA) 3.2 GPA (2.0/3.5) no significant minutes*
__________
* Walk-on
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:44 am

BOUGHT THE 2022 GAME!
$9.99 was too good to resist!


It says I have to wait until May 1st in the game, the BUY REPORTS stage, to import my team, so I'll be playing in 2021 until then! :) :) :)
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby PointGuard » Fri Nov 25, 2022 4:42 pm

Good set of pre-conference opponents this year for a team with Georgia's talent.
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Re: Ballin' With The Bulldogs: The Dale Connover Story

Postby jksander » Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:59 pm

PointGuard wrote:Good set of pre-conference opponents this year for a team with Georgia's talent.


It has proved to be a challenging non-conference slate that set us up well for the rigors of conference play! Here's the first ten weeks or so of the season summarized ... it's looking good for our Bulldogs, but we all know making it back to the Final Four for a third season consecutively will be the ultimate challenge ;)

Code: Select all
Date    Rank  Opponent               Score          W/L Record       Leaders
11/14   #15   UNLV                   W 76-65        1-0              J. Sanders (18 pts 5 reb 6 ast) G. Taylor (11 pts 4 reb 4 stl)
11/17   #15   Indiana St.            W 86-73        2-0              G. Taylor (23 pts 11 reb 5 stl) J. Sanders (16 pts 9 reb 5 ast)
11/21   #15   Ball St.               W 91-77        3-0              D. Patrick (28 pts 4 reb 2 stl) A. Zuraaba (26 pts 7 ast 2 stl)
11/24   #15   @ Gonzaga              W 90-79        4-0              J. Sanders (20 pts 8 reb 2 ast) A. Zuraaba (12 pts 7 ast 5 stl)
11/28   #17   Illinois               W 75-58        5-0              A. Zuraaba (20 pts 6 ast 1 stl) J. Sanders (16 pts 9 reb 6 ast)
12/1    #17   @ Wichita St.          L 56-70        5-1              G. Taylor (14 pts 8 reb 5 stl) J. Sanders (15 pts 4 reb 2 stl)
12/5    #15   Dayton                 W 84-48        6-1              C. Lawson (16 pts 8 reb 3 ast) M. Lampley (12 pts 8 reb 1 ast)
12/13   #11   #20 Clemson            W 106-77       7-1              G. Taylor (14 pts 12 reb 2 stl) J. Sanders (19 pts 5 reb 11 ast)
12/16   #11   (n) Long Beach St.     W 87-59        8-1              A. Zuraaba (22 pts 3 reb 9 ast) J. Sanders (19 pts 8 reb 5 ast)
12/17   #11   (n) Houston            W 101-88       9-1              G. Taylor (18 pts 11 reb 3 blk) A. Zuraaba (21 pts 3 reb 7 ast)
12/18   #8    (n) #21 Creighton      L 70-73        9-2              J. Sanders (16 pts 7 reb 5 ast) A. Zuraaba (16 pts 2 reb 8 ast)
12/19   #8    @ #9 Syracuse          L 76-86        9-3              A. Zuraaba (18 pts 3 reb 7 ast) J. Sanders (17 pts 7 reb)
12/26   #12   #13 Notre Dame         W 78-59        10-3             J. Sanders (12 pts 8 reb 5 ast) G. Taylor (5 pts 18 reb 2 stl)
1/2     #13   @ Auburn               W 79-57        11-3 (1-0)       A. Zuraaba (14 pts 4 reb 10 ast) G. Taylor (10 pts 13 reb 3 blk)
1/5     #13   Missouri               W 85-44        12-3 (2-0)       G. Taylor (20 pts 9 reb 2 ast) J. Sanders (18 pts 4 reb 7 ast)
1/9     #9    Tennessee              W 77-71        13-3 (3-0)       J. Sanders (10 pts 14 reb 6 ast) G. Taylor (15 pts 8 reb 3 blk)
1/12    #9    @ #7 Florida           W 90-75        14-3 (4-0)       S. Ware (21 pts 12 reb) J. Sanders (15 pts 9 reb 4 ast 1 stl)
1/16    #8    #22 Arkansas           W 79-57        15-3 (5-0)       G. Taylor (17 pts 11 reb 2 ast) J. Sanders (15 pts 7 reb 3 ast)


With this win we earned sole posession of first place in the SEC ahead of LSU (11-5, 4-1) and Arkansas (14-3, 4-1), and Jason Sanders brushed past the 2,000 points scoring mark, our first player to ever break that mark! He’s also 3rd on the list for assists (308) and 2nd in rebounds (704), steals (107) and should pass the 100 career blocks mark before he graduates. Gary Taylor, meanwhile, passed the 1,200 rebound mark with this game, along with 1,322 career points. His rebound record is more than 500 more than anyone I have coached and will be a hard record for new recruits to fell.
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