Mike White confirms Kario Oquendo will be healthy to practice

It was a strangely low-scoring game, especially in the first half, between Georgia and Mississippi State. For Mike White, though, he ended up coming out on top in what could prove to be an important conference win. However, it briefly looked like the Bulldogs would lose Kario Oquendo in the game too.

Oquendo was held scoreless in the game and, as White confirmed, was banged up early in the game. That’s a concern given that he’s dealt with injuries already this season. However, White was also able to confirm that Oquendo is ready to get back to practice.

“He was banged up a little bit there and then we got the clearance to give him another opportunity,” Mike White said. “It just wasn’t his night, but he’s a culture guy. He’s got a great attitude and he’s fired up as anyone in our locker room that Georgia won, that he and his teammates won, and he’s a big piece of what we’re doing and he’ll be ready to go in practice tomorrow.”

This season, Oquendo has been averaging 13 points per game. So, not getting on the stat sheet at all stands out.

“This is a team where it’s been for the most part, and I said Terry [Roberts] and Braelen [Bridges] earlier, and obviously I screwed up by leaving Kario out, he’s one of the best scorers in our league. So, he’s a guy that we’ll continue to rely upon offensively. He did some other things defensively I thought.

Georgia moved to 12-4 on the season and 2-1 in SEC play with the win over Mississippi State. The Bulldogs’ next game is against Ole Miss on Saturday.

“But it just seems with this team, very uniquely, it’s somebody’s turn, you know, different every night. It just seems a different two or three guys, especially outside of those top three scorers, night in and night out,” Mike White concluded.

Mike White on what he’s learned about Georgia

After making the move from Florida to Georgia, Mike White had to learn about his new team. After knocking off Auburn, White did his best to explain what he’s learned so far this season.

“We’ve continued to grow in that area,” White said.

“Terry’s grown up a lot. Maybe we can have a potentially a very competitive bench that’s interested in making winning plays as opposed to trying to make hard shots and coach keeps [them] in the game. We’ve got to continue to work on defensive rebounding. I’ll watch the film. I’m sure there’ll be a dozen more things that we’ve got to learn from tonight.”