Georgia adds 2023 basketball commitment from four-star Dylan James

Georgia Basketball added a commitment in the Class of 2023 on Friday as Dylan James, a 6-foot-9, 190-pound center out of Winter Haven, Fla. chose the Bulldogs over other suitors that included Georgia Tech, UCF, VCU and Iona. James comes in strong at No. 114 overall in the On3 Consensus and as the No. 12 center and No. 11 player in the state of Florida.

James’ MaxPreps page shows him playing in 31 games during his junior season, averaging 15.2 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, 3.4 blocks per game, 2.0 assists per game and 1.3 steals per game. Winter Haven lost in the Florida Class 6A, the second-largest division, semifinals with James as the second-highest scorer. He reached double-figures in 25 of the team’s 31 games including a season-high 26 against George Jenkins. James posted 11 point-rebound double-doubles including a 23-point, 17-rebound showing against Osceola. MaxPreps also shows him having a game with 10 steals against Ingraham and 11 blocks against Olympia.

James is the second commit for Georgia in the Class of 2023, joining small forward Mari Jordan of Dacula, Ga. who committed last December. According to the On3 Consensus, Jordan, a three-star, is the No. 146 player in the country, No. 27 small forward and No. 10 player in the state of Georgia.

Georgia Basketball begins its 2022-23 season, its first under head coach Mike White, November 7th against Western Carolina at Stegeman Coliseum. Fans will have two opportunities to see the team before that though with Stegmania set for next Friday, October 7th and an exhibition against Georgia College on October 31st.

White will be working with a largely new cast of characters this season, even to Georgia fans. The Bulldogs brought in six players from the transfer portal plus one from high school. Mardrez McBride (North Texas), Frank Anselem (Syracuse), Justin Hill (Longwood), Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (Oklahoma State) and Jusaun Holt (Alabama) all played for teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament either in 2021 or 2022 while Terry Roberts (Bradley) helped Florida SouthWestern to a No. 1 junior college ranking during the 2020 season.

While there are several new faces, the Bulldogs do bring back super-seniors Braelen Bridges and Jailyn Ingram as well as senior Jaxon Etter and juniors Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Kario Oquendo. With Oquendo, Bridges and Ingram all back in the mix, Georgia returns its top three in points and rebounds per game while Bridges also finished top three in total assists.

During his time at Florida, White led the Gators to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2017 to 2021. The Gators also made the postseason in the other two seasons. Dating back to his time at Louisiana Tech, White’s teams have made nine straight appearances in the postseason.