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Georgia Basketball freshmen arrive on campus for summer activities

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•06/04/23•

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Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Georgia Basketball’s Class of 2023 is on campus and ready to roll with the Bulldogs this summer. Mike White and company signed four players from the high school ranks that make up the nation’s No. 18 – and SEC’s No. 4 – ranked class.

Blue Cain, Silas Demary and Dylan James are all three top-100 players according to the On3 Industry Ranking while the fourth player – Mari Jordan – ranks in the top 100 according to ESPN. It’s the first time since 2019 that Georgia has multiple players in the top-100 and just the third time overall since recruiting rankings began being tracked in the early 2000s.

Blue Cain

Cain, a shooting guard from Knoxville, Tenn. who played this past season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., is ranked No. 65 in the country, No. 16 among players at his position and No. 5 in the Sunshine State according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s even higher according to the in-house On3 rankings at No.50, No. 12 and No. 3 respectively.

Prior to transferring to IMG for his final year of high school, Cain played two seasons on the varsity team at Knoxville Catholic. As a sophomore, he poured in 15.7 points per game before upping that average to 19.7 as a junior in 2021-22. He also had 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game helping lead the Irish to the Division II-AA State Championship Game while earning a spot on the All-State Tournament team.

Cain came onto the scene as a recruit at the National Basketball Players Association event in Orlando, Fla. There he was one of 10 players named to the event All-Star Team averaging 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals, while hitting 53.4 percent of his shots from the floor, and his team won the tournament.

Cain signed with Georgia Tech earlier in the process. He got out of that National Letter of Intent after the Yellow Jackets fired head coach Josh Pastner after the 2022-23 season. Cain originally chose the Yellow Jackets over Yale, Tennessee, Syracuse, South Carolina and others. Others in his recruitment this time included Virginia

On3’s national recruiting analyst had the following to say about Cain: “Blue Cain has a smooth feel for the game. He plays at his own pace and doesn’t get rushed to get where he is going. Cain has a solid handle as a secondary ball-handler. He shows a confident pull-up jump shot in the half-court and consistent form in catch-and-shoot situations. You would like to see him continue getting stronger and play with more urgency at times, but he has feel on the ball, explosion at the rim, and does take contact well in the paint.”

Silas Demary

A native of Charlotte, N.C., Demary is the No. 74 player in the country and No. 16 point guard according to the On3 Industry Ranking. On3’s in-house rankings have him even higher at No. 44 overall and No. 9 among players at his position. Both the Industry Ranking and the On3 in-house have Demary as the second-best player in the state of North Carolina.

According to MaxPreps, Silas played in 30 games this past season at Combine Academy, averaging 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He transferred there after three seasons at Millbrook (N.C.) High School, averaging 17.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game there as a junior in 2020-21.

Like Cain, Demary originally committed and signed elsewhere. He was headed to USC before backing out of his National Letter of Intent and choosing Georgia this spring.

On3’s national recruiting analyst had the following to say about Demary: “Demary is a high-level defender, both on and off the ball. Great length. Excellent anticipation. Really competes at a high level. A combo guard on offense. Not a paint touch PG, but he can get you into sets. He is an aggressive downhill scorer. Great in transition. Solid athlete. Like to see continue to tighten the jump shot. State champion. UAA champion.”

Dylan James

James made moves upward in all the major rankings over the course of his senior season. Coming in at No. 87 overall according to the On3 Industry Ranking (No. 14 power forward, No. 9 in the state of Florida), the 6-foot-9, 200-pound product of Winter Haven, Fla. averaged 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this past season. That included reaching double-figures in all but five of the team’s 32 contests, going 27-5 on the season while winning 12 straight from mid-January into early-March.

James had a season-high 29 points in December against IMG Academy, immediately followed by a 13-rebound performance two days later versus Auburndale. It was one of 13 times reaching double digits on the boards including a season-best 22 in February in a win over Tampa Catholic. He had 10 double-doubles.

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 chose Georgia over Iona, UCF and Georgia Tech in late September of last year before signing with the Bulldogs in November.

“Dylan, different size, different position but again, within his position brings as much versatility,” Georgia head coach Mike White said about James after his signing. “A guy that can play a couple different front court spots, can really shoot it. He’s got a unique combination of being able to shoot the ball and alter and block shots which is rare. He’s 6-foot-9 with very good length and shoots it as well as anyone that we’ve got in our program right now. Again, good guy, good student, great family just like Mari, and he’s a guy that we started recruiting when he was 15 years old and I was at the University of Florida. Really familiar with him and excited that he’s going to join us at Georgia.”

Mari Jordan

Jordan was a hold-over from the previous regime of Tom Crean. Jordan committed to Georgia in December of 2021 before Crean’s firing and Mike White’s hiring in March of 2022. He signed with Georgia in November.

Jordan ranked No. 156 overall according to the On3 Industry Ranking, 32nd among small forwards and No. 10 for the state of Georgia. He came in as high as No. 84 overall in the four major recruiting rankings.

Jordan spent his final high school season at Norcross where he was tabbed a second-team preseason All-State player by the Georgia High School Coaches Association. As a junior at Dacula, Jordan averaged 19.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game Over three seasons there, Jordan compiled 1,257 points, 434 rebounds, 128 blocks, 109 assists and 104 steals for the Falcons. He was voted Region Player of the Year in 2021-22.

“Mari is a big wing. He could probably play 2 or 3 positions,” Georgia head coach Mike White said while describing Jordan after his signing. “He plays really hard, has very good length, and he’s a guy that we somewhat inherited. We had to re-recruit of course, but he’s grown up a Georgia fan. The previous staff did a really good job of recruiting him. He was committed when we got here. When we were able to go on the road for the first time and go recruit, he was the first guy that I went to go see and really liked him. Followed him of course all summer, tried to speed up the relationship building process and he remained loyal to the red and black.”

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