REPORT: Georgia Basketball to play St. John's in Bahamas
Georgia Basketball has been working hard on the recruiting trail to build its roster for the coming season. Apparently the Bulldogs have also been building a schedule too.
According to a report from David Berov of the Eye on the Storm podcast covering St. John’s Basketball, Georgia will play the Red Storm in the Bahamas on Sunday, November 24th. It comes just a couple of days after Rick Pitino’s team participates in the BahaMar Hoops Bahamas Championship alongside Baylor, Tennessee and Virginia and 24 hours after a Georgia matchup with Marquette.
Georgia and St. John’s have previously played three times. The Red Storm have won both previous regular season meetings (1946: 66-43, 2009: 66-56), but the Bulldogs did beat a top-seeding Johnnies team during their run to the Final Four in 1983, 70-67, in the second round.
Mike White and company announced in January a single game at The Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas against Marquette on Saturday, November 23rd. Organized by Complete Sports Management, the same company that manages the Battle 4 Atlantis Basketball Tournament, the game will mark the fourth meeting between Georgia and Marquette and a return trip to the Bahamas for the Bulldogs after going 0-2 in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship in 2023 against Miami (Fla.) and Providence.
Last season, Georgia played six non-conference games against power conference competition including the two in the Bahamas. The Bulldogs also tipped it up against Oregon, Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Tech, once again set to take on the Yellow Jackets in 2024 and awaiting the announcement of matchups for the 2024 ACC-SEC Challenge.
Georgia returns three players from its team in 2023-24 (Silas Demary, Blue Cain, Dylan James) while the Bulldogs have gone about adding several talented options to their roster for next season. Five-star forward Asa Newell, the No. 10 player in the Class of 2024 per the On3 Industry Ranking, signed with Georgia in November. He has since been joined by Somto Cyril, a former Kentucky signee and a fellow top-50 prospect. Together, they make up the nation’s No. 9 class – good for third in the SEC.
Georgia has also attacked the transfer portal to the tune of five newcomers: Mount St. Mary’s guard De’Shayne Montgomery, Appalachian State forward Justin Abson, Mount St. Mary’s guard Dakota Leffew, Clemson forward RJ Godfrey and Vanderbilt guard Tyrin Lawrence. Montgomery and Leffew each earned MAAC honors this past season, playing some of their best basketball against the Mountaineers’ toughest competition. Same goes for Abson, the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. While Godfrey and Lawrence weren’t bringing home any hardware for their respective seasons, playing in conferences like the ACC and SEC would be the reason why. Godfrey helped Clemson to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament while Lawrence led Vanderbilt in scoring.
Georgia will look to build on its strong finish to the 2023-24 campaign, winning 20 games for the first time in eight seasons and making the postseason for the first time since 2017. The Bulldogs not only made an appearance, but they won and made a run to the semifinals of the NIT – taking down Xavier (Big East), Wake Forest (ACC) and Ohio State (Big Ten) in the process.
