Scouting Report: Georgia Bulldogs

Once you get into the grind of the conference season, the schedule can be very unforgiving. After losing a tough game at LSU on Tuesday, Kentucky must turn around and take on the Georgia Bulldogs tonight at 6:00. Additionally, starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler is likely out with a neck injury sustained early in Tuesday’s game at LSU. TyTy Washington was also sidelined down the stretch, but should be good to go this evening.

The silver lining to all of that is the fact that the Georgia Bulldogs simply aren’t very good. They enter Rupp Arena with a 5-9 record, 0-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Coach Tom Crean and the Bulldogs fell in heartbreaking fashion to Texas A&M on Tuesday when Marcus Williams hit a three at the buzzer for the Aggies. Georgia has now last three straight and four out of five.

Despite a quality win over Memphis, the Bulldogs also have ugly losses to the likes of George Mason, East Tennessee State, and Gardner Webb. Also, in early December, they lost one of the best players, Jaylin Ingram, to a season ending ACL injury. It just hasn’t been good for Coach Crean down in Athens.

Georgia may not be the best team, but conference games are still never easy. Kentucky’s preparation must still be on point. Therefore, as always, we’ve got a full scouting report ready for you. Personnel breakdowns, offensive and defensive scheme, and keys to the game. Let’s dive on in and get to know more about tonight’s opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia Bulldogs Personnel

#10 Aaron Cook: 6’2″ 185 lbs, Graduate Student Point Guard

10.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 6.8 apg

Ultra-quick point guard. He really wants to attack the basket off the dribble. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! You need to get over and cut off the right hand drives. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Closeout short. Don’t guard him beyond the three-point line. Stay between him and the basket. Just throw a hand up to contest if he shoots from 3. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Excellent passer. 88 assists to 42 turnovers. Don’t over help as he drives it. We should be able to stay between him and the basket by closing out short and going under. Get the ball stopped in transition. Will bring it fast. Absolutely no layups for him. Take away the right hand drives.

#11 Jaxon Etter: 6’4″ 205 lbs, Junior Guard

5.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.8 apg

More of a driver than a shooter. Play him straight up. Throw a hand up to contest if he shoots from the perimeter. Guard against the right hand drive. No right hand drives. Not super aggressive offensively. Pressure him and make him uncomfortable. Don’t over help as he drives. The deeper he drives it the more he is driving to pass. Stay between him and the basket.

#3 Kario Oquendo: 6’4″ 215 lbs, Sophomore Guard

12.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.8 apg

Super athletic slasher and driver. Extremely explosive attacking the basket. Really drives it hard going to his right. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! Need to get over and cut him off from driving it right. Closeout short. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Don’t guard him beyond the three-point line. 11/50 from 3. Just throw a hand up if he shoots. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Stay between him and the basket. Need to aggressively help when he drives and take it off of him. Not thinking about passing. 11 assists to 30 turnovers. Come steal the ball when he drives it. Be ready for him to cut to the basket when you help off of him. Don’t lose sight of him when helping. No layups or dunks for him. Crashes the offensive glass. Box out!

#20 Noah Baumann: 6’6″ 210 lbs, Redshirt Senior Forward

7.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.8 apg

Pick-and-pop 4-man. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! You need to be there to take away the 3-point attempts. Only wants to catch-and-shoot. 56 of 74 shots have been 3’s. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than he is from 2. Be tight to him at all times. Chase him off of downscreens and flares. Switch when he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s. Absolutely no help off of him. No 3’s!

#23 Braelen Bridges: 6’11” 240 lbs, Redshirt Senior Center

12.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.2 apg

Lefty 5-man. Pick-and-roll big man. Really looking for it on the roll. Will duck you in hard around the basket. Wants to catch it in the post with two feet in the paint. Looking for deep post catches. Very skilled with both hands on the block. Loves to score off of the drop step. No drop steps. Will score it over either shoulder, but better with his left hand over his right shoulder. Be physical with him and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off the block you make him catch it. When he faces up or puts the ball on the floor he is going to spin. Loves the spin move. Just be ready for it. Time it up and aggressively help and steal the ball when he spins. Make him score over you. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out!

Bench

#1 Jabri Abdur-Rahim: 6’8″ 210 lbs, Sophomore Forward

7.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.3 apg

Pick-and-pop 4-man. Looking to catch-and-shoot. Shooter! No catch-and-shoot 3’s! 55 of 85 shots have been 3’s. Need to be tight to him to give a hard contest. Switch when he ballscreens to take away the 3’s. Not as willing to help off him when he doesn’t have it. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Get up and pressure him when he has the ball. Doesn’t want to handle it. 4 assists to 15 turnovers. No 3’s!

#5 Christian Wright: 6’3″ 185 lbs, Freshman Guard

5.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.6 apg

Backup point guard. Will handle the ball a lot when he is in there. Very quick. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! Really wants to drive it right. Get over and cut him off. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Don’t need to guard him beyond the 3-point line. Stay between him and the basket. Closeout short. Get the ball stopped in transition. Help when he is driving it to cut him off. Absolutely no layups for him!

#15 Dalen Ridgnal: 6’7″ 200 lbs, Junior Forward

2.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.2 apg

Backup forward. Willing shooter. 17 of 24 shots have been 3’s. Looking to pick-and-pop. Switch when he ballscreens. Just be there to give a hard contest if he shoots. No catch-and-shoot 3’s.

#4 Tyron McMillan: 6’9″ 220 lbs, Junior Forward

1.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.2 apg

Backup post. Physical. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Get him off the block. Looking to ballscreen and roll. Just stay between him and the basket and make him score over you. Be physical on his left shoulder. Box out.

Georgia Bulldogs Offense

The Georgia Bulldogs have quick, attacking guards and a really good 5-man who is very skilled on the block. However, due to their overall lack of shooting ability, it is a little easier to take away their strengths. This will be another game where our defensive strategy is to pack it in, stay between them and the basket, and protect the rim. We have to be very willing to stay inside the three-point line and keep them from getting to the basket.

Georgia is primarily a 4-around-1 Motion team that will set ballscreens on essentially every possession. They want to space you out so they can put their head down to drive it right, or in ballscreen situations, they are looking for #23 Bridges on the roll. We must be disciplined on staying in the gaps and not guarding guys beyond the three-point line. If we stay between them and the basket it will shut off what they want to do offensively. On the ballscreens, we can go under pretty much all of them which should help stay with #23 Bridges on the roll as well.

Dribble Weave to Ballscreen

This is the Georgia Bulldogs most common offensive action. When they are doing their dribble weave up top we have to go under all of that and should be staying back at the three-point line anyway. The ballscreen can be tough because they run up into it and set it flat. However, we should be playing back off enough that we can feel it coming and stay underneath. If not, be willing to switch to stay between them and the basket. Help off of anyone besides #20 Baumann on the perimeter to stuff the gaps. Cannot let these guys like #5 Wright drive it right.

Georgia runs the same action here on this possession. Again, stay underneath all of the handoffs. When they set the ballscreen you either need to be back off under it, switch it, or aggressively help to cut off the drive. If the ball is kicked out you have to closeout short and be ready for another drive. #3 Oquendo gets it and immediately drives it hard to his right. You have to get over and cut off his right hand drive. Absolutely no layups for him.

Side Ballscreen and Roll

We have to be good at taking away #23 Bridges on the roll. This can be done by getting underneath the ballscreens or just switching them. Also, we can really get into help off of the ball when guarding anyone besides #20 Baumann. Texas A&M plays really bad defense on this possession. Whoever is guarding #23 Bridges should be able to stay attached to him and then just give a little space for the on-ball defender to hop under. If you are out of position then you need to switch. He loves to spin when he catches the ball around the basket. Must make him score with you between him and the basket.

Alley Ballscreen Roll & Replace

We are going to be guarding ballscreens on every possession against the Bulldogs. This is another look they will give for their ballscreen stuff in the half court. With the “alley” ballscreen they will ballscreen and roll in the middle of the floor while #20 Baumann replaces up on the backside. They end up in another side ballscreen on this possession. We are switching when #20 Baumann ballscreens, but if he slips it you have to stay with him. If there is no screen there is no switch. Be tight to him at all times and take him away from 3.

Iverson Cut with Flare

One action that Georgia will run that doesn’t begin with a ballscreen is this Iverson cut. They will bring a guard over the top and then flare in for #20 Baumann to balance the floor. Here, they hit #3 Oquendo off of the Iverson cut. Texas A&M does a pretty good job of being all the way into help when the ball is over here on the right wing. However, when it is #4 McMillan in the post instead of #23 Bridges you just don’t have to stay as long.

You can go ahead and recover to #11 Etter, especially this late in the shot clock, to at least contest this shot. That being said, we want to error on the side of stuffing the gaps. If he makes a couple 3’s that is okay. This clip is primarily just to show the Iverson cut and flare action. Go under the Iverson and chase the flare.

Georgia Bulldogs Defense

Coach Tom Crean is still trying to establish an identity with his team on the defensive end this season. The Georgia Bulldogs have been an above-average defensive team, per KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, in each of Coach Crean’s three seasons in Athens. However, they rank 275th nationally right now. They have been unable to create turnovers like they did last year and get scored on around the basket a lot.

Georgia is primarily going to play man-to-man defense though they have sprinkled in possessions of 2-3 Zone here and there. When they are man-to-man there just isn’t much discipline to their plan. They don’t pressure the ball very well but also don’t play in the gaps. Off of the ball they don’t take away penetration but also aren’t taking away 3-point attempts. This is a game where we simply need to be disciplined, move the ball, and then look to attack the basket. That can be through dribble penetration or feeding the post. There will be no excuse for taking quick, contested shots tonight.

Keys to the Game

• Stay between them and the basket. Closeout short. No right hand drives. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. PACK IT IN!!! Force them to make jump shots.
• Play without fouling. Georgia does a good job of getting to the foul line shooting an average of 6 more FTs than their opponent. Close that gap tonight. Foul trouble and FTs can keep them in it.
• Contain #23 Bridges. Get him off of the block. No drop steps. Very skilled in the post over both shoulders. Make him score over you. No layups or dunks on the roll.
• No 3’s for #20 Baumann or #1 Abdur-Rahim. These are the only two guys we are worried about shooting. You can aggressively help off of everyone else and closeout short. Just stay tight to these two guys. Switch when they ballscreen.