Struggles follow Georgia basketball team. Tom Crean wants his Bulldogs to talk it out
Like any relationship, communication is vital to the success of the Georgia men’s basketball team.
Talking is vital for the Bulldogs on both ends of the court. This has been a problem all season long, however, especially once the calendar flipped to January and the schedule transitioned to SEC play.
Look no further than the team’s two most recent games. In an 81-75 loss to Florida on Feb. 5, a game in which Georgia once led by 22 points, senior guard Jordan Harris said the group “got quiet” in the second half as Florida switched to a zone defense to stifle the Bulldog attack.
The next time out, Feb. 8 against Alabama, the Bulldogs were gashed time and again by Crimson Tide players driving to the basket for layups in an eventual 105-102 overtime loss. After the game, head coach Tom Crean said one cause of that was a lack of defensive communication.
“We’re not giving enough support behind the ball with being vocal and with calling out, giving that guy — letting him know you’re right there, next man in help,” Crean said.
That Alabama game was Georgia’s 23rd in a 31-game regular season. Over two-thirds of the way into the schedule, consistent communication still eludes Crean’s team (12-11, 2-8 SEC).
This phenomenon isn’t unique to Athens. Crean said in his 20 years as a head coach, team communication around the country gets more and more difficult every year.
“It’s very frustrating, but you can’t get frustrated,” Crean said. “You learn, once you’re past the fifth grade, you’re really not allowed to be frustrated, so you’ve got to work through it. You’ve just got to stay on it. You’ve got to find different ways to get the message across; you’ve got to find different words or different drills.”
It’s a team that’s extremely young — there are nine freshmen on the roster — and that has played into the communication struggles at times. But as freshman guard Sahvir Wheeler pointed out: “We can’t say that any more. We’re in the SEC. No one cares about how old or how young we are.”
For junior forward Rayshaun Hammonds, understanding plays a role. Every player makes mistakes in every game, he said, and has to accept the criticism from his teammates accordingly.
The Bulldogs have to want to improve and work at communicating with their teammates. Otherwise, Crean said, their time on the floor might begin to dwindle.
“You’ve got to have that ‘want-to,’” Crean said. “If the want-to is not there, then we can’t want to play them as many minutes.”
Part of that is accepting criticism. Another aspect is not falling silent when things aren’t necessarily going your way.
“(Communication) refocuses you, and that’s what we need to get,” Crean said. “It can’t be after a good play, after a made shot. It’s got to be when you’re at your worst, when you’re feeling your worst, and that takes guys a while to figure out.”
It hasn’t quite all clicked yet, but Hammonds said the team continues to work on it every day. The coaching staff is doing all they can, but at this point the players know that it all comes down to them.
“It’s about us really just locking in to what (Crean) is saying because he’s done it before at this level,” Wheeler said. “He’s taken teams to Final Fours, he’s won conference championships, he’s had great players. It’s just about us, the players on the team, to buy into what he’s saying.”
Next Georgia basketball game
The Bulldogs (12-11, 2-8 SEC) host South Carolina (14-9, 6-4) at 6:30 pm Wednesday at Stegeman Coliseum. The game is on TV on the SEC Network.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 7:01 PM.