New Kids in Town

ATHENS, Ga. —  There’s the shooter who couldn’t do anything but watch last season because of an academic mix-up.

There’s the point guard who won a starting job by default when the coach’s choice for the job was turned away from school. And don’t forget the two nondescript guys coming off the bench, overlooked by recruiting experts but often on the court at critical times.

Ezra Williams, Rashad Wright, Stephen Thomas and Chris Daniels--all newcomers to the college game--have helped transform No. 25 Georgia from the worst team in the Southeastern Conference to the leader at the midway point in the league schedule.

“That’s the major difference from last year’s team,” senior guard Adrian Jones said. “We had some players last year, but we didn’t have these type of players.”

Actually, last year’s Georgia team had one of the top scorers in the SEC, guard D.A. Layne, and two of the better frontcourt players, Anthony Evans and Shon Coleman. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they had little else, leading to a 10-20 record and just three wins in the SEC.

This season, Williams and Wright moved into the lineup, filling two of the team’s biggest weaknesses. Daniels and Thomas come off the bench, providing defense, rebounds, occasional points and plenty of energy.

How much of a difference have they made? Georgia won six of its first eight conference games and cracked the national rankings for the first time in more than three years.

“They’ve given us a shot in the arm,” coach Jim Harrick said. “You know the thing I like about them? They’re freshmen, but they don’t walk around acting cool. They’re paying their dues.”

The 6-foot-4 Williams, technically a sophomore but making his college debut, relieves the defensive pressure on Layne by providing another outside shooting threat. He’ll slash inside to give the big guys some help on the boards, too.

Williams was second on the team in scoring (12.1 points a game heading into the weekend), despite an erratic shooting touch (39.7 percent) and a plodding release that makes his jumper easier to block.

“We’ve got players on this team who didn’t come in with a big name like Gerald Wallace at Alabama or Keith Bogans at Kentucky,” Williams said. “But we’ve got guys who are playing just as well. People underestimated us.”

Williams was initially cleared to play as a freshman, only to learn shortly before the season that he failed the science portion of the state’s high school graduation exam. He retook the test in the opening month of the season and passed, but the NCAA still refused to let him play.

Wright didn’t expect to play right out of high school, even though Georgia’s incumbent point guard, Moses White, dropped out of school. Harrick was so desperate to address the critical position that he lured the talented but controversial Kenny Brunner to Athens.

When media and alumni raised questions about Brunner, who’s had several run-ins with the law, the administration refused to allow him into school. Harrick was left with no other option but Wright, barely 6 feet tall.

The coach gave him a six-page synopsis on the art of playing the point. They went over it page-by-page, then Wright took it back to his dorm room to read and read again.

Wright struggled in the preconference schedule, but the message of Harrick’s writings began to sink in once SEC play began: 32 assists and only five turnovers.

“What he’s learned about the way I like to play is amazing,” Harrick said. “He knows when to push the ball. He knows when to pull back. He knows the offense and he also plays great defense. He’s kind of fearless.”

Although Wright averaged more than 20 points a game as a high school senior, he doesn’t mind giving up the spotlight.

“This is similar to my first two years of high school,” Wright said. “We had a big scorer on the team and I spent most of the game dishing off to him.”

Like Wright, Daniels and Thomas weren’t considered elite recruits when they signed with Georgia. But they’ve both earned consistent, double-figure minutes, which has been invaluable to Evans and Coleman.

Evans’ playing time has dropped from 31 minutes a game last season to 28.3 this year; Coleman’s minutes have gone from 28.3 to 26.2.

“We just give them a little breather every now and then,” said Daniels, who scored the winning basket in a double-overtime victory over No. 8 Tennessee. “They played so many minutes last year, I think they kind of wore out.”

Jones described the freshmen duo this way: “They’re like little Bulldog puppies. They come in and do the dirty work, scrapping and fighting for what they can get. They’re hungry.”

So are Williams and Wright.

“They bring a lot to the table: scoring, defense, rebounding, everything we were missing last year,” Jones said. “They’re the missing pieces to the puzzle.”