ATHENS — Georgia coach Mike White had an old-school, grounded reaction to the new-found success he’s creating in the men’s basketball program.

“We’re human, and we’d rather be ranked than unranked, win than lose, all those things, right?” White said when asked his thoughts on UGA breaking into the AP Top 25 for a second straight season after a previous absence from the poll dating back to 2011.

“It’s ok to feel good about, it’s good for our fans, but …. we’ve got to get better.”

White, a former four-year starting point guard at Ole Miss (1995-99) who led the Rebels to three NCAA appearances and the program’s first-ever NCAA win, understands how fleeting a ranking can be.

Especially when a team, in this case, Georgia, hasn’t beaten any significant opponents at this point of the season.

On paper, the Bulldogs’ basketball program looks good, leading the nation in scoring, scoring margin, blocked shots and fast-break points.

Georgia has the No. 18 “NET” ranking, too, which represents a computerized rank similar to the more familiar “RPI,” weighing difficulty and location of results with a formula the NCAA selection committee finds valuable enough to consider in its process of putting the field together,

But Bulldogs, who have played a schedule that ranks 204th, have a long way to go before that Selection Sunday, as White knows better than anyone.

“Communication has been something that has been a detriment for us, especially defensively …. we’ve thrown a lot at our guys, we’re doing different things defensively, which makes communication even more important,” White said.

“Its not a generic, basic defense that we can just get really good at, because there aren’t a lot of reads or a lot of changes. We’re playing a defense that can change throughout We’re pressing in different ways, going in different ways, switching in different ways. And so we’ve got to talk at a higher level.”

The communication and fluid defensive transitions White speaks of are part of the team’s high-scoring personality, with this team built around the players’ athleticism, versatility and quickness.

“We’ve got to block out at a higher level, that’s our base defensive number that we’re focused on,” White said, no doubt aware that having a smaller, transition-oriented team puts the team at risk if an opponent can control the tempo and create more of a half-court pace.

“We’ve got to shoot it better, of course. But again, I like our shot selection. I think that number will continue to increase, to improve.”

Georgia has been able to overcome what has collectively been streaky perimeter-shooting to this point, the team currently firing up treys with 30-percent marksmanship.

The next three games (all at home) against Western Carolina (4-6) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, West Georgia (5-5) next Monday and Long Island University (6-5) on Dec. 29 wouldn’t seem to pose much of a threat even if the Bulldogs have another off-night shooting beyond the 3-point arc.

But the new year will bring a new reality for Georgia basketball when the Bulldogs open the SEC-portion of their schedule against No. 21 Auburn (8-3) at Stegeman Coliseum before a Jan. 6 road trip to defending national champ and No. 23-ranked Florida (6-4).

“We’ve scored a lot of points, but there’s been some games and some segments in games where there’s not a great flow at times, although we end up maybe scoring 80 or 90 that game,” White said.

“When it comes down to it, in our league, the best defensive league in college basketball, when we’re stuck in the half-court with five minutes left, who are we getting the ball to where and how and what are we executing? We’ve got to figure that out as well.”

Then, as White noted, the defense remains a work in progress.

“We’re still a ways away from really figuring out of our six or seven things we’re throwing off the wall defensively, what are our two or three biggest strengths, especially against the highest level opponents,” White said.

“You know, there’ll be a couple more pivots in league play. And we’re trying to get better this week.”

Hence, White’s reluctance to get too carried away with a ranking, even if there is some historical context to it.

“We’ve said it for a long time, you know, Georgia can be good basketball, right? There’s no reason we shouldn’t be, so we’re pretty good,” White said. “The rest of our league is too, and we’ve got to continue to get better.”