BIRMINGHAM — Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean was teaching until the final whistle of Thursday’s shoot-around at Gene Bartow Arena in downtown Birmingham, just hours before the opening tip.
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“This is their first time with me and with us in a game day situation, just like last night was their first time with us in the night before a game, and yesterday was the first time in the day before the game,” Crean said.
“We’re not there yet, and that’s not coach speak, that’s reality, but we are making strides and it will be fun to see where we stand tonight.”
The Bulldogs exhibition opener tips off at 8 p.m. (Eastern) at Alabama-Birmingham’s Gene Bartow Arena against the Conference USA Blazers.
The game is not televised but an audio broadcast of the game includes a pregame show at 7:45 p.m. and can be found at GeorgiaDogs.com.
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“We’re trying to make sure we get the keys for us that maybe we haven’t spent as much time on yet, but that we need to really understand that we need to make a part of our identity,” Crean said.
“That’s our transition defense, that’s our ability to control the dribble better, to challenge shots without fouling and then get all five guys rebounding,” he said.
“And then offensively, can we stay true to our spacing, can we keep cutting hard, can get good looks, can we deliver the ball on time and on target, can we get to the offensive glass.”
