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Enjoy and appreciate J.J. Frazier’s last game in Athens

Curtis Compton/AJC
Cy Brown
Cy Brown

Welcome to your one-stop shop for all the relevant Georgia football news and takes every Monday through Friday. Wednesday night is J.J. Frazier’s last ride in Athens.

J.J. Frazier among 3 Bulldogs playing final home game

The biggest story in the world of Georgia basketball right now is the effort by the Bulldogs to work their way into the NCAA Tournament without star Yante Maten. They have two regular season games left — starting with Auburn on Wednesday night — and the SEC Tournament to prove they belong in the dance.

The smaller, but still significant, story Wednesday against Auburn is the final home game for senior J.J. Frazier (that is, barring a home game in the NIT). Along with fellow seniors Kenny Paul Geno, Houston Kessler and Brandon Young, Frazier will be honored in front of the Stegeman Coliseum faithful who have been blessed enough to watch Frazier play the last four years.

Although Frazier won’t be an NBA superstar, and while other schools with a deeper basketball history and tradition can lay claim to some better players, Frazier has been special for Georgia. He was a joy to watch. He is a joy to watch. This play against South Carolina last year perfectly epitomized the kind of player Frazier is. Watch as Frazier leaps over the bench, runs around the back the bench back down the court, takes a pass, a dribble, then pulls up for a pinpoint 3. It’s that combination of hustle and skill that makes him so special.

His accomplishments aren’t limited to the aesthetics of the game either. He’s produced, putting up big numbers and earning himself a place in the Georgia sports history books. Here’s some stats Seth Emerson dug up in this great retrospective of Frazier’s career before his final game that show how good he is as an all-around player.

  • Frazier is 4 points away from tying Shandon Anderson for seventh on Georgia’s all-time scoring list, and 147 away from No. 6 Bob Lienhard.
  • He’s fifth all time in assists, trailing fourth-place G.G. Smith by 33.
  • He’s 10th all time in steals, 10 away from Rashad Wright and Chris Daniels, who are tied for eighth.
  • Frazier ranks fourth all time at Georgia in free throws made, 145 behind third-place Litterial Green, and ranks fifth all time among Bulldogs in made 3-pointers, trailing fourth-place Kenny Gaines by 16.

Those numbers put him up there with some of the best who have ever hooped in the red and black.

It’s obviously a bummer that Yante Maten is out for the end of the regular season, and his presence would no doubt help the Dawgs in their quest for the tourney. But, I must say, I have enjoyed watching Frazier do his Lone Ranger routine the last two games. And I’ll enjoy it in the next two as well. Frazier is unlikely to be a guy we ever see on the court again after this season. That is unless you watch games from the D-League or basketball overseas. (For the record, I’d love to be wrong on that point.) With so little time left with a player I’ve enjoyed watching so much, I want to savor every bit of it. I want him to drive and dish, take audacious 3s, dive over benches, rip and run for a layup. You know, typical J.J. Frazier things. It’s kind of cool that he will be the guy looked to in his final game at Stegeman.

So, enjoy whatever kind of display Frazier puts on Wednesday night. It should be a good one. Win or lose, NCAA Tournament or not, it doesn’t matter. Enjoy it because it’s fun to watch him play basketball, and because sometimes that’s enough.

Diamond Dogs lose to Kennesaw

Georgia baseball started off an 11-game home stand on the wrong foot, losing to Kennesaw State, 5-4, on Tuesday. It’s a bad loss, considering Kennesaw pitchers walked 10 Georgia batters, while the Bulldogs didn’t give up a single free pass.

“If you had told me before the game that we were going to get 10 walks and not walk them one time – 10-0 in walks – and we’d lose, I’d have said you were full of it,” Georgia baseball coach Scott Stricklin said, according to Anthony Dasher of UGA Sports. “But that’s what happened.”

Up next for Georgia is a three-game series against UAB in Athens. Game 1 is 5 p.m. on Friday and is set to be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Two Lady Dogs earn All-SEC honors

Two members of the Georgia women’s basketball team were named to the All-SEC team. Senior Pachis Roberts made All-SEC second team, while sophomore Caliya Robinson made the All-SEC defensive team.

Gettin’ to work

ICYMI

Good dog

PUPPY BLANKET!!!

NEXT Georgia depth chart analysis: The captain of the offense
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