Georgia gains two more reasons to keep Felton
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Felton, who was brought to Athens to restore the image of a program that was laced with a lack of integrity, has watched his team pull off an improbable run that has the Bulldogs one win away from an NCAA tournament berth.
After a tornado that ripped through downtown Atlanta forced Friday night's postponement of Georgia's quarterfinal game against Kentucky until noon on Saturday, the deck was stacked heavily against Felton's team.
After pulling off an upset against Ole Miss in the opening round, his club needed to win two games in one day — against the Wildcats and Mississippi State. The doubleheader was something that hasn't been done since the "old" SEC tournament back in 1952 when a pair of semifinal contests were scheduled for the same day.
Felton's adversity was par for the course.
He was on the dreaded hot seat. In fact, it was sizzling with the speculation that athletic director Damon Evans was ready to make a move after five years despite all of the roadblocks he has faced in his tenure in Athens.
Jim Harrick left the program in shambles. It was a mess.
Felton was left with no players and recruiting was virtually impossible because no one wanted to come to Athens. The Georgia Bulldogs were the laughingstock of college basketball after the phony courses taught by Harrick's son became public as well as the allegations that Harrick paid former player Tony Cole.
Felton cleaned it up.
There have been two brushes with the law in Felton's five years, both involving Billy Humphrey. He was suspended after, according to sources, he was walking across the street, was stopped for jaywalking and registered a 0.3 on the breathalyzer.
That came after an arrest in which he was found with a three-inch pocket knife in his dorm room.
Sure, after an NIT appearance and 19 victories a year ago, things appeared to take a step backwards this season as the team struggled to win close games and entered the SEC tournament 13-16 overall and with just four conference wins.
But Felton had to deal with a new academic policy that wound up costing him his top two scorers from a year ago — Takais Brown and Mike Mercer. Most programs would have found a way to keep one — if not both — eligible. Instead, they were dismissed from the team.
The Bulldogs are down to eight scholarship players. Teams without depth don't come out with two victories in a day.
Senior big man Dave Bliss picked up his fourth foul late in the first half against Mississippi State. Albert Jackson injured his ankle against the Bulldogs and was limping around for the rest of the game. Jeremy Price bit through his lip and was a bloody mess. Then team leader Sundiata Gaines went down with a hip injury on the same play in which he fouled out with seven minutes to go.
Somehow, the Bulldogs managed to pull out the win and earn a date on Sunday afternoon with Arkansas.
"They put us at a disadvantage with the scheduling," Bliss said. "It was a grind, but we showed a lot of toughness tonight."
"They didn't give us a chance to win two games in one day, but we did it," he added.
Gaines' first name means African warrior — and nothing could have been more accurate on Saturday.
Gaines said he'll be ready to go against Arkansas. .
"We've still got a lot in the tank," Gaines said. "One game to get into the tournament. You're going to give it all you've got."
After the emotional victory that had Felton handing out a multitude of high-fives in the Georgia section, Evans spoke about what a terrific job his basketball coach has done in this SEC tournament. With a win on Sunday, the Bulldogs would become just the third team in league history to win four tournament games in four days.
But he wasn't quite ready to give Felton the proverbial vote of confidence.
"He's clearly not hurt himself," Evans said. "He's put himself in a good position."
One win away from the Big Dance and much further away from the unemployment line.
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