Joy for Georgia

In cities across the Southeastern Conference, from Gainesville to Starkville, Nashville to Oxford, basketball coaches anxiously watched the images on TV last Sunday and hoped.

They were not watching the NCAA selection show, awaiting their name to flash across the screen. They were not viewing any commentaries on bubble teams or wondering if Illinois would win and steal an invitation.

They were watching the last-place Georgia Bulldogs attempt to win four games in four days — three days, really — in the SEC tournament. The Bulldogs no longer qualified as a rival or a team SEC coaches are paid to defeat. They were a story of inspiration, an example of perseverance that trumped any rivalries or ill feelings.

So when Sundiata Gaines slung the ball in the air and coach Dennis Felton raised the SEC championship trophy after the Bulldogs beat Arkansas, coaches around the league celebrated right along with them.

“I was very much caught up in it emotionally,” said Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy, whose team was defeated by Georgia and essentially eliminated from the NCAAs last Thursday. “What an incredible story that was for Dennis and his kids. I was pulling for them. Usually, as a coach, I’m pretty neutral. But I was watching as a fan and, you know, I was inspired by the effort Georgia put forth.

“That was one of the most dramatic things I’ve seen in college basketball.”

Most of the SEC coaches followed the careers of Gaines, the team leader, and Dave Bliss, picked off the recruiting scrap heap to held rebuild a program. Georgia finished 8-20 overall and 2-14 their freshmen season. They didn’t quit, didn’t transfer, didn’t complain.

And, yet, before last week, no reward accompanied their efforts. Kevin Brophy, an inspiring walk-on, died in a car accident. Talented teammates were dismissed. They lost close games.

Until last Sunday, when Felton stood in front of his team in the locker room and delivered a short but inspiring speech.

“We’ve come this far,” he said. “Certainly we can’t be denied now.”

And they weren’t, building a 19-point first-half lead against a stunned Arkansas team and holding on for the championship. Terrance Woodbury became a star, Billy Humphrey drilled a crucial 3-pointer and Bliss would not be denied, to use Felton’s words, on the backboards. The Bulldogs beat three NCAA tournament teams and one NIT school on their way to the title.

“That was as magical of a situation as I’ve ever been involved with in coaching,” said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury, whose team was the second to lose a game to Georgia last Saturday. “To witness what that Georgia team did against the people they did it against, I mean, wow. No upsets allowed Georgia to walk through it. Those teams were expected to win, and Georgia beat them all.”

Winning three games in 30 hours on tired legs following such a dreadful and frustrating regular season is a life lesson for anyone struggling with hardships, Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

Donovan, who travels across the country and gives speeches during the offseason, sounded like he was ready to deliver one Monday when discussing Georgia’s improbable run.

Perseverance, passion, effort and self-confidence, Donovan said, made Georgia’s unlikely four-game winning streak possible.

“I think that’s what Dennis is personally all about,” Donovan said. “I think he’s a persistent guy. I think he’s a committed guy and I think he works very, very hard. I’m so happy for guys like Bliss and Gaines and the kids in their program. You know what? They can use that experience to talk about overcoming obstacles in their lives.”

Donovan wasn’t the only coach to defend Felton, whose job security was in question as the tournament started. Athletic director Damon Evans refused to say if Felton would return for another season, and Georgia’s coach answered several questions about his job the afternoon before playing Ole Miss.

Now, of course, he’s back.

“Dennis inherited one of the biggest messes that has ever been inherited,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “I think what he’s done there under very adverse circumstances is extremely admirable. I guarantee you he’s not any smarter today than last Thursday when the tournament began. But I was in the overwhelming majority that didn’t think his job should be in jeopardy in the first place, and I’m glad it isn’t now. I’m so happy for them.”

The joy for Georgia was evident following the game. Humphrey said he needed to hug Gaines and Bliss again. Assistant coach Pete Herrmann reflected on Brophy, who would have been a senior, with Bliss in the locker room.

“There were some choked-up moments,” Herrmann said, “that’s for sure.”

Emotion wasn’t quite that deep at those other cities in the SEC. But the message on the TV screen was evident.

“Their story,” Donovan said, “is what you give motivational speeches about.”

E-mail Darren Epps at depps@timesfreepress.com