Mark WiedmerNASHVILLE - Appearing to favor somewhat his injured right knee, the one covered by a balky brace and a bag of ice, Georgia forward Yante Maten gamely trudged up the short ladder to begin a winners' news conference Thursday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.
Only moments earlier, Maten - a serious contender for Southeastern Conference player of the year before he badly sprained the knee against visiting Kentucky on Feb. 18 - had helped the Bulldogs defeat Tennessee 59-57 in their second-round Southeastern Conference tourney tussle. A third meeting with regular-season champ UK awaits the Dawgs at 1 p.m. today in the tournament quarterfinals.
"I'm pretty excited," Maten said of his 12 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots, which were 12 more points, five more rebounds and two more blocks than anyone had expected from him 48 hours earlier.
"I always try to do my best to play within myself. I try not to do too much that I normally don't do. So I just tried to stick to the paint in this game."
The plan worked. Georgia outrebounded the shorter Vols by 10 (39-29). UGA shot it noticeably better from the field despite hitting four fewer 3-pointers. On a day when senior guard J.J. Frazier scored 17 points despite hitting just four of 13 field-goal tries, the Bulldogs survived and advanced, which is always Job One this time of year.
"The ball wasn't going in, so I just had to make plays other ways," said the 5-foot-10, 155-pound Frazier, who somehow made off with 10 rebounds, then told anyone willing to listen, "Sophomore year I had 11 (rebounds) against Seton Hall."
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes must now make plays on the recruiting trail - finding inside size, outside discipline and a little bit of everything in between. This isn't to say the cupboard's bare in K-town. Far from it.
To quote Barnes after UT's 16th loss in 32 games: "I'm looking forward to getting started (on next year) right now, because I know we're going to add some more pieces to our program. We're going to have a different look. But we know that we've got it going in the right direction."
It's the future direction of Georgia's program that had been up in the air of late. Would UGA athletic director Greg McGarity part ways with Bulldogs coach Mark Fox after eight seasons or keep him around for at least one more winter?
Monday rumors were leaning toward Fox's firing. But according to multiple news sources, McGarity assured the team on Tuesday evening that Fox indeed would return next season, which may or may not include Maten (he isn't currently listed as either a first- or second-round pick on NBADraft.net or NBA DraftExpress), and certainly will not include Frazier, who is graduating.
Regardless, with the injury to Maten, and a clock malfunction that arguably cost the Bulldogs a win at Texas A&M, as well as four losses by two points or less or in overtime, there was plenty of reason to give the squeaky clean Fox at least one more season to return the Bulldogs to the NCAA tourney for the third time under his watch.
Of course, Georgia knocking off Kentucky today, coupled with a Saturday win over today's Alabama-South Carolina winner might sneak them into this year's edition of March Madness.
But whether the Bulldogs get there or not come Sunday, Maten's unexpected return is part of what makes March both maddening and gladdening.
"It was a mutual decision," Maten said when asked if he had to convince Fox to let him try to play. "I just wanted to help us win, if I could. I was just going to stay on the (stationary) bike until he called my name."
Nor was any Bulldog happier to see Maten climb off that bike and walk onto the court less than three minutes into the game than Frazier, who's been logging huge minutes and being forced to score huge points in the big forward's absence.
"It definitely takes some pressure off me," said the Glennville, Ga., native, who averaged 29.6 points in the Dawgs' last five regular-season games, including the home loss to Kentucky after Maten injured his knee in the first 90 seconds. "I got a lot more rest today than I've had in four or five weeks."
This doesn't mean Fox might not still prefer to have the ball in Frazier's hands today if the Dawgs have the final possession against UK with a chance to win.
When asked how the ball always seems to find him in those moments, as if it somehow magically discovers him, Frazier grinned and said, "Coach tells them to get me the ball."
And that isn't likely to change with or without Maten on the court.
"When Yante is back to being Yante, we'll end up being a better team," Fox said. "How quickly that happens, I'm not sure."
Regardless of when or if it happens again this season, it happened quickly enough at the SEC tournament to put an end to Tennessee's season and keep the Dawgs' hoop dreams alive for at least one more day.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com