Georgia Basketball Roster Showing More Experience and Chemistry in 2020

It's already year three under Tom Crean at UGA, and he may have put together his most experienced and bonded roster yet in his tenure in Athens.

Georgia is now approaching their third year under head coach Tom Crean. 

If you haven't kept up with what he's already done in Athens, here's a short recap:

After going (11-21) in his first year in Athens, Crean and Co. put together a Top-15 nationally-ranked recruiting class, the highest in Bulldog history. Even though the '19-'20 team experienced a few youthful bumps in the road, they still managed to win a couple of games versus ranked opponents, and also snagged a SEC Tournament victory. Georgia finished the season 16-16 in Crean's second year in Athens after the season was cancelled due to coronavirus. 

Now with Anthony Edwards and Rayshaun Hammonds out of the picture in Athens, the Bulldogs will be forced to move away from the "hero-ball" that they often tried to rely on at times. As you might expect, Tom Crean and the staff have put the program in a great position to be more team-oriented. 

One way you do that is add experience and leadership. After losing three seniors along with a rising senior in Rayshaun Hammonds, the Bulldogs would've been without a single senior heading into the 2020-2021 season. But, doing that was never an option for the Bulldog staff.

Take a look at Tom Crean's interview via Georgia's Bulldogs Game Day twitter. Crean states, "There's no way I wanted to come back as young. No way I wanted to start the season with no seniors. There's just absolutely no way."

With no seniors returning on the @UGABasketball roster, @TomCrean looked to the transfer market this off-season for much-needed experience!

📺: TODAY at 11am on @wsbtv! #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/0j546XvItO

— Game Day on 2 (@GameDayOn2) July 18, 2020

Georgia fixed that by adding three graduate transfers in Justin Kier, Andrew Garcia, and P.J. Horne. Between those three players, there are over 100 career starts at the D-1 level. The extra experience will help the Bulldogs in close games down the stretch, which is something Georgia struggled with from time to time last season. Not only that, but the maturity levels of these players also helps out the underclassmen development-wise.

The three transfers weren't the only experienced additions this offseason. Though they don't have any experience at the D-1 level, JUCO transfers in Jonathon Ned, Mikal Starks, and Tyron McMillan do have more familiarity with college-level basketball compared to a typical high school recruit. It might not be the same as adding a graduate transfer, but it's still quality experience that makes the team more mature.

Teammate chemistry is another aspect that is just as important to a team as experience. Though coaches have just been granted the ability to hold practices this Monday, the team already seems to have a strong bond.

Of course, we already know that Sahvir Wheeler and Tyron McMillan have a prior background together from their AAU days. But check out the players' social media outlets, and you'll see players hyping one another up during voluntary workouts. Though it may seem to have little impact, seeing two guys who were just added to a new team be able to bond, that goes a long way over the course of a season. 

If you need to see it for yourself, check out true freshman K.D. Johnson's most recent tweet and tell me that this team doesn't already have some chemistry going.