Former Gwinnett Starts Keeping Georgia in the SEC Mix

Throughout this blog, I have given you stories of how student-athletes from Gwinnett County, Georgia have gone on to have great college and pro careers. there are three members of the Georgia Men's Basketball Team who are playing huge rolls in the Bulldogs' surprising success under first year Head Coach Mark Fox.

Senior Guard Ricky McPhee has gone from being a Georgia walk-on to becoming a vital cog in the success of the Dawgs. He hales from Lilburn, GA in Gwinnett County, and played his high school ball at Parkview High school. He started out at Gardner-Webb University, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, where he averaged 8.6 PPG and scored at least 20 points on three occasions in the 2006-07 season, including a 22 point performance against Texas Tech.

After that, it was time for a new challenge for McPhee. He transferred to Georgia in 2008 and was a walk-on until earning a scholarship for the 2009-10 campaign. As mentioned above, McPhee has had tremendous success while at UGA. Last year, he played very important roles in the Dawgs' wins over Vanderbilt and Florida. McPhee was 5 for 7 from beyond the arc in their win over Mississippi St. last year. This year, McPhee has continued his good work for Georgia. In a crucial non-conference game against Illinois in December 2009, McPhee went 2-6 from beyond the arc, one of those being the difference in a 70-67 win over their Big 10 opponents. He also 4-7 treys in a big win over GA. Tech.

Trey Tompkins is undoubtedly the "Go t Guy" for the Dawgs. He prepped at the Wesleyan School in Norcross, GA (Gwinnett County) before goign to the famed Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. He also spent part of the 09 Summer playing for the U-19 USA Team in the U-19 world Championships in Aukland, New Zeland, where the U.S Team went undefeated on their way to the championship, and Tompkins was second on the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game. During his Freshman year at Georgia last year, Tompkins was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team, as voted by the league’s 12 coaches. He led Georgia in rebounding with the highest total for a UGA freshman (7.4/game) in 11 years. He was ranked second among Georgia players in scoring at 12.6 points per contest. He also led the Bulldogs in blocked shots with 31.

This year, Tompkins has continued his fine work for the Dawgs. He scored 20 points and went 6-12 from the field in the Dawgs' upset win over arch rival Georgia Tech. He had 21 points against Illinois in the Dawgs' 70-67 win. He also had 6 important defensive rebounds in that game. Only a Sophomore, Tompkins will only improve as he helps to lead Georgia to an NCAA Tournament berth.

Ebuka Anyaorah is s 6'4 R-Freshamn Guard for the Dawgs and comes from N. Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, GA, where he was second in Gwinnett County in scoring (26.3 PPG) behind fellow teammate Trey Tompkins. He sat out last year due to a stress fracture in his right tibia for which he had surgery to repair. This year, he averages about 15 minutes a game and provides depth for the Dawgs at the guard position. He is only a Red Shirt Sophomore and will only continue to improve. These three Gwinnett players, Ricky McPhee, Trey Tompkins and Ebuka Anyaorah, will continue to make more noise in the SEC. They will hopefully lead Georgia to a winning record in the conference and a berth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. the Dawgs are currently 8-7 over all and 0-2 in conference play, with big wins over Illinois and Georgia Tech. In their two SEC losses to Kentucky and Ole Miss, the Dawgs were in both games and had chances to win. If they can have an above 500 record in the SEC with say, a win over Kentucky and Tennessee, plus a good showing in the SEC tourney, the possibility exists for the Dawgs to be in the "Big Dance" come March.