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In the world of one-and-dones, we frequently forget that a lot of incoming freshmen need time to adjust to the college game. All things considered, it’s better not to have to rely too much on freshmen. Let them come off the bench or play a reduced role in their first year as they adjust to the speed of the college game.
That’s why Georgia’s situation with Tyree Crump is close to ideal. Crump, a 6’1”, 180-pound combo guard from Bainbridge, GA, was rated as a four-star by Rivals (#66 nationally), ESPN (#82 nationally, #20 shooting guard), and 247 Sports (#76 nationally, #10 combo guard.) That’s the kind of player that most teams would expect to make an immediate impact as a freshman.
But Georgia, with J.J. Frazier returning to anchor the backcourt, probably won’t need Crump to play a featured role as a freshman. Frazier averaged 16.9 ppg as a junior and essentially plays the same position as Crump. And Georgia also returns Yante Maten as the second scoring option. So yes, Crump is going to play this year, but Mark Fox will probably bring him along slowly rather than expecting him to be the guy from day one. And that’s probably a good thing.
How does he fit onto the roster? That said, Georgia does have to replace double-figure scorers Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann on the perimeter. So there’s certainly playing time for Crump if he’s up for it, and while Juwan Parker is returning from injury and Georgia does have a couple other talented, if unproven, guards in William Jackson and fellow freshman Jordan Harris, playing time is there for Crump if he can get up to speed. But regardless of where and how much he plays, it’s pretty safe to assume that as a freshman Crump is going to play second banana (at best) to Frazier. And that’s probably a good thing.