25 GEORGIA

SOUTHEASTERN

22-9
LAST SEASON

-3-
RETURNING STARTERS

"AFTER ALL THE GOOD IS GONE"
THE BULLDOG
(COACH: HUGH DURHAM)

Following his strong freshman season, Cedric Henderson changed his address from Athens to Milan—that's Athens, Ga. to Milan, Italy—but that's no reason to write off the Dogs. Georgia always seems to respond to adversity: The year Dominique Wilkins left, 1982-83, the team made it to the Final Four. Last season it went 22-9 after Vern Fleming and James Banks had departed. Coach Hugh Durham's steady hand keeps the Dogs sharp.

Georgia is good enough to alternate Joe Ward and Horace McMillan at small forward—they combined for 21.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 54.7% shooting last season. For a while, though, they may have to play together because of a preseason stress fracture suffered by 6'8" power forward Chad Kessler. At center, Durham has 6'8" junior David Dunn, who transferred from Georgetown. Don't get too excited, though; Dunn scored only nine points in his year as a Hoya.

Freshman Toney Mack isn't afraid to fire away—he averaged 41 points a game at Brandon (Fla.) High. Look for the 6'5" swingman to spend most of his time at shooting guard. He has been issued jersey No. 21, which had been worn by Wilkins, his hero. The backcourt starters are most likely to be two old reliables, Donald Hartry and Melvin Howard.

No doubt the talented Henderson (15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds per game) will be missed on the floor, but he'll hardly be mourned. He was a lightning rod for trouble and had poor grades, and Durham agreed he would be better off in pro ball. Presumably, he'll still be in Milan in March, by which time his overlooked former teammates will have sneaked into the NCAA tournament.

ILLUSTRATION

MICHAEL DORET