ATHENS — Georgia's J.J. Frazier and Yante Maten were named preseason All-SEC in balloting of selected media, and the Bulldogs were tabbed to finish fourth in the SEC during 2016-17. The results were released Wednesday in association with SEC Media Day in Nashville, Tenn.
Frazier, a 5-10, 155-pound senior from Glennville, Ga., was a first-team selection, while Maten, a 6-8, 240-pound junior from Pontiac, Mich., was a second-team choice. Georgia was one of only two teams to have multiple preseason All-SEC honorees, Kentucky being the other.
The Bulldogs were selected fourth in voting for the predicted league standings. Kentucky was the favorite to win the SEC Championship, followed by Florida, Texas A&M, the Bulldogs, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Alabama, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Auburn, LSU, Tennessee and Missouri.
Frazier is the SEC's leading returning scorer after averaging 16.9 ppg for the Bulldogs last season. He was ranked among the league's top-10 statistical leaders in eight different categories last season, the most of any SEC player. Frazier was named second-team All-SEC by league coaches as a junior, as well as third team by the Associated Press.
Maten is the third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder among SEC players for 2016-17 after averaging 16.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg as a sophomore. He also was a consensus All-SEC pick, earning second-team honors from coaches and third-team recognition from the AP. Maten was one of only two Bulldogs to start every game last season, when he also was the only player in the conference ranked among its top-10 leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and free throw percentage.
Under head coach Mark Fox, Georgia has enjoyed arguably its most consistent success in more than a century of basketball. During his seven seasons, the Bulldogs have posted four 20-win campaigns, tying him with hall-of-fame coach Hugh Durham for the most in school history. Georgia has reached the 20-win plateau in each of the past three seasons, making Fox the first UGA coach to do so. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 21 in the preseason top-25 by Lindy's Sports.
In addition to Frazier and Maten, the Bulldogs return eight of their top-10 scorers from a year ago when they finished 20-14 and reached the second round of the NIT. The Bulldogs will unofficially open their season two weeks from tomorrow when they host Fort Valley State for a 7 p.m. exhibition game on Thursday, Nov. 3. Georgia begins regular-season competition on Friday, Nov. 11 at Clemson and christens its home slate the following Monday, Nov. 14 by taking on UNC Asheville at Stegeman Coliseum at 7 p.m. UNC Asheville is one of nine 2016 postseason participants the Bulldogs could face during the season.
