Rodney Howard's addition to the NCAA Transfer Portal is not terribly surprising.
Rodney Howard stood out for several reasons with this Georgia team. He was the tallest member of the team and he was the least athletic player on the team. Howard fit Georgia better than his other options, one of which was Ole Miss. Howard was not able to earn consistent playing time on the floor and he desperately needed an offseason to work on his explosiveness. Howard will have options this offseason, but his future in Athens will end with some social distancing.
Howard did not play in every game and while he was able to show some fortitude as a defender in the post, he often yielded space. Howard was a shot blocker at times, but it is too inconsistent. On the offensive end, he was the most limited player on the roster and he was perhaps a bit too meek when he had possession of the ball leading to turnovers.
His last appearance was against LSU in the 94-64 debacle in Baton Rouge. He played 13 minutes in that game and was not very productive.
Georgia will have two spots available for the roster next season. Sore points for the team include defense, three point shooting, and post presence. There are a lot of transfers who were former offers (and commits) by Mark Fox who are available, but almost all of them have a diminished value considering their sheen has rubbed off considerably due to poor performances, injuries, or even reputations for bad attitudes.
Transfers do happen in College Basketball and sometimes seven players will transfer out like what happened to Wichita State.
Some of the notable names in the transfer pool who were offered by Georgia:
- Elias King (former commitment)
- Landers Nolley (former commitment)
- Darius Perry
- Alterique Gilbert
- Amauri Hardy
- Drue Drinnon
- Jordan Bruner
Tom Crean would ideally seek out a player who can both shoot three point shots at a 35%+ clip and defend well. Trey McGowens, a transfer out of Pittsburgh, fits one of the criteria as he is a strong defender with a 3.5% steals rate and a poor three point shooter with a 31.1% three point Field Goal rate. No transfers really fit both elements in the backcourt. Darius Perry is a poor defender with trouble drawing fouls, but he can hit 38.9% of his three point shots.
For Georgia, the biggest prize would be Aamir Simms from Clemson,
if he opts to leave. However, he has given no indication of doing so at this time. A Simms-Hammonds tandem would be incredibly difficult to beat. Once again, he's likely to remain in Clemson and not make such a move.
However, a blast from the past, may be a good option for Tom Crean. Jordan Bruner. Bruner is transferring out of Yale, he ran out of Ivy League eligibility.
Bruner is an excellent defensive rebounder (a weak point for UGA last season), he is a decent shot blocker, has ability to play in a 5 out offense, is a decent shooter for a 6'9" player in college, and he's a strong distributor. Bruner should be Target #1.
