Meet the Dawgs: Starting five edition

This off-season the Georgia Bulldogs saw a total roster refresh under 2nd year Head Coach Mike White. The Dawgs brought in the 21st rated class in the country according to 247sports.com. In last night's exhibition game vs Eastern Kentucky Mike White's starting lineup featured 5 newcomers which Georgia fans may not be all familiar with.

Point Guard: Freshman Silas Demary Jr.

A consensus top 100 recruit in the class of 2023 among recruiting sites, Demary was a late edition to Georgia's 2023 class as he flipped from Southern Cal to Georgia in mid April. Standing at 6'5 Demary has a nose for the basket and a dribble pull up game that allows him to create his own shot in a multitude of ways. He may be raw but Demary possesses all the physical tools a coach could ask for in a slashing guard.

Shooting Guard: Graduate Student Noah Thomasson

Thomasson comes to Athens from Niagara University where he was selected as a unanimous member of the 2022-23 All-MAAC team. During last year's campaign he led the MAAC in scoring and ranked 34th nationally, averaging 19.5 PPG. He's also proven to be a dangerous threat from the perimeter as a 38% career 3-point shooter. Thomasson's playmaking ability and experience will be vital for a Georgia team which lacks such qualities at the guard position.

Small Forward: Junior RJ Melendez

Transferring in from Illinois, Melendez helped lead the Fighting Illini to back to back tournament appearances as a 6th man/occasional starter. Melendez started 19 games in Champaign last season averaging 5.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG. He was also good for 83.8% of his free throws last season, making him a reliable option at the charity stripe. Expect to see a jump in Melendez's numbers this season as he fills a bigger role for the Dawgs.

Power Forward: Graduate Student R.J Sunahara

Hailing from Division II powerhouse Nova Southeastern, Sunahara enters Athens with a gaudy career record of 90-7. Even more impressively Sunahara led his team to an undefeated national championship season in 2022-23; He also won the DII NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) player of the year award putting up 18.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.6 BPG. Sunahara may be the most intriguing Bulldogs newcomer on paper this season as he is listed as a guard at 6'8. However his game translates to the Power 6 level, Sunahara's game is versatile enough that he'll be a major contributor in most categories for Georgia this year.

Center: Graduate Student Russel Tchewa

Originally from Douala, Cameroon Tchewa joins the Bulldogs from USF where he averaged 11.1 PPG and 8.6 RPG. Listed at 7'0 tall and 275 pounds, Tchewa's frame is as physically imposing as anybody nationwide. Over his four years at Texas Tech and USF Tchewa's numbers have risen every year. If he can replicate last year's production while continuing to improve his interior defense Tchewa could be an anchor in the paint for Mike White and the Dawgs.