Dennis Felton is taking over a program that won 19 games last year and was set to enter the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed or better. Still, he faces a massive rebuilding effort.

Jim Harrick built the Bulldogs into a league power in four short seasons, but his tenure ended badly, with an NCAA investigation and all-but-forced resignation.

Harrick left the program in disarray but did leave Felton some talent. That talent pool, however, shrunk when Jarvis Hayes decided to skip his senior season and enter the NBA Draft and center Steve Thomas left the team during the offseason. The Bulldogs also lost Ezra Williams, a sharpshooting 3-point specialist who averaged 16.6 points as a senior.

"The part that I fear most is the ability to score," Felton said. "This was an offensive team much more than a defensive team. We had two of the best players in the country, and two of the best scorers."

Further complicating Felton's rebuilding efforts is the fact that Georgia's two returning starters -- Rashad Wright and Chris Daniels -- plus expected starters Damien Wilkins and Jonas Hayes, are all seniors.

"I'm happy to have them from the standpoint that [the] four of them are experienced," Felton said. "The most disappointing part is that they are all seniors, so we'll be basically starting from scratch two years in a row."

Still, that core group has enough experience to get the Bulldogs back to an NCAA Tournament level of play if they can find some scoring punch to make up for the loss of Hayes and Williams.

FRONTCOURT:

Daniels is the player every coach in the SEC wants. He does it all for the Bulldogs. Last year he was fourth on the team in scoring (9.8), second in assists (80), second in rebounding (7.1), first in blocks (41) and tied for first in steals (39). Plus, Harrick often raved about the things Daniels did that don't show up in the box score.

The Dawgs' were 15-5 with Thomas in the lineup last season. As the team's leading rebounder in 2002, his presence will be sorely missed in the middle.

Hayes, who transferred with his brother from Western Carolina three years ago, contemplated leaving Georgia during the summer but chose to stay and finish his career in Athens. Hayes doesn't possess the skills of brother Jarvis, now a Washington Wizard, but he is a serviceable SEC forward who can score around the basket and help on the boards.

Due to the Dawgs' lack of depth, Georgia's young big men -- whether they are ready or not -- will be forced to play significant minutes this season.

BACKCOURT:

This could be the year that Wright finally gets recognized as the best pure point guard in the league. He was magnificent last season -- with an assist-to-turnover ration of 4-to-1 -- but he no longer has as many weapons to distribute the ball to, so his assist total figures to drop.

Wright's playmaking is unquestioned; his offense, however, has been lacking. After a relatively strong sophomore season (9.1 ppg, 43.7 percent shooting), he slumped last year to 7.8 points per game and shot 36.5 from the field and 28.4 percent from 3-point range. His shooting must improve.

Wilkins has a chance to shine in his second season at Georgia. He sat out the 2001-02 season after transferring from North Carolina State and served as the Dawgs' versatile sixth man last season. Wilkins, once considered among the top five prep players in the nation, can score in a variety of ways and will be one of Georgia's top offensive options.

Freshman Levi Stukes will be asked to contribute right away. He averaged 24.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists as a senior at Randallstown (Md.) High School.

FINAL ANALYSIS:

If it's the little things that truly win games, then the Bulldogs should compete for the SEC East title. They're stocked with the little things -- Wright's ball-handling and Daniels' all-court play. However, Georgia is lacking the biggest thing -- scoring.

Felton preaches a hard-nosed defensive style that will be a switch for this team. It won with its offense last year, averaging an SEC-high 79.2 points per game, and only occasionally played defense, giving up an SEC-worst 73.2 points per game. Plus, the Dawgs have to replace more than half of their scoring punch with Hayes, Williams and Thomas no longer in the lineup.

If Wilkins can average 15 points per game and everyone else can up their totals by two to three points per game, the Bulldogs could sneak into the NCAA Tournament. If not, Felton's first season in Athens will likely end in the NIT.

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