Zac Swansey asked for his release from UGA

The Red and Black is reporting that sophomore point guard Zac Swansey has asked to be released from his scholarship at Georgia. Swansey is best known for his clutch, miracle jumper to beat Kentucky in the 2008 SEC Tournament. Without that shot, Georgia doesn't win the SEC Tourney. It's for that reason that I have nothing negative to say about the kid.

I know he expressed some seamingly harsh words over the past few days regarding the future of the program, but I'm not the least bit annoyed. He just finished the emotional end to a brutal season that saw his playing time decline almost daily. He shouldn't have said it, and he'll regret it eventually. It is what it is. He's not happy so he's leaving.

Frankly, this could be a blessing in disguise for all parties.

Prior to Zac's announcement, UGA had very few open scholarships to play with.

• Fall 2009 Enrollments: 1 scholarship remaining
  
• Fall 2010: 1 more opens when Jackson leaves
• Fall 2011: 4 open when Zac, Barnes, Price and Brewer leave

A new coach can't rebuild a program with only two scholarships to offer in Years 1 and 2. Zac's departure gives the new coach some breathing room, and it probably won't be the last change.

We have some other young players like Drazen Zlovaric and Troy Brewer who've struggled to make their mark in Athens. The new coach will need to have long talks with them and mutually decide if their college careers should continue in Athens. Additionaly, Travis Leslie is having well publicized academic issues, and Jeremy Price struggled to find happiness this season as well. Chip Towers discussed this at length a few days ago, and player movement is definitely a topic to watch.

The only player I'm not worried about losing is Trey Thompkins. Trey and his family likely fancy him as a player in the NBA within 3 years. Sitting out a year for a transfer doesn't accelerate those plans. He and Ware are the keys to the future of the program, and we should be able to retain both.

The rest? Well....if the roster was great, we wouldn't have lost 20 games. For the first time in a few years, attrition is probably going to be a good thing for the hoops program.

I wish Zac the best. He kept his frustration out of the papers until after the season, and he never got in trouble on the court or off. Thanks for the shot. Best of luck in your future.

See Also:
-- About Swansey's original comments - TotalUGA.com

PWD