Georgia’s key to victory in NCAA tourney opener? Stopping Huskies star Thomas

ATHENS — Gerald Robinson says playing against Southeastern Conference point guards should prepare him for his NCAA Tournament challenge against Washington’s Isaiah Thomas.

The problem is Robinson and his teammates on Wednesday couldn’t name a guard in the SEC who compares with the Huskies’ 5-foot-9 star.

Georgia coach Mark Fox said Thomas is “unique” and even rises above comparisons with another former 5-foot-9 former Washington star, Nate Washington, who is now in the NBA with Oklahoma City.

“No, he’s better than Nate,” Fox said firmly. “He’s a better player than Nate, and Nate is obviously good enough to be a pro, but Isaiah Thomas is terrific.”

The Bulldogs practiced in Athens on Wednesday before leaving for their bus trip to Charlotte.

Georgia (21-11) is the No. 10 seed in the East Regional. Washington (23-10) is the No. 7 seed. The winner could face No. 2 seed North Carolina on Sunday.

Robinson and Dustin Ware are expected to lead Georgia’s defensive efforts against Washington in Friday night’s game in Charlotte.

Thomas averaged 19.7 points and 10 assists a game in three games as Washington won the Pac-10 Tournament last week. His signature moment came when he made a fall-away 18-footer at the end of overtime against Arizona to give Washington the championship.

Thomas’ game-winner received strong play on ESPN and YouTube.com, even making its way onto the TV screens and laptops of Georgia players on the other side of the nation.

“I didn’t get to catch it (live) but I have seen it on highlights over and over again,” Robinson said. “He’s a great player who made a great play for his team.”

Added Ware: “It didn’t surprise me at all because he’s done that kind of thing throughout his career.”

Thomas, a junior who is averaging 16.8 points for the season, leads a balanced Washington attack that averages 83.5 points per game.

“Washington is extremely talented, a great offensive team,” said Fox, who began his career as a graduate assistant and assistant coach at Washington. They’re very complete offensively and very explosive. They combine that with very good defense, also.”

Fox warned that Thomas is not the Bulldogs’ only concern. Senior forward Matt Bryan-Amaning averages 15.5 points and 8.1 rebounds.

“No, they have too many guys who can score,” Fox said. “This is a very complete offensive team. Isaiah is a great player but they have a lot of good pieces around him that make for a great team.”

Thomas is the key for the Huskies. He is one of only two players to start every game for Washington, and he played 123 of a possible 125 minutes in the conference tournament.

“He’s one of those guys you’ve got to put all sets of eyes on,” Ware said. “He’s a really good player who can do a lot of different things. He really, really drives that team and makes them better. He knows how to get it done.”

Travis Leslie may be Georgia’s only player who has faced Thomas. He said he was 16 when he played on a Georgia Stars 17-and-under AAU team against a team led by Robinson.

“He’s just a great player,” Leslie said. “He goes to the basket. He can shoot. He’s an overall good player.”

And about that AAU game? Leslie said he couldn’t remember the name of Thomas’ team, but he remembered the result.

“He’s the reason they won,” Leslie said.

BUTLER CAN’T BRING LIVE BULLDOG MASCOT TO NCAA TOURNAMENT: Butler fans were upset after the NCAA said their beloved mascot Blue II the bulldog wouldn’t be allowed at the site of the team’s tournament game.

Butler opens against Old Dominion today.

NCAA spokesman David Worlock said an exception was made last year allowing Blue II in Lucas Oil Stadium when Butler played in the finals. But he says live animals aren’t allowed in game venues during preliminary rounds of the NCAA Tournament due to limited space and tight turnaround times. The only other program with a live mascot, the Georgia Bulldogs, also will not be allowed to bring its mascot.

HILL NOT HAPPY WITH FAB FIVE DOCUMENTARY: Former Duke standout Grant Hill criticized former Michigan star Jalen Rose for saying the Blue Devils “only recruited black players that were ‘Uncle Toms.’ “

Rose made the comments in a recent ESPN documentary about Michigan’s Fab Five, a class of talented freshman in the early 1990s. Rose said he hated Duke back then and said the ACC program would never recruit someone like him. In a column that appeared on The New York Times’ website Wednesday, Hill cautions his “fabulous five friends to avoid stereotyping me and others they do not know in much the same way so many people stereotyped them back then for their appearance and swagger.”

Hill, whose Duke team beat Michigan in the 1992 national title game, wrote that it’s a “sad” and “pathetic” turn of events to see friends disparaging black athletes at Duke. Hill now plays for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

Rose said Wednesday he was only describing how he felt back then, when he was younger.

“I have great respect and appreciation for the Duke program, its players and all they’ve achieved,” Rose said.