UGA Welcomes New Dawgs

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Men's Hoops Nets Local Talent

Georgia basketball coach Dennis Felton ventured scarcely beyond his own backyard to bring in his two newest additions to the Bulldog program. Center Daniel Miller of Loganville and guard DeMario Mayfield of Carnesville both signed national letters-of-intent today to attend Georgia and play next season for the Bulldogs, Felton announced Wednesday.

"We are thrilled to have Daniel and DeMario joining our Georgia Basketball family," Felton said. "Not only are they tremendously talented basketball players, but they also bring more of the same personal attributes that are so important to us: enthusiasm, integrity and passion for doing something special. They are going to be terrific Bulldogs."

Miller is currently a senior at Loganville Christian Academy. The 6-11, 240-pound center is rated the ninth-best prospect at his position nationally by Rivals.com. the No. 8 center prospect by espn.com. As a junior last year, Miller averaged 28.8 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.0 blocks per game in leading LCA to the 2008 championship of the Independent Christian Schools of Georgia-Alabama (ICSGA). It was Loganville s second straight title.

"Daniel has a very exciting future," Felton said. "For a player of his size, he has tremendous hands, touch and instincts for the game. He can score with his back to the basket and also facing up to 18 feet. He also has a real knack for rebounding and blocking shots, most of which he keeps in play."

Mayfield, at 6-4 and 190 pounds, is beginning his senior season at Franklin County High School in Carnesville. As a junior last season, he averaged 24.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game for the Lions. He is rated the No. 17 point-guard prospect by espn.com.

"DeMario is long, athletic and versatile," Felton said. "I believe he can be equally comfortable and effective on and off the ball. His size and versatility should provide us with many options during the course of his career. DeMario also has the ability to be a tough, tough defender."

Lady Bulldogs Net Top-Five Class

A quartet of the nation's top girls' basketball players inked letters of intent with the Georgia Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, giving Andy Landers and his staff what is widely regarded as one of the top-5 recruiting classes in the nation.

Anne Marie Armstrong, Jasmine Hassell, Jasmine James and Tamika Willis -- each ranked among the nation's top-50 overall prospects by one or more scouting services -- will continue their basketball careers in Athens next
fall. The class has been ranked No. 3 nationally by both All-Star Girls Basketball Report and The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, as well as No. 5 by Blue Star and No. 7 by Hoopgurlz.

"I'm very pleased with the quality of the class," head coach Andy Landers said. "I'm sure this class as a whole will be recognized as an outstanding group, but each individual player is outstanding and will have the opportunity to make our team better. This is the sum total of a lot of hard work and diligence on the part of our coaching staff and our assistant coaches should be congratulated."

Gym Dogs Ink Four

Christa Tanella, Kati Breazeal, Noel Couch and Shayla Worley have signed national letters of intent to compete for the Georgia gymnastics team, according to an announcement Wednesday by Gym Dogs head coach Suzanne Yoculan and associate head coach Jay Clark.

Tanella, Breazeal, Couch and Worley will make up the first freshman class for Clark, who will succeed Yoculan as Georgia s head coach for the 2010 season.

"We all are thrilled with this class," Yoculan said. "These young women will be a great addition to the program. I can t imagine a better class of freshmen coming in for Jay s first year. This class has a little bit of everything in terms of gymnastics, but the young women also have great character. They understand the tradition of Georgia gymnastics, and they will be great stewards of it. We are excited that they are going to be a part of that tradition and that they will be starting their own."