Georgia basketball’s offseason is moving in the right direction.

After Georgia’s 2023-24 basketball season ended with a loss to Seton Hall in the NIT semifinals, there were many questions about the future of Georgia basketball and what next year’s roster would look like. There were players Georgia needed to keep, players leaving in the transfer portal, and players Georgia would add through the portal.

The biggest question for this team entering the offseason was whether Georgia would be able to retain its three starting freshmen, Silas Demarie, Blue Cain and Dylan James, by the end of the year.

Georgia head coach Mike White knew these three players were going to be a big part of his future, and he needed to protect them well. There were big questions about whether Cyrus Demarie would enter the transfer portal and leave Georgia, but he decided to stay. Two other freshmen followed in his footsteps and decided to stay. This was the first big win of the offseason for the Dawgs!

These are the only scholarship players returning to UGA next year. Here’s a look at the players Georgia acquired through the transfer portal and their current roster for next year.

Dakota Refugh

Dakota Leffew joins Georgia State after playing four years at Mount St. Mary’s. Dakota is a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists a year ago. This is a solid turnaround for Georgia, and he should be able to provide Georgia with some playmaking and space (37 percent from three games last year) next year. He has only one year left in his university life.

Deshane Montgomery

Georgia added the Mount St. Mary’s duo of Montgomery and Leffrew. Montgomery averaged 13.5 points and shot 52 percent from the field in his freshman year.

It’s great to get stats like this from a freshman because freshmen don’t get to run very often these days in college basketball. Montgomery is a 6’4 SG/SF with great athleticism and has a lot of potential to be a star on the team next year.

Tyryn Lawrence

Tyrin Lawrence is the star of the Dawgs’ transfer portal class so far. Lawrence averaged 13.8 points and five rebounds for Vandy a year ago, but shot just 40 percent from the floor.

This was probably because he wasn’t around him much, as he averaged 13 shots per game and shot 50 percent from the field the year before. Lawrence will provide Georgia with another guard/wing with extensive SEC experience and will likely start at UGA next year.

Justin Abson

Georgia strengthened its frontcourt by acquiring Justin Abson from Appalachian State University. Abson was primarily known for his defense with the Mountaineers and will give the Dawgs a formidable presence in the paint.

Abson averaged 2.8 blocks per game and played just 24 minutes, so he will be very helpful in improving Georgia’s interior defense, which was a major weakness a year ago.

RJ Godfrey

RJ Godfrey will help Georgia improve interior play on both sides of the ball next year. As a sophomore at Clemson, he averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds, helping Clemson advance to the Elite Eight.

These numbers aren’t impressive at first, but Godfrey only played about 15 games as he sat behind a packed Clemson front line. With more opportunities this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Godfrey average 10 points and seven rebounds per game in Athens.

Georgia also added two highly rated freshmen in addition to a strong transfer class. The Dawgs added Asa Newell, who is ranked near the top 10 nationally.

Newell will likely start at PF for UGA next year and could be a star from the get-go. Georgia also just added Somt Cyril to the class, who is highly athletic at the center position and should provide Georgia with high-energy minutes at the center position. Cyril is also ranked within the top 50 nationally.

It’s been a great offseason so far for Georgia, and they still have three scholarships left if they feel they need to fill them all. The roster is vastly improved from a year ago, and it looks like the NCAA Tournament drought could end in the 24-25 season. Let’s Georgia and Mike White could end the offseason on a strong note with some new additions to improve their tournament odds!