ATHENS, Ga. – Doug Davenport is set for his head coaching debut Monday night at Stegeman Coliseum as Bellarmine opens the 2025-26 season at Georgia. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
 
Programming Note: Watching tonight's game will require accessing the ESPN app using a TV provider login or a subscription to ESPN Unlimited. Pending a new agreement between Google and The Walt Disney Company, YouTube TV subscribers may not be able to access the stream for tonight's game.
 
With the Knights' exhibition season concluded and the regular season having arrived, Davenport, who took over the head coaching role in March, is ready for what is ahead.
 
"We are thrilled to get the season underway," Davenport said. "We got together on June 9 for the first time as a group, and now we get to test ourselves against outside competition in front of a crowd at an SEC school for the first time."
 
Davenport gets back key returners such as forward Jack Karasinski and guards Tyler Doyle and Kenyon Goodin from last season. Still, nine new players join seven returners for the Knights as they begin a new era of Bellarmine basketball.
 
"It's been a transition, but this has very little to do with me and everything to do with the guys in the jerseys," Davenport continued. "We are here to support them, motivate them, develop them and ultimately hold them to the standards we have collectively defined. For us to do the things we want to do, it has to start with our oldest and most experienced guys."
 
Despite the number of new faces, Davenport says the Knights are in a good place and continues to point to the veterans on the team to guide the newcomers.
 
"We're thrilled with the 28 guys in our program—16 players and 12 coaches, managers and support staff. Everyone is pulling in the same direction and we're all working toward our one common goal of reaching our collective potential. The biggest challenge, like most teams, is getting our older guys to take charge of the team. They have to help hold their teammates to our standards."
 
Looking across the way at the home bench at Stegeman Coliseum, Davenport & Co. will find a Georgia team looking to build upon a 20-13 (8-10) record last season. The Bulldogs tied for ninth in the SEC and earned their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2015, though they fell in the first round to 8-seeded Gonzaga.
 
Gone from last year's Bulldogs team are key contributors such as guard Silas Demary Jr., who transferred to UConn after averaging 13.5 points per game, and forward Asa Newell, who led UGA averaging 15.4 points and now plays for the Atlanta Hawks after being drafted No. 23 overall. Demary Jr. also topped the 2024-25 Dawgs in assists (3.1), steals (1.7) and minutes (31.5).
 
Like Bellarmine, Georgia was active in the transfer portal this past offseason and will be looking from contributions from players playing their first season in a new program. Head coach Mike White landed sophomore forward Kanon Catchings (BYU), senior guard Justin Bailey (Wofford), junior guard Marcus Millender (UT-San Antonio), junior guard Jordan Ross (St. Mary's) and sophomore guard Jeremiah Wilkinson (Cal). Incoming freshmen include 4-star recruits like forward Kareem Stagg and forward Jake Wilkins, offering front-court depth and length.
 
Blue Cain is the lone returning starter from last season. The junior guard started all 33 games and leads all returning Bulldogs having averaged 9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists.
 
Per usual, Bellarmine has scheduled a few challenging games in the nonconference portion of their schedule. UGA is the first of four power-conference foes on the Knights' docket.
 
"All of the high-major programs present a significant challenge, especially in the revenue sharing era. They are very well coached, big, athletic and talented," Davenport said of his Game 1 opponents. "Coach White's teams have always been terrific defensively, and they have plenty of talent offensively as well to compete in the SEC and make an NCAA Tournament run."
 
Like his father when he sat in the same chair, Davenport recognizes the ASUN's status as a one-bid league and emphasizes the importance of conference play to set his team up with the best seed possible in the ASUN tournament.
 
"All season we continue to try to measure ourselves against our own standard—the ultimate goal is to be playing our best basketball in January and February," Davenport concluded. "Games like Georgia and Kansas State give us a great reference point for where we are today and it lets us know how much further we have to go to reach our potential."
 
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