NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Malik Monk struggled Friday in Kentucky's SEC Tournament opener, but the No. 8 Wildcats still rolled to a 71-60 victory over Georgia at Bridgestone Arena.
Monk, a freshman who grew up in Lepanto and played at Bentonville High School, came into the game averaging an SEC-leading 21.2 points, but he scored a season-low two points against the Bulldogs. He shot 1 of 7 from the field.
After the game, Monk was asked when was the last time he had scored just two points.
"Never, man," he said. "I don't think I ever did that."
It was the second consecutive poor offensive game for Monk, who scored six points on 2-of-10 shooting in Kentucky's 71-63 victory at Texas A&M on March 4. He has scored at least 10 points in all of Kentucky's games except for the past two.
Kentucky sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe, who along with freshman guard De'Aaron Fox led the Wildcats with 20 points Friday, said not to worry about Monk.
"He's fine, he's fine," Briscoe said. "He's a confident kid."
Monk was The Associated Press SEC player of the year and a first-team All-SEC pick by the coaches and media, but Briscoe said he's human, too.
"He's not going to be perfect every game," Briscoe said. "You know what I mean? He's going to have games like that. Somebody else has to step up."
Monk will get a chance to regain his scoring touch against Alabama in today's first semifinal game. He led the Wildcats with 17 points in their 67-58 victory at Alabama in the teams' regular-season meeting.
"I just need to get to focusing in more," Monk said. "Be way more patient, and just listen to Coach [John Calipari]."
George at mic
John George, the longtime public address announcer for Arkansas Razorbacks' basketball games, is in his 11th year filling that role at the SEC Tournament.
"I appreciate the opportunity the SEC gave me, and I'm thankful they keep asking me back," George said Friday. "It's a very big honor to do this."
George replaced Carl Stephens -- the SEC Tournament's public address announcer from 1979-2006 before retiring -- in 2007.
"The SEC has a great staff and group of volunteers I've really enjoyed working with the entire time," George said. "It's people from every school, so it's really nice to be able to represent our school."
George said he has been the public address announcer for 636 Razorbacks' games since the 1980-81 season. Friday's four games upped his SEC Tournament total to 126.
The only two SEC Tournament games George said he hasn't announced were in 2007. He worked the first two of four games on the opening session, then someone else handled the last two.
George said he hasn't missed a game since. He's done 13 games in five days since 2013 when the SEC added Missouri and Texas A&M.
"It's not as hard as it would be if I had to do 13 Razorback games in five days, because I don't yell as much," George said.
George, 60, said he's hopes to announce for the Razorbacks and the SEC for a few more years.
"I don't know exactly how long," he said. "I think my voice probably will tell me when it's time to stop."
Jones out at LSU
LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva finally announced Friday he was firing Johnny Jones as the Tigers' coach.
Jones' firing had been assumed for months as losses mounted for the Tigers, who finished 10-21 -- including a school-record 15-game losing streak -- with a 79-52 loss to Mississippi State on Wednesday night.
Jones, a former LSU player and assistant coach, was 90-72 in five seasons as the Tigers' coach, with his lone NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015.
"I learned that the word 'fit' is a joke," Alleva said Friday at a news conference. "What's a fit? If you looked at Johnny Jones, you would've thought he was the perfect fit.
"I'm looking for a proven winner. Someone that's won and has some experience in the business and that can bring enthusiasm and passion to the program. Not saying Johnny didn't do that.
A list of possible candidates for the LSU job compiled by the New Orleans Times-Picayune include Baylor's Scott Drew, Notre Dame's Mike Brey, Dayton's Archie Miller and Nevada-Reno's Eric Musselman, a former Tigers' assistant under Jones.
"Most of the people we talk to will be playing in postseason play, and they're not going to talk to us a whole lot while they're playing," Alleva said. "We'll do our work and we'll do our diligence.
"We'll be talking to agents, and we'll be looking for the best candidates to get us in a situation where we're in the NCAA Tournament and postseason play on a regular basis."
Alleva said he met with Jones on Friday and informed him of the firing.
"This is the worst part of the job, particularly when the coach is a friend and a great LSU person," he said. "But it is all about championships and excellence, and we were not going in that direction."
Carolina struggles
South Carolina looked to be an NCAA Tournament lock earlier this season, but the Gamecocks may have to sweat out whether they get a bid after losing to Alabama 64-53 on Friday.
The Gamecocks (22-10) are 3-6 in their past nine games.
South Carolina also struggled down the stretch last season and had to settle for an NIT bid after a loss to Georgia in the SEC Tournament opener that dropped the Gamecocks to 24-8.
"We lost to a good team," Martin said of Friday's game. "How many wins does Alabama have now?"
The Crimson Tide improved to 19-13.
"It's not like we got beat at a neutral site by a team that's not any good," Martin said. "One game at a neutral site against a very good opponent is going to outdo 12 conference wins? Then it is what it is."
Martin said the NCAA Tournament selection committee members aren't going to call him to ask his opinion about the Gamecocks.
"So what I think and what I feel is completely irrelevant to the whole situation," he said. "But if they feel we won enough, they'll put us in."
South Carolina hasn't played in the NCAA Tournament since 2004.
Mizzou's Anderson reflects
Kim Anderson said Thursday night after his final game as Missouri's coach that his firing wasn't a surprise even going back to when he was hired in April of 2014.
Jim Sterk, who became Missouri's athletic director in August, fired Anderson on Feb. 24, effective at the end of the season.
The end for Anderson and the Tigers came in an 86-74 loss to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament.
Missouri went 27-68 in Anderson's three seasons, including 8-24 this season.
"If you were to ask me when did you know you were going to get fired, I would have said probably the first day I took the job because there were a lot of challenges that had to be met," Anderson said. "We met them and did a pretty good job, but we just didn't win enough games."
Anderson, a former Missouri player and assistant coach, replaced Frank Haith without knowing the program was about to come under NCAA investigation for rules violations.
Haith bolted for Tulsa after three seasons, and several players he brought in left the program under Anderson.
"I certainly hope that whoever the [next] coach is that we have provided a little bit of a building block for them," Anderson said. "I maintain that when I was hired I was pretty much asked to stabilize this program.
"It took a while. It obviously took too long. But I'm proud of what we've done. I know there's a lot of people out there that aren't. But no one out there sat in my shoes for the last three years.
"No one out there knows the challenges we had. Nobody knows it but me. I'm not trying to be a martyr or anything like that.
"Obviously, we didn't win enough games and we didn't generate enough money. When you don't do that in college athletics you don't keep your job. I'm not bitter. I certainly understand that."
Bradley on set
Former Arkansas All-SEC guard Pat Bradley is working on the SEC Network set in Bridgestone Arena this week. He was hired as an analyst this year.
"It's a good time," said Bradley, who lives in Little Rock and is continuing to be a radio talk show co-host on The Zone for 103.7-FM The Buzz. "Thankfully they just said, 'Be yourself,' because anything else and I probably would be in big, big trouble."
Bradley said being part of the SEC Tournament coverage is fun.
"Tournament time is the best time," he said. "It's hoops heaven."
SEC legends
Two players with Arkansas ties were honored as SEC legends this week.
Oliver Miller, who played for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1989-1992, was recognized as the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's legend Friday night.
Jason Harris, who played at Little Rock Parkview, was recognized as Ole Miss' SEC legend Thursday night.
Sports on 03/11/2017