If Friday night’s 87-53 exhibition victory over North Georgia is any indication, Georgia basketball under new coach Mark Fox appears to finally be moving in the right direction.

Although North Georgia was clearly overmatched from an athletic and talent standpoint, and despite the team still being “a work in progress in so many ways” according to Fox, the game still served as a tremendous opportunity for Fox to get to see a variety of players, with no player playing more than 23 minutes and 11 players seeing 10 minutes or more.

“We were able to get a lot of players a lot of looks and a lot of playing time,” Fox said. “And that’s what you want in an exhibition game.”

The exhibition game offered fans their first chance to view the revamped Dogs under Fox in their new Triangle Offense.

And there was much to be optimistic about. Fans saw an athletic team that pushed the ball on the fast break and passed with a purpose in their half-court sets.

Gone were the stagnant offensive sets that resulted in so many rushed shots late in the shot clock last season.

“We played the way we’re supposed to,” Dustin Ware said.

For Fox, it was a chance to see how players would play in front of a crowd and react under the bright lights, while exercising a variety of lineup combinations, many of which will likely never be seen again.

And those players looked substantially different from last year.

None more important than the emergence of Travis Leslie, who Fox says he has arguably pushed harder than any other player on the roster and is critical in filling the voids left on the wings by departed seniors Terrence Woodbury and Corey Butler. Not because he isn’t a hard worker but because Leslie is perhaps the best athlete in the SEC.

Leslie showed signs of greatness last year with a 23 point game against Loyola Chicago and a 19 point effort against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi but was inconsistent, averaging 6.3 points per game last season.

“Travis is a talented young guy,” Fox said. “He has to use it the right way, though, and I’ve pushed him as much as anybody.”

Throughout the offseason, players kept saying to watch out for Leslie this season, and he proved why Friday night, pouring in 21 points and collecting five rebounds.

For a team that lacks proven experience on the wings, the question of who will provide perimeter scoring is one that needs answering.

Leslie took a step towards proving he might be the answer Friday, excelling in Fox’s new system, which emphasizes a more run-oriented offense.

One player missing in Friday’s exhibition was center Albert Jackson, who sat out for precautionary measures, while still nursing a fractured hand.

Jackson says he will be playing in Friday’s season opener against New Orleans, an excitement his point guard is anxiously awaiting.

“That’s a big guy you never want to play without,” Ware said, “but he’s going to come back and do great things for us.”