A year ago when Mark Fox started his first preseason camp at Georgia, he emphasized installing his triangle offense.

This year when the Bulldogs begin preseason practice, defense will be the focus.

“I don’t think we defended very well at all last year,” Fox said. “To win on the road, you have to defend. Last year’s group made a lot of progress and played pretty well at home. But to win on the road, you have to defend and that’s something we’ve got to improve on this year.”

Georgia starts preseason training camp today. Its first game will be an exhibition on Nov. 4 at home against Augusta State. The regular season starts on Nov. 12 at home against Mississippi Valley State.

“It’s about wanting to play defense,” Georgia forward Trey Thompkins said. “We have expectations to be great. But we also understand that if we can’t stop anybody, we’re not going to be great. Coach Fox stresses every day, this year, that we’re going to be tougher on the defensive end. We have to be. We don’t have any other choice.”

Georgia was tied for seventh in field-goal defense last season at 43.1 percent. The Bulldogs also ranked eighth in scoring defense at 69.4 points per game.

Georgia brings back four of its five starters from last season, including its two leading scorers and the point guard.

Thompkins (17.7 points a game) and Travis Leslie (14.8 ppg) return as the focus of the offense, along with point guard Dustin Ware (8.2 ppg). Senior forward Jeremy Price (7.2 ppg) played some of the best basketball of his career late in the season and eventually claimed a starting position. Senior forward Chris Barnes (3.2 ppg), sophomore guard Vincent Williams (1.2 ppg) and junior walk-on Matt Bucklin return.

“I played more zone last year than the five previous years combined,” Fox said. “We didn’t have the depth to play a different way and we didn’t have the matchups to play a different way. This year I think we’ll be more prepared, if you look at our roster, to play more man-to-man defense and to play the way I’d like to.”

Georgia went 14-17 overall and 5-11 in the Southeastern Conference in Fox’s debut season. But it showed a dramatic difference in level of play between home and away. Georgia as 12-4 at Stegeman Coliseum and 0-11 on the road. Georgia also went 2-2 on neutral courts.

“Road games are all about defense,” Thompkins said. “If you’re not able to stop somebody, you’re not going to beat them on the road. We plan on winning some road games this year. If we’re going to do it, we’ve got to play some defense.”

Georgia will have five first-year players but two of those, guard Gerald Robinson Jr. and forward Connor Nolte, transferred and were able to practice with the team last season. Newcomers include freshman forwards Marcus Thornton and Donte Williams, plus junior college guard transfer Sherrard Brantley. Georgia lost freshman forward Cady Lalanne who was ruled academically ineligible earlier this fall.

Fox hopes that the influx of new blood will give the team more depth so it can play at a faster tempo on the defensive end.

“Defense is something we’re definitely cracking down on this year,” Robinson said. “We need to stop other people’s offense. That correlates to us not being able to win a road game last year. But that’s in the past and we’re trying to focus on what needs to be done this year.”