Top 5 of Duke, UNC, Michigan, Gonzaga and Auburn???

Hard to tell....my best advice to Dawg fans is to be patient while more NCAA investigation results "come to light" and hope that we still could end up signing him (assuming he is a high-ranking target for our current staff).

IMO that list is a farce. It's list of two. Duke and UNC. Surprised VA fell out.

It has been insinuated on this board that despite the incredible academic and career accomplishments of the prior Kessler family members, the current camp does not view UGA academic chops favorably.

blackmountaindawg said:

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I think the style Crean likes, and the more versatile and athletic players he is bringing into the program, is sending up red flags for the Kessler family, who were also big Fox fans. Not much interest from either side at this point. If he is considering AU, then the "academic line" is BS.

side note. UGA is the 13th ranked public University, 6 spots behind UNC.

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8 spots. UNC is ranked 5 tied with UCSB according to US News.

Also the reputation of UNC academics nationally is superior to UGA's. Right, wrong or indifferent.. That is how it is.

If academics mattered, Auburn isn't on the list. So whoever is spouting that farcical reason on the academics of a school where his father became a doctor and brother became a lawyer needs to stop.

There's another reason we aren't listed. Whatever that may be.

It wasn't a surprise to see Auburn on Kessler's list nor was it a surprise to see Georgia left off that list. Right now it's Duke or AU in my book. Walker came to the majority of Houston's games at The Steg for 5 years. I believe he's seen enough to know it's not for him. We'd still be on his list but he wouldn't be UGA bound if Fox and Jonas were here either.

The Kessler's bought a place on Lake Martin 3 or 4 years ago and spend a good bit of time there. Being a college student and having your family lake house 30-40 minutes away.... sweet!! Auburn's fans and arena are at or near the top of any in the league. The only thing that'll knock AU off his list is the possibility of NCAA penalties.

I realize he's just a kid, but Auburn is the academic lightweight of that group. What's worse, though (and nauseating) is reading how he gushes over a sleazebag like Bruce Pearl.

If he spends long enough time at any of these schools to earn a degree then he grossly underperformed expectations. If he doesn't pan out as the expected lottery pick in '21 or '22 he can always GT after 3 years and pick up a masters about anywhere he likes.

I have heard that Fox has been putting the BAD MOUTH to his family about UGA!! That is what we get for paying that clown $22 MILLION over 9 years to NEVER win an NCAA Tournament game!! Not only is his father an MD and his brother an attorney but his late UNCLE Alex Kessler was also an MD who all did their undergrad work at UGA while playing BB!! I don't understand their FOX infatuation when that staff NEVER improved Houston's game at all!! He was the same player as a Senior as he was a Freshman!! Oh!!Well!!

allanhixon@msn.com said:

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I have heard that Fox has been putting the BAD MOUTH to his family about UGA!! That is what we get for paying that clown $22 MILLION over 9 years to NEVER win an NCAA Tournament game!! Not only is his father an MD and his brother an attorney but his late UNCLE Alex Kessler was also an MD who all did their undergrad work at UGA while playing BB!! I don't understand their FOX infatuation when that staff NEVER improved Houston's game at all!! He was the same player as a Senior as he was a Freshman!! Oh!!Well!!

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Houston was what he was. Neither Fox nor Crean nor Mark Few would have gotten much from him. He was put into situations he never should have been in playing more minutes cause Fox recruiting. I doubt Fox talking has any influence on this. He probably just wants to make his own way. Nothing wrong with that

Driller that is complete and utter BS that only a hat wearer of a certain color would present as being remotely based on anything factual.

Houston was a no-star (0) who wasn't ranked in the country, in the state or at his position and held zero offers. He was a last minute offer after Garrison Brooks wasn't landed. The staff had a scholly left and took a flyer on a legacy kid they though had a chance to develop. He is a great young man who did his best but he never should have been anything but a walk-on who maybe was rewarded with a scholly his last year or two like Brandon Young. If you have to bring up our previous coach, criticize him for having Kess on scholarship for 5 years, but stating Fox is bad mouthing UGA and influencing Walker's decision is laughable.

I agree with JPZD that Walker is looking to make his own way and who can blame him. Hopefully he ends up anywhere but AU but that'd be my guess as of today.

I had no problem with Fox giving an open scholarship, late, to a lower Div 1 talent legacy. But I did have a big problem with Fox, for putting that lower Div 1 talent legacy on the court in prime time, when it was obvious to the most casual observer that the kid was way over his head, probably more so than the coach who put him out there. Look up "peter principal" in Websters', and you will see a picture of Mark Fox at UGA.

Houston averaged around 6 minutes playing time his sophomore and senior years. He did play a good bit his junior year (15mpg) but so did Mike Edwards (16mpg) and Geno (19mpg) so who the hell else we gonna put on the court? Criticize the recruiting if you like but to take that team with nothing but 3 stars and below to a 20-14 / 10-8 season is not something a Peter Principle (incompetent) coach could do. "But the league was so weak"... we also beat Clemson and G Tech who went 10-8 and 8-10 in their weak conference to our north.

Yep, and don't forget, with 2 All SEC players, losing to Belmont in Athens. Yep, ole Mark Fox was quite a coach.

We did have two 2nd Team All-SEC players (Top 9-16 in league) in Yante (3*) and JJ (2*) who the staff recruited and developed into two of the best Dawgs of all time and who led us to a 93-84 WIN OVER BELMONT.

It's really past time to be whining about Mark Fox and acting like he ran this storied program into the dirt.

SidV says:
" Walker came to the majority of Houston's games at The Steg for 5 years. I believe he's seen enough to know it's not for him."

Alluding the to the ugly Fox era, and bringing him into this thread's conversation.

Also alluding to how ugly our fans can get, even ripping his brother for the audacity of being unworthy talent wise of his scholarship.

We don't always show ourselves in the best light, and damn sure didn't when Fox was struggling to elevate us to a level we've never consistently bettered, or even reached prior to him.

Exactly what Begger says, couldn't have written it any better myself. I heard disparaging remarks plenty in The Steg not to mention the vitriol spewed on sites like this which I hope they never visited.

Houston Kessler was on scholarship 5 years and the team never had a losing record in the conference. He's the only UGA player in the history of the program who can claim that, so no I wasn't alluding to what one could argue is the best 5 year stretch in our history. Those were some damn good teams that went toe to toe with Kentucky, Florida, etc. Fox had five or six teams that were Tourney worthy but only two made it in the dance and that's what got him fired (rightfully so) but he and Staff elevated this program to relevancy in the conference. That three year stretch where we had more wins in conference (33) than everyone but Kentucky won't soon be repeated.

Decent reply even if a bit terse, but that last line?? What in the hell is that in response to??

Terse is my middle name. LOL The argument was that Fox somehow got us to a place where are program hasn't been. I think that's wrong, and I pointed it out. In addition, during the years Fox had in conference success, the SEC was weak and didn't get many teams in the NCAA tourney. Teams started hiring proven veteran coaches in conference, and Fox could no longer compete. Also, there was mention of Fox signing Maten and JJ, perhaps as proof of how good he was. I know for a fact that the staff had to beg Fox to sign JJ. He didn't want to do it. He did it kicking and screaming. On Maten, we were alerted to Maten by a former assistant early enough to snag him. He was underappreciated and under-recruited. I think he hit it off well with Jonas Hayes. But you know, we beat out Crean for Maten. Crean has signed some under-recruited guys, too. Anunoby for one, who we also recruited but missed on. Crean doesn't ignore diamonds in the rough. But he has already recruited better than Fox ever did. Fox left Crean with next to no SEC talent.

Good reply Monk but there are several stretches of interpretation of what Begger or I wrote. Notice I frequently use "Staff", like I did with JJ and Maten's mention not "Fox". I know all too well the lack of confidence Fox had in JJ that went well past his recruitment and into his Frosh and Soph years. If he'd listened to the staff a bit more regarding other issues I believe we would have been on the right side of the bubble 2 or 3 other years. Stubborn he certainly was.

Monkdawg said:

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begger said:

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Also alluding to how ugly our fans can get, even ripping his brother for the audacity of being unworthy talent wise of his scholarship.

We don't always show ourselves in the best light, and damn sure didn't when Fox was struggling to elevate us to a level we've never consistently bettered, or even reached prior to him.

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So, begger, you think every program's fans just say nothing when a kid contributes practically nothing on the court? No other program's fans "boo"? It's not Houston's fault he was put in the position of playing minutes when he wasn't capable of producing. That was on Fox. Fox couldn't recruit well enough not to recruit Houston.
Houston was/is a good kid, but getting booed is part of the game. "Fox was struggling to elevate us to a level we've never consistently bettered, or even reached prior to him." Are you kidding me? We got to a Sweet 16 under Tubby. But he was only with us for 2 years. Durham recruited like a madman early in his tenure and got us to a Final Four. Harrick had a potential Final Four team before Adams pulled the plug on the program. Please stop pretending Fox was some kind of miracle worker or modern day Wooden. He wasn't.

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All fan bases have those Monk, I agree. But they saw ours first hand and not those other teams' complaining fans. That can be a difference in perception and mind set.

I never said Fox was Wooden or a miracle worker. I said "consistently" which means longer than the stretch Tubby started but never got to finish thanks to UK and our athletic department. Or Durham's initial burst that backslid for off court reasons in the mid 80s. Or Harrick's short burst before it blew up. Fox helped reset our floor imo, and get it higher than Felton left, and with a stronger foundation than any coach left aside from maybe Tubby and Durham.

SidViciousDawg said:

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Good reply Monk but there are several stretches of interpretation of what Begger or I wrote. Notice I frequently use "Staff", like I did with JJ and Maten's mention not "Fox". I know all too well the lack of confidence Fox had in JJ that went well past his recruitment and into his Frosh and Soph years. If he'd listened to the staff a bit more regarding other issues I believe we would have been on the right side of the bubble 2 or 3 other years. Stubborn he certainly was.

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Fox certainly was that. We spent 4 years watching Harper over at Auburn just kill us, and we never even offered him out of HS, despite the pleas of staff. Burns me up. I did notice the use of "staff", but Fox was the chief culprit.

begger said:

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Monkdawg said:

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begger said:

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Also alluding to how ugly our fans can get, even ripping his brother for the audacity of being unworthy talent wise of his scholarship.

We don't always show ourselves in the best light, and damn sure didn't when Fox was struggling to elevate us to a level we've never consistently bettered, or even reached prior to him.

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So, begger, you think every program's fans just say nothing when a kid contributes practically nothing on the court? No other program's fans "boo"? It's not Houston's fault he was put in the position of playing minutes when he wasn't capable of producing. That was on Fox. Fox couldn't recruit well enough not to recruit Houston.
Houston was/is a good kid, but getting booed is part of the game. "Fox was struggling to elevate us to a level we've never consistently bettered, or even reached prior to him." Are you kidding me? We got to a Sweet 16 under Tubby. But he was only with us for 2 years. Durham recruited like a madman early in his tenure and got us to a Final Four. Harrick had a potential Final Four team before Adams pulled the plug on the program. Please stop pretending Fox was some kind of miracle worker or modern day Wooden. He wasn't.

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All fan bases have those Monk, I agree. But they saw ours first hand and not those other teams' complaining fans. That can be a difference in perception and mind set.

I never said Fox was Wooden or a miracle worker. I said "consistently" which means longer than the stretch Tubby started but never got to finish thanks to UK and our athletic department. Or Durham's initial burst that backslid for off court reasons in the mid 80s. Or Harrick's short burst before it blew up. Fox helped reset our floor imo, and get it higher than Felton left, and with a stronger foundation than any coach left aside from maybe Tubby and Durham.

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To me, Fox was just a mediocrity who was never going to push the program past a mediocre level. Some of his yearly numbers look decent because the conference was weak, as evidenced by the few teams that were making the NCAA tourney. He's well liked in the coaching fraternity, but that doesn't make him a winner. That strong foundation won 2 conference games last season. But the fans did their part. They turned out in droves. So if a fan wants to boo a bad product, I have no problem with it.

Harper just tortured us two years for what it's worth; we swept them his freshman year (Harper jacked up a horrible shot at end in our win at AU) and he was just a junior this season. We had the very early (10th grade) commits from Crump and Harris in the same class that kinda did us in as far as Harper. Of course in retrospect taking another 5'9 150 pounder (like JJ) would have been the way to go but Fox wasn't much of a fan of undersized PG's as we've discussed before. Harper was much maligned on Auburn sites much like JJ was for us before proving himself.

Interesting side note that when JJ worked out for a couple of NBA teams following graduation... 139 lbs was his official weigh in!! What a DAWG!!

SidVicious, all I posted was what I have heard from a very reputable source about the recruitment of the Kesler kid!! BTW how many NCAA Tournament games did your Super Coach Fox win in NINE years at UGA??? I believe it was ZERO!! If he had won just ONE that would have been $ 20 MILLION PER VICTORY!! Somewhat expensive in my book!! Of course YOU will have some excuse for this I am sure!! BTW Fox was BEATEN TWICE by a MUSIC SCHOOL NAMED BELMONT COLLEGE with an enrollment of about 8500 or so students!! WOW!!! Great Basketball Program Builder!! I am sure he will have CAL in the Final Four in about 25 years!! Oh!! Well!!

... and all I posted is that's BS. Fox has zero to do with Walker's college decision I don't care what some "reputable source" says.

Also, this is the second time in this thread it's been stated that Belmont beat us twice (a red herring even if true). I see a 78-69 loss and a 93-84 win by Georgia, am I overlooking one? So they beat us once. Here's my own red herring... they also beat UNC.

SidViciousDawg said:

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... and all I posted is that's BS. Fox has zero to do with Walker's college decision I don't care what some "reputable source" says.

Also, this is the second time in this thread it's been stated that Belmont best us twice (a red herring even if true). I see a 78-69 loss and a 93-84 win by Georgia, am I overlooking one? So they beat us once. Here's my own red herring... they also beat UNC.

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Fox had NOTHING to do with Kessler's decision. It is foolish to think otherwise. Foolish. He may have said something, but the Kessler's would have to be pretty stupid... beyond stupid to allow a fired coach to impact their decision. I don't know if Fox actually said anything. He may have. It has zero impact on that family and their sons decision to exclude UGA from his college decision.

gritsK9 said:

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Top 5 of Duke, UNC, Michigan, Gonzaga and Auburn???

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Now a top 6, with Cal added. Guess Fox is well regarded by the fam.

https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2019/7/20/20701399/2020-5-star-c-walker-kessler-names-cal-in-top-6

Getting interesting here... you get 5 official visits so why not work in a trip to the Bay Area for you and your parents to visit an old friend of the family? No need to waste one of them on an OV to Auburn even with them in the running. Duke, NC & Auburn have to be the favorites but you never know; maybe he'll fall in love with the West Coast and go with Gonzaga or Cal. Michigan would be the biggest head scratcher if he were to choose them, especially with the coaching change.

Looks like Fox does have inroads into Kessler's recruitment after all. If getting Fox out of town also cost us a shot at a couple recruits, so be it, he had PLENTY of time in Athens and didn't get the job done. I hope Crean is not around in year 7-8-9 if he hasn't won an NCAA tourney game. As much money as these guys get, I think 5-6 years is long enough even at a place like UGA, to show your worth.