I know everyone is ready to jump ship, but two four-star recruits in the class of 2023, Mari Jordan and Marquavious Brown, have verbally committed to Georgia. They want to play for Tom Crean. Zion Cruz, a class of 2022 five-star shooting guard is reportedly deciding between Memphis, Georgia or the G League. Yes, we all know that these recruitments can end up not panning out, but isn't this at least moderately positive?

Nope. 2023 is forever away. Crean had the #1 pick and did what? Who is committed for 2022?

You sure seem to love you some Tom Crean…. Those class of '23 guys would be playing in a, not gonna happen, year 6 for Crean. We were pretty middle of the pack or better before Crean arrived, having fired a staff that went 7-11 for their first losing conference record in 6 years. Nobody here expected our new hire to go 14-40 and field the worst team I have ever seen with Georgia on their chest. Crean has been a colossal failure. I ain't buying the Georgia's always been bad excuse, Crean has the worst results of anybody in Georgia history.

Nothing against the kids individually but we have middle of the pack mid-major talent and nothing more. Mid-majors upset better teams all the time and it'll be fun as hell to watch us upset a team or two along the way. I'd hate for these kids to go 0-fer but 3-15 is gonna be a stretch. If we somehow win 3, Crean will be 17 - 55. I can't wait to turn the page.

Sorry Ian Hiding. This reply was certainly not to you

I'll get excited when they remain committed to the new coach.

No snark is intended here. We just all feel like we know what's about to happen, and at least one of these kids (Brown) sounds as committed to Crean as he is to UGA. If the new coach can (and wants to) maintain these commitments, great.

More important, though, is an issue ianhiding raises...could we maybe get a 2022 kid to come play for us? Looks like we'll be leaning heavily on the transfer portal yet again...

I understand the sentiment. No, I don't "love me some Tom Crean." I'm simply realistic and understand how difficult it is to consistently succeed at this level. Crean brought IU back to relevance by recruiting, developing and leading three of its best teams in 25+ years. Yet people can't seem to get past his odd quirks.

As I've said before, the SEC is totally different than it was 6-10 years ago. Recruiting good enough players and maintaining them is more challenging than ever. Who is going to be a clearly vastly superior candidate to do so in an ultra-competitive major conference? Who can boast a record of recruiting and developing NBA players such as Edwards, Oladipo, Zeller, Thomas Bryant, OG Anunoby, Yogi Ferrell, Juwan Morgan, etc.? You will need someone with NBA connections if you want to have any hope of competing within this new SEC.

As I warned people at IU, you'd better have a massive upgrade on all fronts in mind. Dayton's Archie Miller was not it. He recruited fairly well and still bombed. Fox is bombing at California. The coaching carousel is not where you want to be.

Whether those '23 players remain committed depends on who we name as Crean's successor.

TKramer15 said:

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I understand the sentiment. No, I don't "love me some Tom Crean." I'm simply realistic and understand how difficult it is to consistently succeed at this level. Crean brought IU back to relevance by recruiting, developing and leading three of its best teams in 25+ years. Yet people can't seem to get past his odd quirks.

As I've said before, the SEC is totally different than it was 6-10 years ago. Recruiting good enough players and maintaining them is more challenging than ever. Who is going to be a clearly vastly superior candidate to do so in an ultra-competitive major conference? Who can boast a record of recruiting and developing NBA players such as Edwards, Oladipo, Zeller, Thomas Bryant, OG Anunoby, Yogi Ferrell, Juwan Morgan, etc.? You will need someone with NBA connections if you want to have any hope of competing within this new SEC. To think there is

As I warned people at IU, you'd better have a massive upgrade on all fronts in mind. Dayton's Archie Miller was not it. He recruited fairly well and still bombed. Fox is bombing at California. The coaching carousel is not where you want to be.

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Well, you sure seem to be advocating for us to keep Tom Crean. In 9 years at Indiana Crean had 3 winning seasons in the Big 10 and was rightfully fired. Nobody cares about odd quirks if you win some games. You really think Crean developed Anthony Edwards? Nate Oats is doing pretty well without a long list of players he's recruited and developed for the NBA. So you're "simply realistic and understand how difficult it is to consistently succeed at this level" ? Then you should understand how hard it was for Georgia to go five straight years without a losing record in conference. One 7-11 losing record and we bring in Crean who immediately goes 2-16. That team had Claxton, Ogbeide and Hammonds across the front and most had Georgia projected to be middle of the pack… not 2-16.

THE COACHING CAROUSEL IS EXACTLY WHERE WE WANT TO BE!! WE CANT DO WORSE THAN LAST PLACE!!

It's not like you're a Georgia guy anyway.

StevieBuckets said:

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I'll get excited when they remain committed to the new coach.

No snark is intended here. We just all feel like we know what's about to happen, and at least one of these kids (Brown) sounds as committed to Crean as he is to UGA. If the new coach can (and wants to) maintain these commitments, great.

More important, though, is an issue ianhiding raises...could we maybe get a 2022 kid to come play for us? Looks like we'll be leaning heavily on the transfer portal yet again...

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He is free to play for Crean wherever Crean might be coaching.

Again, you're making a lazy, uninformed assessment when you say that he had "three winning seasons out of nine at IU." The program was decimated and had no scholarships to offer when Crean began. The first three seasons cannot possibly be counted against him. Two conference titles (first since 1993), three Sweet 16s and the team's first #1 ranking since 1993 in Crean's final six seasons…Multiple players improving their stock and getting drafted, numerous wins over ranked teams, including victories over UK, Kansas and UNC within his final two seasons. It was the best stretch of basketball for IU in 25 years. But irrational fans stuck in Bob Knight's heyday dismissed it.

I want Georgia and Crean to succeed. I'm simply offering a rational, more grounded viewpoint. This year's squad is obviously going to struggle…a lot. We basically knew this coming in. Then the team lost two of its most experienced and sizable players. I am not saying that Crean isn't without blame or that he shouldn't be held to a high standard. I just don't know how much different this situation would be with anyone else.

Hell, UGA Basketball just had the best stretch of success in 20+ years. Then we hired Tom Crean to build on that success and he has failed miserably.

Yes, and the SEC was the WORST it had been in 15 years as well!! Fox finished 2nd in the SEC and DID NOT get an NCAA bid!! That is how BAD THE SEC was!! Only 4(FOUR) teams were selected to the NCAA tournament out of 14 for several years!! Fox got LUCKY that Marcus Thornton got healthy, JJFrazier and Maten stayed 4 years each or he wouldn't have won 10-12 games each year !! Look at the great job he is doing at Cal!!

Guess which team is ranked #118 and which team is #245 in the latest NET Rankings??

So Monk, Driller and TKramer have all brought up Fox and the job he's doing at Cal, which has zero to do with what Crean is doing here. I got curious and looked-up Cal's record. They are 9-5 and 2-1 in the P12. We won't sniff nine wins overall and two wins in Conference will be difficult as well.

Still, who gives a damn what Fox and Cal are doing? It has absolutely nothing to do with the sh;+ job Crean is doing here.

SidViciousDawg said:

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So Monk, Driller and TKramer have all brought up Fox and the job he's doing at Cal, which has zero to do with what Crean is doing here. I got curious and looked-up Cal's record. They are 9-5 and 2-1 in the P12. We won't sniff nine wins overall and two wins in Conference will be difficult as well.

Still, who gives a damn what Fox and Cal are doing? It has absolutely nothing to do with the sh;+ job Crean is doing here.

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Everyone tends to discuss what the new coach and previous coach or coaches have done or are currently doing. It's not necessarily to make a direct comparison of results because there are various factors that could slant the numbers one way or another. Rather, I use it as a baseline to remind people how difficult the job is.

Tom Crean is not a vastly superior basketball mind or coach when compared to Mark Fox. Many IU fans and a significant portion of the media strongly voiced their beliefs that Archie Miller would coach circles around Crean. It did not come close to happening. Archie temporarily revitalized in-state recruiting, but it didn't matter. Whereas Crean's units have long been maligned for defensive apathy and not taking care of the ball, Archie's teams made some defensive progress but were basically as bad turning it over and far worse offensively. Whatever Archie was trying to instill from his Dayton success did not translate. Perhaps it could have with more time -- four years isn't much. But IU fans and alumni were distraught and fed up. There is zero patience with that group.

Mike Woodson will now try to connect his Knight glory days past with the present and future. After a dismal loss at Penn St. yesterday, fans are already growing restless. "New coach, same results," they say. People always believe there's a magical coaching elixir. There really isn't.

So that's all I'm trying to get across. Other than a modest uptick in wins each year, by no objective measure is Crean succeeding at Georgia. The losses of Wheeler, KD and Camara crippled any continuity and any realistic chance for sustained progress this year. Are those departures 100% Crean's fault? Did he cause those guys to flee? Although we don't know the stories, Crean has received the vast majority of the blame. He recruited them after all. If the AD Brooks feels the same way, doesn't believe Crean's record of NBA development matters and feels that he can replace Crean with a clear upgrade, then I suspect he'll do so. However, the coaching carousel and always believing that the next person has a magical potion to create sustained high level success is a dangerous place to be.

Cal has lost to every team they have played with a pulse. Fox has 1 and only 1 4 star recruit on the team. Those 9 wins have come, like many of his wins at UGA, against nobodies.

None of that is to say that our performance under Crean has been acceptable. It has not. Neither coach has been good.

Monkdawg said:

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Cal has lost to every team they have played with a pulse. Fox has 1 and only 1 4 star recruit on the team. Those 9 wins have come, like many of his wins at UGA, against nobodies.

None of that is to say that our performance under Crean has been acceptable. It has not. Neither coach has been good.

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Monk you are often wrong but never in doubt.
They have played five teams in Top 100 and beaten two. We have one Top 100 win. Cal is currently #92 and we are #218 according to KenPom. Net Rankings have Cal at #113 and UGA #245. They beat Arizona St 74-50 just yesterday. Y'all need to let go of Fox, it's been four years.

Did you happen to check out Ariz St's season so far? I did. Pathetic. So beating them is no great accomplishment. I don't care what their ranking is - Cal is not good. Fox's style of play was/is horrible. I don't want to watch 40 point games myself. His offense was outdated, and he couldn't bring in enough good players to win consistently against better opponents mostly because he wouldn't player freshmen when he got some with talent. As has been pointed out to you multiple times, all that winning you claim he did, all that success, got us exactly nowhere in the eyes of the NCAA. We rarely sniffed the tourney. I have no idea why anyone other than his family would defend Fox.

Has Crean succeeded? No. We aren't good. McGarity wanted to make a splashy hire, which he did. I wasn't in favor of the hire and was on record saying so at the time. But once the hire was made, he had to be given a chance to sink or swim. Crean will be able to point to injuries, COVID and the portal as reasons for his lack of success, but many others have succeeded during this time where he has failed. The portal and the ease of transferring changes the game for everybody. Some will use it to their advantage, and some will be victims of it. So, Crean will move on, and we will begin again.

As for being "often wrong", that would seem to me to be the human condition. You ain't often right yourself.

Monkdawg said:

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Did you happen to check out Ariz St's season so far? I did. Pathetic. So beating them is no great accomplishment. I don't care what their ranking is - Cal is not good. Fox's style of play was/is horrible. I don't want to watch 40 point games myself. His offense was outdated, and he couldn't bring in enough good players to win consistently against better opponents mostly because he wouldn't player freshmen when he got some with talent. As has been pointed out to you multiple times, all that winning you claim he did, all that success, got us exactly nowhere in the eyes of the NCAA. We rarely sniffed the tourney. I have no idea why anyone other than his family would defend Fox.

Has Crean succeeded? No. We aren't good. McGarity wanted to make a splashy hire, which he did. I wasn't in favor of the hire and was on record saying so at the time. But once the hire was made, he had to be given a chance to sink or swim. Crean will be able to point to injuries, COVID and the portal as reasons for his lack of success, but many others have succeeded during this time where he has failed. The portal and the ease of transferring changes the game for everybody. Some will use it to their advantage, and some will be victims of it. So, Crean will move on, and we will begin again.

As for being "often wrong", that would seem to me to be the human condition. You ain't often right yourself.

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Rarely sniffed the tourney? We made it two years and it damn sure should have been five but Fox single-handedly screwed up and we ended up one good win away from making those other three. We were solidly discussed as a tourney team 5 of the nine years.

Felton 84-91 (26-59)

Fox 163-133 (77-79)

Crean 46-57 (14-40)

Call me what you will but the more we win the more I enjoy Georgia Basketball. Y'all's weird obsession with Mark Fox is odd to say the least. We have the weakest team I've ever seen assembled at UGA in Crean's fourth year and y'all keep bringing up Mark Fox.

Are you saying we should make a change in our head coaching position? You are not very clear.

Oh boy, we made the tournament 2 years in 9 and lost in the first game each time under Fox. Whoopee.... All that winning.... 77-79 in the SEC in what was a down conference. Cracking.... Believe me, I have no weird obsession with the guy. Was his record better than Crean's yes. Was it acceptable? No. I would have let him go after 4 years, just like I would let Crean go after 4 years. Neither has proven successful. As I noted previously, I wouldn't have hired Crean in the first place, but he had to be given 4 years once he was hired to sink or swim. And he has not been swimming, so Brooks will can him probably at season's end.

The year 4 team started slow but finished by going 8 - 4 down the stretch. No way that gets a Georgia Coach fired. We followed year four by winning 33 Conference games over the next three years and for the first time in history had a graduating class that never had a losing Conference record.

Those are facts. This is where you type about how we were playing in the SWAC those years. Frigging nonsense.

The facts are that in the final 2012-2013 ranking there was exactly 1, count'em 1, SEC team. UF was #14. That's it. So the SEC was no good we were winning those games. There's your proof.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_NCAA_Division_I_men%27s_basketball_rankings

Now, this week there are 5 SEC teams in the Top 25, and that doesn't include this 11-2 A&M team or a 10-3 Arkansas team or a 10-3 MSU team. SOOOO the SEC is not as weak as it was then. Fox's winning was a mirage. Like it or not....

So those teams with Marcus, Kenny, Charles, Yante, JJ, etc weren't any good. I loved those players and those teams, sorry you think they're trash.

They weren't as good as you think.... And where did I say they were trash? You have an interesting relationship with the truth. You have to lie about what I say to make your moronic point that Fox was a good coach? Subtlety is not your strong suit.

Monkdawg said:

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They weren't as good as you think.... And where did I say they were trash? You have an interesting relationship with the truth. You have to lie about what I say to make your moronic point that Fox was a good coach? Subtlety is not your strong suit.

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Fox and Staff were good coaches and did a far superior job to Crean and Staff is all I'm saying. Fox, Pearson & Hayes did a better than average job. Crean and his revolving door of assistants have done a well below average job. We were much better when we went 12-6, 11-7, 10-8, 9-9 than we have been going 2-16, 5-13, 7-11 and likely 3-15. I don't understand your thinking that a team with JJ, Kenny, Charles & Yante weren't very good.

If you know anyone who is interested in buying Georgia Bulldog memorabilia, I have some for sell!! I can send pics via email(taviasturner@yahoo.com) and/or text(706-607-6229)

If you know anyone who is interested in buying Georgia Bulldog memorabilia, I have some for sell!! I can send pics via email(taviasturner@yahoo.com) and/or text(706-607-6229)

If you know anyone who is interested in buying Georgia Bulldog memorabilia, I have some for sell!! I can send pics via email(taviasturner@yahoo.com) and/or text(706-607-6229)