8-4. Totally different feel and look but the objective numbers are Foxonian.

I figure we need to go 10-6 in conference minimum then win two in conf tourney to finish 20-11. I think that could be bubble in.

But not sure I see a a plus .500 conf record in this year's conference, and with a glaring hole at PG.

AZ ST loss could haunt us come March. Big time.

Thoughts?

Honestly, it had never crossed my mind that this team could contend for a tournament bid. I came into the season with a rebuild mentality, knowing Crean would be jamming square pegs into round holes, and it has played out much like I thought it would.

It is really, really hard to imagine this team winning 10 conference games. I'll play along, though. Here is a plausible path:

@Tennesee - L
Vandy - W
@Auburn - L
Kentucky - L
Florida - W
@LSU - L
Texas - W
@Arkansas - W
South Carolina - W
@Alabama - L
Ole Miss - W
@Texas A&M - L
LSU - W
Mississippi State - L
@Ole Miss - W
Auburn - L
@Florida - L
Mizzou - W
@South Carolina - W

I say plausible in the loosest sense. That would require a lot of things going right, and I don't see it.

I HOPE it, though. I hope it goes exactly like that and we call come back and make fun of this post. And I like watching this team a lot more than I liked watching most of Fox's teams. But they have a ways to go.

We were picked 13 out of 14 by SEC "experts". A 8-10 record would be over achievement. My hope for this season would be to get to 17 wins and hope for a NIT invite.

It's all about recruiting, especially in college basketball.

If he pulls Anthony Edwards then it's time to get really excited.

We sure need to bounce back and beat Vandy Wednesday or a 0-7 start in conference play looks likely.

Crump, Claxton or Hammonds will get hot occasionally and we'll beat some teams but I see 2-7 at the mid point and about the same in the back half to get to 4 or 5 conference wins.

Just being honest, this isn't a tournament team. If it was, Fox would still be the coach. We aren't going 10-6 in conference IMHO. As I think RyanJordan said ITT, it's all about recruiting. Crean isn't worried about the record this year; he's thinking long term. He's not worried about nearly a 50 pt loss to UTjr; he's thinking about recruiting. In fact, while I'm sure he didn't want to lose by nearly 50, Crean wasn't willing to change his style of play just to keep the game close. He wanted to show future recruits that there is plenty of PT in Athens. He has an identity he wants to establish in Athens.

If we are consistently embarrassed like that, I don't see that helping recruiting. The coaches job is to give your team the beast chance of winning whatever style of play that takes.

Fox had serious flaws and shortcomings but somehow he consistently took bottom third talent and had us in the top third of the league. Maybe Crean can recruit top third talent and we'll see what he does with it.

If we beat Vandy on Wed., even by 1 point, we'll be at .500 in conference

I hear ya, but that's a debatable point. There was probably a 99% chance we were gonna lose that game no matter what we did. In the long run, that game didn't mean much. Barnes won 6 SEC games his first year and din't look good doing it. Now if Crean is getting drilled like that with a roster full of his own players, then I would have some serious issues. We can revisit this 2 years down the road. I don't know whether a coach in his first year in a new job, where he's trying to construct a culture of basketball, with a roster not remotely built to play the way he wants to, is tasked with trying to win every game in his first year or whether his task is more about setting up his program for the long term. We could have held the score down, but would it really matter? Is a 35 point loss any better than a 46 point loss? It's just a loss in the scorebook.

Yep.

I was so wrong about our roster.

So so horribly wrong.

13th in the conference is now looking bullish.

We didn't have enough on the roster to replace Maten and his production, just like we didn't have enough to replace JJ's production. Our roster is very thin and incomplete.

Hey, we're only 1 win off of my "plausible path!"

StevieBuckets said:

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Hey, we're only 1 win off of my "plausible path!"

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Make that 3. :-(

Dang, I knew we'd have some adjustment and/or growing pains in year 1, but I didn't think we'd be THIS bad. At this juncture, it wouldn't surprise me if we've seen this team's last win of the season. We just look pathetic.

I'd wager we have at least one, if not three wins left in us.

begger said:

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I'd wager we have at least one, if not three wins left in us.

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Yeah, you may be right, but three more wins? I mean, don't go too far out on that limb! That'd still put us at 4-14 in conference on the season, which even in year 1 would be a disappointment.

We have zero players who can shoot good consistently, dribble well, make good passes or catch the ball. Other than that, we are fine.

Harrick went 3-13 his first season in conference, with 10 wins total. Considering what he inherited and how he's shown flashes of what to expect this year, I can live with that.

Begger, the despair is that we are losing to teams we should beat on paper, especially at home, even in a " transition" year.

And at one point does "still learning" end? Similar to at some point in the Season you are no longer a freshman.

There is no visible improvement. That is on Creen.

If there is a talent deficiency or mismatch, maybe that is on Fox.

This program is a black hole. I don't know that Even Creen will be able to escape its soul sucking gravity.

Dang. That's 5 in a row to the chickens!

USCe is just tougher and more fundamentally sound than we are. They make winning plays.

Nostra, man, cheer up.... LOL Crean is bringing in 2 guys we know will contribute next year. Walton looks like a stud, and Camara is good on both ends of the floor. Edwards would be a huge pick up. And we will have at least 1-2 more scholarships to fill, assuming some attrition. Plus, we have 4 guys that graduate. Hallelujah! Addition by subtraction.... We are talent deficient. There's no question about it. But Crean and this staff will solve that problem. It will just take some time. I don't think it's right to say no one has improved. I think Claxton has improved a ton. Even Ogbeide has shown improvement. I want to see more from Hammonds; he's just not tough and folds up in a physical game. Harris has shown flashes. Crump is what he is; not much room to improve IMHO. I also want more from Hightower. I'm disappointed in him.

LOL Monk. I am trying. I am trying.

I guess it took Moses 40 years wandering around in the desert. We've only been 21 since Tubby.

Tubby went 9-7 & 10-6 his two years here. Hopefully that isn't our highwater mark.

There is plenty to be concerned about, but here are a few reasons to be optimistic about the future:

• We're in (almost) every game. Lately, with the exception of UT and UK (two pretty good teams), we've hung around late. Do 1 thing better in 6 losses (Temple - turnovers, ASU - turnovers, FL - turnovers, LSU - turnovers, Arkansas turnovers or free throws, South Carolina - 3-point defense) and most or all flip to wins.
• We have no point guard. This is not a reason to be optimistic for this year, but it's fair to wonder how much different things would be if we had at least one true point guard (and shame on Mark Fox for his roster management). Turnovers have doomed us this year. Cut 5 or 6 terrible turnovers a game and this season looks way different.
• We lost Yante Maten. Again, not a reason to be optimistic about this year, but a plausible explanation for the team's struggles. Let's not forget just how good he was (wish I could have seen him in Crean's offense). I think a lot of people just assumed Hammonds would pick up right where he left off, but despite his star rating, Hammonds needs a lot more work.
• When things click, it's fun to watch. Remember the start of the Kentucky game? 5 straight dunks. Stretches of the LSU game? Most of the Texas game? It would appear that, when the players do what Crean asks (move without the ball and cut with purpose), the shots are there.
• The graduating seniors don't take a ton of production with them. Ogbeide has stretches where he's a beast, Turtle can shoot a little, and I still contend that Wilridge is the best passer on the team, but none are irreplaceable.

I could go on (I like glass half full thinking), but I'll stop there for now. Next Monday just became huge. If Edwards chooses UGA, we're instantly a 2020 tourney team. If Crean adds a graduate transfer PG on top of that, we're a threat in the SEC. I believe both of those things.

Hang in there, everyone.

Stevie, I'd love to share your optimism, but I've been watching UGA basketball for over 35 years now. We just got blown out at home by a mediocre team with marginal talent and also with a first year coach. I mean, is Crean all the sudden gonna turn into Calipari and recruit 5 lottery picks every year? I'm thinking that's the only way we're ever going to win another game.

If I were a betting man, I would bet good money that Tom Crean fans will be happier with future NCAA Tournament results than Mark Fox fans. Just sayin.

rossvilledog said:

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If I were a betting man, I would bet good money that Tom Crean fans will be happier with future NCAA Tournament results than Mark Fox fans. Just sayin.

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Lessee here ... Zero tournament wins in two appearances over nine years, don't set that bar too high there.