The players we have now are what you get when you keep a coach many years past their expiration date. It's a miracle we are almost winning these games against much more talented teams. I'm excited about the future. Recruiting can change everything.
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Our talent level
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Last: 5 yr ago by Monkdawg
It's not reasonable to think we were gonna fire a coach after going 9-9, 12-6, 11-7, 10-8 or 9-9. Fox had 6 NCAA Teams.... problem is only 2 of them danced. That's why he got fired. Fox blew games in non-con we should have won and we lost several heartbreakers for various reasons, other than Fox, that kept us from the tourney several years. Overall Fox's teams were extremely competitive and I enjoyed watching them. This constant line of how boring they were to watch baffles me. The teams led by Marcus and Nemi to Charles and Kenny to JJ and Yante were all exciting to follow and some of my favorites.
The coaching change was inevitable after last years 7-11 in conference but bashing Fox and the effusive praise for Crean (1-14 !!!) is laughable. Our talent level is not that far below par compared to other teams in league. We should be closer to .500 and I sincerely believe that's where Fox and Staff would have us.
The coaching change was inevitable after last years 7-11 in conference but bashing Fox and the effusive praise for Crean (1-14 !!!) is laughable. Our talent level is not that far below par compared to other teams in league. We should be closer to .500 and I sincerely believe that's where Fox and Staff would have us.
Honestly, Fox should have probably been gone after his 4th or 5th year. You may have enjoyed watching his slow as molasses play, but most didn't. He kept players under wraps too long. Gaines should have played more early, and Nemi, too. Fox kept forcing Mann to be a ballhandler when he wasn't. Those 8-10 minute droughts without a basket sure weren't enjoyable. I admit that Fox's patient with Thornton paid off, as he became a damn good player. But Fox should have played him on the block all along, instead of trying to play him at the 3. Thornton was not and would never be a 3. It was only when Fox stopped trying to fit the round peg into the square hole that Thornton improved. As the coaching in the SEC improved, we fell further and further behind with Fox. The team Crean was left with is woefully short on talent, particularly in the back court. John Wooden wouldn't have these guys at .500 in the SEC.
Not gonna fire a coach in his fourth season when the team went from 5-11 in his third to 9-9 and definitely not gonna fire him for finishing in second place at 12-6 with Kentucky in his fifth season. Just doesn't make sense especially for UGA Basketball.
SIDvicious,you seem to forget the SEC during Fox's tenure was perhaps the worst it had been in 15_20 years!! The league was getting in 4 or 5 teams out of 14 in the tournament!! Coaching changes at Miss State, Auburn, Tennessee, Missouri, S Carolina and this year at Old Miss have strengthened this league by leaps and bounds!! Fox's offense was dribble or pass around the perimeter and try to get it into Maten or let JJ Frazier shoot or penetrate after 25 seconds !! BORING!! How many times did Fox get a commitment from the NUMBER ONE GUARD IN THE USA?? ZERO!! We have not signed him yet BUT IF WE DO and he brings another 5 star with him then we will have 2 FOUR STARS(signed in Nov) and TWO 5 STARS for next year!!!WHOLE NEW BALLGAME!!! Can't wait!!!
I can't wait either. In the meantime I won't be doing cartwheels over Crean leading us to a 1-14 record and I won't be blaming Fox for that record. I don't like the way we've looked in the waning seconds of these close games we've lost recently. Could've been coached better.
The crowds this year have proven without a shadow of a doubt that people wanted a real coach. A coach who plays modern offenses. And a coach who will tell the truth, promote the program and allow freshmen to play. We just set an all time attendance record! There are very few people who worship Mark Fox. Most people watch the games with their eyes and they use their brains.
It was time for Fox to go (after a losing season). The previous 5 straight years without a losing record was not the time. I'm just not ready to celebrate how close we are to winning a game. 1-14 is not what I was expecting.
Show us a post where people are celebrating us losing all these games. I must have missed those posts.
Fox should have been gone after Mann/Gaines senior year. He completely botched that team. JJ at the point with Mann and Gaines at the wings and Maten. That could and should have been a really good team. Fox completely mismanaged them by slowing the pace. That team would have thrived in Crean's offense. Fox killed that team.SidViciousDawg said:
It was time for Fox to go (after a losing season). The previous 5 straight years without a losing record was not the time. I'm just not ready to celebrate how close we are to winning a game. 1-14 is not what I was expecting.
Again, I'm not saying it wasn't time for Fox to go after last season. I am saying I'm disappointed with 1-14 by Crean's first team. As for firing The Staff after Mann and Gaines senior year (15-16)? UGA had just finished a 3 year run with 33 conference wins, more than every team other than Kentucky and Florida. That doesn't get a coach fired almost anywhere much less at UGA.
Should/could we have been better? Sure, but averaging 11 wins and playing in the semis at the SEC Tourney 3 years in a row (more than all other Tourney years combined!) is a high water mark for UGA Basket ball I'm sorry to say.
Should/could we have been better? Sure, but averaging 11 wins and playing in the semis at the SEC Tourney 3 years in a row (more than all other Tourney years combined!) is a high water mark for UGA Basket ball I'm sorry to say.
Could we have won a couple more conference games if we had played more of a slow pace? Maybe, but Crean is establishing an identity for UGA hoops. That's what has led us to our recruiting success so far. What difference would a couple of wins make? None whatsoever, and indeed it could have hurt us. And yes, you can blame Fox for this season. These are his players. Harris wouldn't even have been on the team if left up to Fox. My only complaint really is how porous our defense has been. That has to be corrected.
Can you believe that? We are setting an all time attendance record with a team that is 1-14. Wow! Just amazing!
Fox went 9 years with only 2 NCAA tourney appearances and no wins. That would get you fired nearly everywhere. In fact, he was the longest tenured coach in America without a tourney win at a Power 5 conference program. The problem has been our unbelievably low expectations for basketball.
Monk. thd attendance this year despite the record is amazing and that enthusiasm can only help recruiting.
You know I have always been an optimist about UGA sports. I figure that with improved talent to support them next year this year's guys maybe learn from close losses what they need to do to close out games.
Judge, I think most of our players have improved their overall play but so has everyone else in the SEC!! I still say this style basketball is more fun to watch than the slow down style Mark Fox had!! If the incoming freshmen including Ant Man are true 4 and 5 star players, then this team can be one to be reckoned with next year!! We need a TRUE POINT GUARD who can handle the ball and penetrate or dish it ALL the time as we have some support players but need those starters than can PLAY!! Auburn had THREE STARTERS from GEORGIA on their team Wednesday night!! Hopefully , we will put a decrease in them and other schools coming into GA and getting the best players!! We will not get them all but we just need to get 1-3 of the top 15 every year with 1 or 2 being TOP 10!! It will be interesting and GOOD interesting I hope!!
There was once a dentist in Athens, back during the Durham years, that knew more about Georgia basketball than most posters on any message board. I choose to listen closely when he talks hoops.
Thank you for posting.
Thank you for posting.
It is not lost on me that our two SEC wins this year, especially the UF game, resembled the the Mark Fox era. We scored 82 on Vandy but they were at 63, UF it was 61-55. What has happened this year is Coach Crean is trying to change a playing style with players not able to play that style-and that is why the record it is what it is my opinion. We won the Texas game because we were hot as hot can be shooting the ball that day, even this team gets one or two of those a season. I will give Crean credit, he wants to install his system this year, if that means we lose, so be it but those kids coming back next year will know it and then he is recruiting kids that will be ready to step in and play his style right away.
Who knows what our roster will look like next year. Claxton, Hammonds, Harris and Crump appear to be certain returnees. Ngumezi will return but he's a solid back-up. Hightower, Fagan and Sargiunas are questionable and not upper echelon talent. Toppin seems most expendable, especially with Walton and Camara signed. Walton could contribute as a freshman, I don't see that for Camara. Then of course the wildcard, Anthony Edwards.
Claxton
Hammonds
Harris
Crump
Edwards
Ngumezi
Hightower
Walton
...appear to be the Top Eight with...
Fagan, Sargiunas, Toppin, Camara 9-12.
That roster is not gonna be top half in the league. We are woefully lacking inside and at the point. We're a little heavy at the wing with 2/3's and that's all we have signed/committed to come in for '19-'20.
Edwards alone isn't getting us to the Tourney next year and when he leaves after one year, where does that leave us? Crean and Staff have real work to do on the recruiting trail and with their coaching; it'll take both to get us in the NCAA's the next year or two.
Claxton
Hammonds
Harris
Crump
Edwards
Ngumezi
Hightower
Walton
...appear to be the Top Eight with...
Fagan, Sargiunas, Toppin, Camara 9-12.
That roster is not gonna be top half in the league. We are woefully lacking inside and at the point. We're a little heavy at the wing with 2/3's and that's all we have signed/committed to come in for '19-'20.
Edwards alone isn't getting us to the Tourney next year and when he leaves after one year, where does that leave us? Crean and Staff have real work to do on the recruiting trail and with their coaching; it'll take both to get us in the NCAA's the next year or two.
There's no way to accurately predict what this team will be next season until we see the roster. BTW, I think you are underestimating Camara. Kid's gonna be good. We will bring in another post and at least 1 or 2 PGs, along with another shooter, most likely. That's a solid roster. I don't know that Crean will ever recruit big, brawny posts given his style of play preference. But it's not going to be Edwards alone in this class. Walton can score; Camara can score. And that's just who we know about.
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