Maybe it’s not too late for UGA coaching recommendations

Published 8:05 pm Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Thad Matta will not be the University of Georgia’s men’s basketball coach. Neither will Mark Fox …

I almost hesitate to write any further. The way things usually go, by the time this editorial rolls on the press UGA will be agreeing to terms with its next coach, or at least making another offer.

These athletic directors don’t waste any time. Coaching changes are announced quicker than free agent baseball signings. (BTW: Can you believe Jose Bautista, Mr. Bat-Flip from the Toronto Blue Jays, is still available? At least he was as of 3 o’clock Wednesday. 3:01 … who knows?)

But, I will continue at the risk of everything that follows becoming moot as the sun goes down.

About the tenure of Fox in Athens, it wasn’t without some milestone achievements, most notably being the only one to lead three straight 20-win seasons (2014-16). Only one of those seasons resulted in an NCAA tournament bid; only two of his nine overall resulted in an NCAA tournament bid. What it boils down to is, Fox did win more games than not for the University of Georgia, but not enough. That’s not quite an original thought.

It was 10 years ago, during a wild weather weekend in Atlanta, that Bulldog basketball stunned the nation by winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament as the dead-last seed. That wacky weather caused Georgia to play two games in one day. That was a milestone moment for the program and then-coach Dennis Felton, but even that wasn’t enough to overshadow the whole body of mediocre work.

Before the following season could end, Felton was gone. Enter Fox from Nevada.

It was said over and over during Bulldog broadcasts how Fox did things the right way. How in the world can that be a bad thing in college coaching? I feel he will land on his feet at a smaller Division I level.

Performance on the court, however, does count for something. What was frustrating for a die-hard fan over the years was a perceived lack of purpose when the team was in action. “Georgia’s gone eight minutes without a field goal.” Heard that one too many times, give or take one on the number. Eight minutes is a high-school quarter, folks. You’re not going to score with four players standing around and a point guard dribbling over and over and over again and firing away with under five seconds left on the shot clock.

Playing defense is good, and the Dogs certainly did that under Fox. But to me too many players over the years were labeled “not a scorer.” It’s easy to get out-athleted in this game.

This past season, which seemed to peak at the Georgia Tech game I attended before Christmas, Georgia lost two conference games from lack of making free throws (Arkansas that went double OT, Texas A&M). In three games, there were great first halves followed by lousy second halves (Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee). The most humiliating loss: getting rolled by Vanderbilt and those 11 3-pointers on the road.

My goodness, we swept two games against Florida. Hit it students: “Just like football!” How many times in this modern era of SEC hoops is that going to happen? And the Gators are in the Big Dance.

There are other teams dancing who fell to the Bulldogs, like Tennessee (the first time at home), Missouri (in the SEC tourney in St. Louis) and Alabama (with the now darling of the nation, freshman Collen Sexton).

Matta was not exactly the first name on my mind as the coach to take the Bulldogs to another level. He is only 50, and he had a great run for Ohio State which included a national title-game appearance against Florida in 2007.

My first thought, however, when it was apparent Fox was on the outs, was to get somebody who coached this season. I will credit athletic director Greg McGarity for having a better feel of the coaching scene than myself. There are going to be a lot of schools looking to fill the head men’s basketball position. Some will higher hoops tradition than what exists in Athens. But I say don’t concede anybody to anywhere, even if a longtime power like Louisville decides not to stick with its interim in the post-Rick Pitino shakeup.

(Was Pitino seriously being considered by UGA? I’d rather have the fired Kevin Ollie. At least UConn can keep the title banner he won there up in the rafters … today …

(Or, there’s the guy Memphis just let-go, Tubby Smith. He has a national title … at Kentucky … after he left Georgia … because Pitino made a second ill-fated stab at NBA coaching … my how time flies.

(Ironically, Tubby’s son G.G., who point guard played at UGA, resigned as head coach of Loyola, Md., and had no winning seasons in five years.)

Some schools wait to see who – at a mid-major – makes that improbable run in the NCAA tournament to the Sweet 16 or even the Elite 8. That could happen with a team that just happens to be the only team representing our state in the field of 68. Georgia State’s had more postseason success over the last four years than the Bulldogs, so why isn’t Ron Hunter on the McGarity radar? But then, he could be. We shall find out.

If, however, you are thinking more Power 5 level success like Matta had, then you need to look no further than former Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy. Does he want to take a season off?

Vanderbilt’s coach is Bryce Drew. I am looking, though, at brother Scott’s list of accomplishments at Baylor. The NIT championship, two Elite 8 runs and almost 300 wins in Waco.

(Made a 3:30 check. Only news is Pittsburgh wants to talk to Tom Crean, former Indiana coach who was inactive this season.)

There are also a slew of former Duke players who are head coaches. Not all of them can succeed Coach K. Tommy Amaker is now leading Harvard; was once at Michigan. Johnny Dawkins is now leading UCF; was once at Stanford. Chris Collins seems to be the hot prospect; in five years at Northwestern he got the first Big 10 winning season in 49 years and first NCAA appearance ever for those Wildcats.

These are the names to look out for as making a ‘Cinderella’ run and ending up with a nice new job, even if it isn’t at Georgia: Earl Grant (Charleston), Porter Moser (Loyola-Chicago), Scott Nagy (Wright State) and Kyle Keller (Stephen F. Austin).