Georgia Basketball: How Bulldogs Can Take Advantage of Shaka Smart Move to Texas (Video)
Can Georgia basketball head coach Mark Fox take advantage of VCU’s loss of Shaka Smart?
More from Georgia Basketball
- Georgia Lady Bulldogs all-time round-by-round record in NCAA Women’s Tournament
- March Madness schedule: When do the Georgia Lady Bulldogs play next?
- Georgia basketball may have lost SEC tourney opener, but optimism for future remains
- Georgia basketball: One quick thing about the SEC Tournament
- Is Georgia basketball gonna make it to March Madness?
The humbling fist of reality slapped the most delusional fan base in college basketball today. Gary Parrish of CBSsports.com reports that VCU’s now former basketball coach Shaka Smart left the Richmond school for Texas.
Before the announcement, Richmond strip clubs and students alike quickly mobilized to keep Smart at VCU, each doing what they do – the former offering lap dances and the later organizing rallies.
— Ram Nation (@VCURamNation) April 2, 2015
As late as 6:00 PM Wednesday, the VCU athletic department denied any contact with schools interested in hiring Smart.
ESPN’s Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello reported Smart’s interest in the job the day Barnes was fired. Do they have internet on the VCU campus? Multiple sources have connected Smart with the Texas coaching search since the firing of Rick Barnes. Barnes is already now the head coach at Tennessee.
Georgia fans could care less – the Richmond soap opera is VCU’s problem. The question for Georgia fans is, can the Bulldog basketball team take advantage of the drama?
It’s a possibility.
This fall, the loss of presumed Georgia basketball signee Tevin Mack (SF 6’7″, 215, Columbia, SC, Dreher High) to the Rams agitated the Bulldog Nation. For months, recruiting analysts predicted the elite shooting guard/forward was Georgia bound.
Might Mack, a 247.com 4-star recruit, request and receive a release from his letter of intent to play at VCU? And if he does, will Georgia recruit him?
Dawn of the Dawg reported that Mack was always the most likely of the elite small forward/ shooting guards of 2015 to sign with Georgia. (Of the four, only Jaylen Brown, SF, 6’7”, 215, Marietta, Wheeler High, the best player in the country, remains unsigned.)
More from Dawn of the Dawg
- Georgia Football: Top 5 Nick Chubb Moments at Georgia
- Georgia Football: Know the enemy UAB Blazers
- Nick Chubb is America’s running back, and he will return
- Georgia Football: Should laundry list of injuries be a cause to panic?
- Georgia Football: Report cards for Week 3 game against South Carolina
Georgia’s case for Mack was always strong.
Mack told Dan McDonald of Rivals.com, “I want to go somewhere I can play early and make an impact. I want to earn my spot. I want to play somewhere that gets TV games and exposure and the best competition.” Put all that in the dictionary and you’ll see “Georgia basketball 2016” beside it.
Mack continued, “The most important thing is that I want to make sure the coach recruiting me is going to be there all four years.”
“All four years,” said Mack. Smart made it a little over four months.
As an assistant, Georgia head coach Mark Fox coached Tevin Mack’s brother at Kansas. The family obviously likes Mark Fox or the Dawgs would have been eliminated long ago. Now more than ever Mack will be looking for someone he can trust.
And with Fox receiving a contract extension, Georgia becomes even more stable.
Will Mack request a release and reopen his recruitment?
Will Georgia reappear at the top of Mack’s list?
Will the Dawgs recruit Mack?
Stay tuned for Georgia Basketball’s version of How the World Turns. In the mean time, check out the show from Mack’s NBA Camp Mixtape.