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Georgia Basketball: Time might not be on our side

By Mike Stowe

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 30: Head Coach Thad Matta of the Ohio State Buckeyes questions the referees on a call against his Buckeyes in the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on December 30, 2015 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 30: Head Coach Thad Matta of the Ohio State Buckeyes questions the referees on a call against his Buckeyes in the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on December 30, 2015 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Basketball is going to be one of many chasing a few small number of top head coaching candidates right now and it’s going to have to move fast.

This has been quite an eventful week for Georgia Basketball. They had a nice little run in the SEC tournament which included 2 wins over Vanderbilt and Missouri. The Mizzou win was especially impressive considering the return of their superstar guard Michael Porter, Jr. He is a future top 10 NBA draft pick who might be the best player UGA faced all year. Yante Maten owned the day that was dominated by talk of Porter’s return. He went for yet another double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Dawgs fell short of the semifinals on Friday as they lost handily to Kentucky by a score or 62-49. It was a bittersweet but all too predictable of a finish to what has become a typical season for UGA basketball under Mark Fox.

After the loss, and to be perfectly honest before it, I had heard rumblings that we were seeing Mark Fox’s last season as head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. Those rumours turned out to be true as Athletic director Greg McGarity met with Fox on Saturday and let him know that he would no longer be the coach here. It was a decision that had to be made. In some ways, it seemed overdue but I do commend McGarity for nor waiting until after the NIT and NCAA tournaments were over.

Time is of the essence.With all the scandals in NCAA basketball recently, there are about to be a ton of openings at some pretty big basketball schools. UConn, who is what would be considered a “basketball school”, joined UGA in firing their head coach on Saturday amidst allegations of some improper behaviour.

Now is the time to find our guy.

Now is the time to find the guy that will make the Dawgs a contender. That guy is out there too, and there are a few who would be interested in the UGA job. There has already been talk that former Marquette and Indiana head coach Tom Crean is interested in the job. Coaches like Crean and Thad Matta have been linked to the UGA job, and either could turn things around for this program. Rick Pitino is even being linked. Thad Matta is reportedly meeting with UGA about the opening on Monday.

Whether it’s a big name coach or a smaller name, McGarity must move quickly. In fact, I think there needs to be a deal in place within the next week or two. The market for college basketball head coaches is about to be insane after this season. The sooner we get our guy in place, the better. If McGarity takes too long in the hiring process, our guy may end up somewhere like UConn. We are going to have to pay too. If we want the right guy, it’s going to cost. Neither Crean or Matta are going to come for less than $3 million a year. That being said, if we want to see success at Stegman, it’s time. Let’s get it done McGarity.

Next: UGA players turn down NIT invitation

And to those fans who keep holding on to the “Georgia is a football school” as an excuse for underachievement in basketball, let’s get away from that mindset, please.  UGA basketball may never be Kentucky or Duke, but with the right hire, it can absolutely be competitive. It can be respectable. And it can be successful.

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