Dawn of the Dawg
Fansided

Georgia Basketball gets the reset it needs with Tom Crean

By Alistair Penny

DES MOINES, IA - MARCH 19: Head coach Tom Crean of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates defeating Kentucky Wildcats 73 to 67 during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 19, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IA - MARCH 19: Head coach Tom Crean of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrates defeating Kentucky Wildcats 73 to 67 during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 19, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Georgia Basketball has been languishing for quite some time. Now with Tom Crean at the helm, the Dawgs have a chance to build a winner.

Greg McGarity is one of those guys that it’s rather hard to support some times. However, the hiring of Tom Crean to coach the Georgia Basketball team is one I am fully on board with. When the news came down last night, all of us here at DotD were pretty pumped. Crean instantly becomes the most qualified coach any of us can remember for the Dawgs. Kyle wrote a great piece last night detailing all that he has achieved in his career so far and what he bring to Athens.

McGarity has rightly been beleaguered during his time at Georgia. Before his hiring of Kirby Smart (which wasn’t really him), he has missed on almost every coach he had hired. But there is no doubt that things are different throughout Athens right now. The UGA women’s track and Field team just won it’s first ever national championship. The baseball team is vastly improved from previous years. Our softball team has only lost 1 game and is ranked in the top 10. I could go on, but the point is that it’s amazing what a stellar football season can do to infuse confidence in a University like Georgia.

I for one think that it’s unlikely someone like Crean would have taken this job a few years ago. UGA was down in the dumps across the board, and who wants to walk into a school wit a fanbase that is perennially frustrated. But things are different now. Fans are excited in a way that they haven’t been since the 1980’s. They want to see programs other than football step up and start winning and are happy for the university to open their checkbook to make that happen.

I’m not saying Crean is the perfect hire. The guy has a reputation for sometimes clashing with others and his Final Four appearance was 15 years ago. But when was the last time UGA went after a coach like this and landed them? Even Kirby Smart was riskier having never been a head coach before.

Next: What Crean brings to UGA

Times really are changing right now in Athens. That feeling of UGA being a school that consistently under performed seems to be gone. The Bulldogs are on the rise in several sports and now, we can add basketball to that list.

Home/Georgia Basketball