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Georgia Basketball: Will Jonas Hayes stay on?

By Alistair Penny

LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 30: Head coach Tom Crean of the Indiana Hoosiers reacts during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskersat Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 30, 2014 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - JANUARY 30: Head coach Tom Crean of the Indiana Hoosiers reacts during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskersat Pinnacle Bank Arena on January 30, 2014 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Eric Francis/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Basketball has hired their head coach in Tom Crean but will assistant Jonas Hayes end up staying in Athens with him?

With Tom Crean now heading up the Georgia Basketball program, he has to round out his hires. Right now, all of Mark Fox’s former assistants are still with the program. They have contracts that run through the summer and will stay on until then. Crean now has to decide if he’s going to keep any of them as part of his permanent staff.

Jonas Hayes, Phillip Pearson and David Carter are all still working hard. That being said, it looks like Hayes is the only one still out there on the recruiting trail while the others do admin duties. That’s not entirely surprising, Hayes was the key recruiter for Mark Fox. However, it likely shows that if one of these assistant stays, it’s going to be him.

As a former UGA player, Hayes is attached to the school. He was one of the best players UGA has ever produced and that has helped him build great relationships with local high schools. Hayes is one of the main reasons why 5-star Ashton Hagans committed to UGA back when Fox was still coach. His continued presence could help bring Hagans back.

I must admit, I’m a fan of Hayes and hope that Crean finds a way to keep him. Crean has proven to be a good recruiter in the past but Hayes knows the state of Georgia better than most. Together, they could be a formidable recruiting team which is just what UGA needs right now.

Next: Bacarri Rambo back with UGA

We’ll probably have to wait until the summer to find out if Hayes is staying. Crean will certainly not make an announcement while leaving Pearson and Carter still hanging. Still, I think there’d a good shot that Hayes remains in Athens. If he does, look for those recruiting classes to keep getting better.

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