The Georgia Basketball team won its first game under new head coach Tom Crean when they defeated UAB in an exhibition game.
I know its the middle of football season, but another UGA program kicked off its preseason yesterday. The Georgia Basketball team won their first game coached by Tom Crean last night. They defeated UAB in a hard-fought game by 56-54.
Now I know that a lot of people don’t care about basketball right now. With the football team at the bye week, most fans can still only think about what’s going on in Sanford rather than Stegman. But Crean’s debut is an important moment for the school. The Dawgs have seen real improvement in a lot of areas since Kirby Smart came into the program three years ago. Crean’s hiring and a recent refurbishment of Stegman show that the administration is not just overlooking basketball anymore. Money has been invested and there’s hope that Georgia can build a good basketball program.
It wasn’t an easy win for Crean in his first game. That being said, he was rotating players like crazy as he begins the process of figuring out who are going to be his starters this year. Rayshaun Hammonds looks like he should be one of them. Hammonds, the highest ranked recruit Georgia has pulled in since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 13 points during his time on the floor and also brought in nine rebounds.
The Dawgs are looking to replace star small forward Yante Maten this year and Hammonds might just be the guy to do that. They will also be looking for improved play out on the wing and that’s where Crean is going to have to work some magic. This victory wasn’t a walkover by any means, but as Crean himself said, it was a step in the right direction.
I’ve been a big fan of the way that Crean has stepped in and brought a lot of positivity to the Georgia basketball program. This isn’t an easy job and it’s going to take some time for him to build his own team, but the early returns in terms of culture and recruiting are certainly better than they were under Mark Fox. Hopefully, we’ll some of that transition onto the court when the season does finally start.