Georgia basketball: It’s simple, keep Kario Oquendo at all costs

Georgia basketball will have a lot going on once their season ends, but there is one thing they must find a way to do, and that is keeping Kario Oquendo in Athens.

There will likely be a head coaching change after the season, a few could leave in the portal — we don’t blame them— and the future of Georgia basketball is slightly unknown.

However, there is one particular thing surrounding that program, and Oquendo can be a star with the right head coach. What he has been able to do this season is truly impressive.

Georgia basketball needs to keep Kario Oquendo at all costs.

He has some room to improve, but what Georgia fans have seen this year is his raw natural ability to play basketball. Now I will give Tom Crean some credit, but not much because Oquendo could be better than he is right now.

Oquendo averages 15.1 points a game and shoots 46.4% from the floor. He makes 26.4% of his three-pointers and is 74.4% from the foul line. Those aren’t incredible numbers but could be better with the right coach.

He has nine games of 20-plus points and is coming off a career-high 33 point game against Texas A&M. Oquendo is putting up points, getting stronger from behind the arc, and his defensive play continues to improve.

The more this young man plays, the better he gets. Georgia has already lost enough of its players to the transfer portal in the past four seasons — enough is enough. 

Whoever needs to sit this young man down and tell him to stay should do this and continue to do it because a new coach is almost inevitable. That new coach will need talent. Why not keep one of the best players left on the roster for them to develop?

So whatever the administration, assistant coaches, whoever has to do to keep Oquendo on campus, please let that happen because that young man is a star that could keep Georgia men’s basketball from losing all hope.

It’s past time letting the talent leave the Georgia men’s basketball program, and it’s time to find someone that’ll keep it in Athens. Georgia deserves better, and so do the current players.