Two coaches that would improve the Georgia basketball culture immediately

Georgia basketball doesn’t have a winning culture in the men’s program for quite a few reasons, but it’s not all on head coach Tom Crean — most of it is, though.

There was a lot of excitement surrounding him coming to Georgia after his “success” at other schools, but fans and others quickly realized that something wasn’t right. Four years later, the Dawgs are 6-25, producing their worst record in school history.

Reports suggest that once the Dawgs’ season ends, the university will begin looking for its new men’s basketball coach and wrap up the Crean era too many four up and down seasons.

With the rumors burning red hot on the interwebs, we wanted to give our two top coaches that Georgia basketball should hire to replace Crean. If we go one step further, the whole staff needs to be replaced, including the guy involved with Wade Mason in that altercation at LSU. 

A lot needs to change within the men’s program because while Georgia is predominately a “football school,” it can also be a university that has a successful men’s and women’s basketball program.

Georgia basketball must hire one of these two coaches to replace Tom Crean.

Part of us wishes Joni Taylor could run both the men’s and women’s programs because she is a winner, but it’s impossible to do that at the college level.

Though, a whole side note right here, Dawn Staley could 100% run two programs and find a way to be successful.

Most of the Georgia basketball fans who follow the team as closely as the football team immediately want Jonas Hayes, and there have been a few accounts on Twitter seem to have added some smoke behind that rumor.

Murray State head coach Matt McMahon is the other coach Georgia should consider, and then Dennis Gates is a third name the Dawgs should have on the shortlist.

However, the two frontrunners are easily Hayes and McMahon.

Hayes isn’t a safe choice, but one that Georgia could allow to grow the program. It doesn’t matter that he is a former Dawg or anything like that. Sure it helps, but at the same time, he has a connection to the players he coaches, has incredible connections into Atlanta’s AAU programs, and knows how to get them to Athens.

He would likely know how to keep them in Athens too. It takes more than just having competitive players to be successful in college basketball, and Hayes knows how to bring it out of these young men.

Hayes would be a risk because he is unproven, but the Dawgs could offer him a raise from Xavier and eventually raise it with the more success that comes. He is young, and with an opportunity like this — there is no way he wouldn’t take advantage of it.

He is the fan-favorite, but there are some out there that don’t feel like he is ready for a head coaching job at the SEC level. Hayes is an associate head coach at Xavier, but who says he isn’t prepared?

Georgia doesn’t have to make a big-money hire, and they sure don’t need to flash any money when they have to pay Crean’s buyout.

Not to mention, Georgia basketball doesn’t need a suspicious head coach that could cause issues when the Dawgs already have enough of those as it is. Does no one remember Jim Harrick and all that back in 2003? 

Georgia has lost so many in-state prospects to other schools, and it’s time for that to stop. If the Dawgs could keep some of the players that transferred out, it could be different, but they left and were more successful than at Georgia, so can it be their fault?

McMahon is in his seventh season at Murray State, and like Hayes, is a relatively young coach that got his shot. He came on as the Racers’ head coach on June 9, 2015, and was the third-youngest rookie head coach in Divison 1 at the time. In his short time at Murray State, McMahon has 105 wins, which is the second all-time at the school.

He has had three straight seasons of 20-wins or more, and right now, the Racers sit at 30-2 overall and 18-0 in conference play. They are on a 20-game winning streak, 15-0 at home and 11-1 on the road. That success is what Georgia needs.

McMahon is ready to take that next step into a bigger head coaching role, and Georgia could be an excellent place for him to land. Granted, it is an overhaul and a program rebuild, but McMahon seems like someone who would be up for the challenge.

He is a proven winner, and the Dawgs need that. Not to mention, McMahon seems to have excellent developmental and recruiting skills, so if Hayes isn’t cutting it — hire McMahon.

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks has a big decision to make, but the first step is getting Crean out. Once the season ends, this coaching roundup will get a little more interesting, but for now, these are the two names we should keep in mind for Georgia’s next men’s basketball coach.