Georgia basketball: Former Dawgs endorse Jonas Hayes to be HC

Georgia basketball announced March 10 that men’s coach Tom Crean was out and that a search for the next head coach would begin immediately. While it wasn’t official, Georgia fans started the search months ago, with Jonas Hayes as the front runner.

Even before the news went official, former Hoop Dawgs quickly began to put out who they would love to see take over the program, and all of them said Hayes.

Not that former players make the decision for Georgia, but it’s pretty evident who these guys want to lead, and they know firsthand how good Hayes is as a coach.

Former Georgia basketball players endorse Jonas Hayes to take over the program.

Georgia hasn’t announced any lead candidates or finalists, but rumors suggest Hayes and Murray State head coach Matt McMahon are two serious contenders.

Former players began posting about him throughout the week and using the hashtag Go Dawgs and tagging both Hayes and Georgia basketball. They were not shy in letting the world know who they wanted, which was exciting.

This endorsement is huge and should tell athletic director Josh Brooks what kind of impact he had on Georgia basketball while on staff.

We must admit that we’re on these players’ side and think Hayes would be a great choice. Take the risk on him and see what happens.

This program isn’t fixing itself overnight. It will take a lot of time and work to get the Dawgs competitive again, and Hayes would be the one to put in that kind of work.

JJ Frazier is correct. Why does his head coaching experience matter? Hayes has a ton of other experience, and becoming a head coach is the next step. Why not let it be Georgia?

Hayes played at Georgia from 2001 to 2004 and then was an assistant coach during Mark Fox’s time.

He helped the Dawgs get to the postseason twice as a player, including the 2002 NCAA Tournament and 2004 NIT. Hayes started 29 matchups his senior season and averaged 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds a game.

As an assistant coach, he coached at Belmont Abbey for five seasons, South Carolina State and Morehouse each for one season. Then he joined the Dawgs’ staff as operations coordinator in 2012 then moved to an assistant coach position the following year.

With him on staff, Georgia made the postseason five times. The Dawgs recorded three 20-win seasons during his first three seasons.

That bio seems like an ample amount of experience to give Hayes a shot at leading this program. Georgia men’s basketball is already in enough turmoil that hiring a major head coach could cause something like what happened with Crean.

However, taking a shot at someone who hasn’t done this before could be what the program needs. Hayes knows this program how it works among the other 22 athletic programs, so he would know how to build it.

Also, enough of this, Georgia is only a football school because there is no reason this basketball program and the women cannot bring in revenue.

Plus, the fans need to go to the games and support them if they don’t just want to have a football school. With Hayes, that could happen.

Georgia knows what the former players think, and now it’s time for Brooks to make this decision. Take the risk, and let’s give Hayes a shot like Greg McGarity gave head coach Kirby Smart a shot at running the football program.

Yes, it’s different, but at the same time, both are alumni and love this school. This angle could be the one that elevates the University of Georgia in another major money sport.