Has the ghost of Tubby Smith's Sweet 16 success (yes, last century, in 1996!) so haunted Stegeman Coliseum that no UGA men's basketball coach can produce consistent winning seasons or NCAA Tournament appearances?
For an elite university like Georgia, which has recent national championships in football (2021, 2022), equestrian (2021, 2025), and women's tennis (indoor 2025, outdoor 2025), and 51 overall in its history, the dismal state of men's basketball tarnishes the winning Bulldog culture.
If it was a matter of a few losing seasons with a basketball coach or two, it might be of great concern. But the cloud of losing has enveloped the program for the last 26 years.
Coach after coach win elsewhere, but losing curse continues in Athens
Jim Harrick won a national championship and had multiple NCAA appearances, but at UGA his teams only qualified for the tournament twice, before his scandal erased even that moderate success. Dennis Felton took three straight teams to the NCAA tourney with Western Kentucky, but only one at UGA. And the curse continued into the early 2000s.
Mark Fox had four conference championships and three NCAA appearances while at Nevada, but only two appearances in nine years at UGA (2009-2018). Tom Crean grabbed two Big 10 championships, three Sweet 16 appearances, and a Final Four run prior to arriving in Athens. But even with number one draft choice Anthony Edwards, Crean never came close to March Madness. He unfortunately has the dishonor of compiling the worst record in recent history at 6-26.
Now, Mike White has landed in Athens and got the Bulldogs to the first round of the tournament last season. And they lost again in the first round, as they have since the 1990s. White got Florida to the Elite Eight and had four tournament appearances so will he be able to break the curse and create a winning culture in UGA men's basketball?