Van Horn: Georgia was wise
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn got to know Scott Stricklin in the summer of 2011 when both coached for USA Baseball’s national collegiate team.
At the time, Stricklin was Kent State’s coach.
“He told me he wanted to be a coach in the SEC,” Van Horn said Tuesday. “I laughed. I said, ‘Do you really?’ ”
Stricklin got his wish when he was hired at Georgia in 2013, and he found out what Van Horn was talking about in regard to the SEC’s degree of difficulty.
Georgia was a combined 79-87-1 in Stricklin’s first four seasons, including 43-75-1 in the SEC. The Bulldogs never finished with a winning record or won more than 11 SEC games. A record like that will often get an SEC coach fired, but Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity made the decision to bring Stricklin back. Stricklin has rewarded McGarity’s confidence.
The Bulldogs (35-16, 16-11) are ranked No. 13 in the USA Today coaches poll and are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. They host the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville for a three-game series starting Thursday.
Van Horn predicted before the season that Georgia would be glad it retained Stricklin and that the Bulldogs would be one of the SEC’s better teams despite their 25-32 record in 2017.
“I just know Coach Stricklin, and I knew that when he was given the opportunity to take that team another year that they were going to be good,” Van Horn said. “There were a lot of young guys on the field that if they continued to develop — which they have obviously — they were going to be a handful this year.”
Seven of the Bulldogs’ position players are returning starters, and two of their weekend starting pitchers are back.
Van Horn said he’s glad Georgia’s administration showed patience with Stricklin, whose Kent State team lost to the Razorbacks 8-1 in the 2012 College World Series.
“He’s a great coach,” Van Horn said. “Sometimes it just takes time. You’ve got to get the right personnel in. You’ve got to get the right mindset
“It’s not a two- or threeyear process. Not in this league. There’s too many good teams. It may take you five years.”