Fox says he’s driven to reach next level

DESTIN, FLA. — There’s no use dancing around the question anymore, so it was put directly to Mark Fox: What does he say to fans who worry that his Georgia basketball program has hit a ceiling, that he can’t take the program any further?

Fox began with a reflective answer, that gradually ratcheted up.

“I think maybe what I said a year ago is we know there’s another level,” said Fox, who is preparing to entering his ninth season at Georgia, with no victories in the NCAA Tournament. “Now that we have a healthy team we know there’s another level to get to. I never put a timetable on how long it would take to take that step.

“Everybody wants that to happen yesterday. Not tomorrow. And we’re the same way as coaches. And we’re probably more driven — no, we’re more driven inside our program than any outside opinion. And I appreciate the fact that now we have interest. I think that’s great.”

Fox’s performance has been a source of debate and angst, as the Bulldogs endured a disappointing season, failing to reach the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive year. The Bulldogs have made it twice under Fox, most recently in 2015.

The successes of his tenure are evident, if overlooked: winning overall and SEC records, at least 19 wins in four consecutive seasons, five consecutive seasons of at least a .500 record in SEC play. This after Fox inherited a losing team.

“I remember my first Bulldog Club event, nobody asked a question,” Fox said. “I was taken aback. I thought, we have a long way to go. Now we have interest, which is very healthy.”

But consistency has not led to larger success, or breakthrough victories. So the interest has been critical — especially in the wake of the success at another SEC program.

South Carolina, which hadn’t won an NCAA game since 1973, made the Final Four this year. Frank Martin, the coach who led the Gamecocks, came forcefully to Fox’s defense this week. He pointed specifically, as rival coaches usually do, to Fox’s coaching acumen.

Martin said the players Fox wants to shoot will get the shots, the defensive matchups will stick, and they rebound well and are physical. In short, Martin said, they play the right way.

Martin praised Fox for holding Georgia together last season after star forward Yante Maten’s injury — they went 3-1 to finish the regular season after Maten got hurt.

“I’m not trying to protect Mark. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it,” Martin said. “I think it’s unfair. We got an opportunity to get in the NCAA tournament and make a run. He just has to get in. If he gets in, he’ll be fine.”

. Fox was asked if the Gamecocks’ success put any pressure on his team.

“I don’t think we look at their success and use it as any kind of evaluator,” Fox said. “I think what we look at as the success of our teams in the postseason was this league was very good. As coaches last year we kept talking about how good the league was. The performance of the teams in the postseason just validated that.

“Obviously we don’t feel like we’re far away. ”