The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New AD sees positives in UGA's basketball program
ATHENS — For those wondering, Josh Brooks likes what he has seen so far from Georgia’s Tom Crean and remains excited about the Bulldogs’ potential under the thirdyear basketball coach.
Call it a “vote of confidence,” if you will, but Brooks expressed nothing but praise, support and empathy when asked Tuesday to evaluate the program.
“I’m always evaluating everything, but I look for the positives, and I see the positives,” Brooks said in a wide-ranging, exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-constitution on Tuesday. “I see the progress we made in a challenging year. We’ve taken steps in each year and progressed, and I’ve got confidence in the results we’re seeing.”
Brooks said he already had met with Crean and discussed what went wrong, what went right and what his plan is going forward.
In a nutshell, Brooks is satisfied
with all he’s seen and heard. That includes the rash of transfers that have forced Crean essentially to rebuild his roster for a fourth consecutive season.
For those keeping count — and Brooks clearly is — that’s five players who have left Georgia’s team since the opening of the 2020-21 season and 12 in Crean’s three seasons. Among those to decide to relocate were starters Toumani Camara, who has since committed to Dayton, and Tye Fagan, who will play for Ole Miss next season.
Conversely, Georgia has had four players transfer in, including Jabri Abdur-rahim from Virginia and 3-point shooting specialist Noah Baumann from Southern Cal. Meanwhile, the spring signing period for winter sports begins Wednesday with the Bulldogs still holding two scholarships.
The expectation, at least inside the program, is Georgia should be better next season — again.
“Everyone sees it locally and thinks it’s an isolated issue and goes, ‘Wow, what’s going on?’” Brooks said of all the transfers. “But once you look at it and you look at the numbers, you realize we’re up to almost 30% of all Division I men’s basketball players in the portal right now. In the SEC alone, it’s just under four per team on average. So, it’s not just a local issue, it’s a national issue, and that gives you some perspective.”
Roster attrition is rampant throughout the SEC. Tennessee’s ballyhooed, top-5 recruiting class of 2020 is completely gone. The Volunteers have lost seven either to the portal or the NBA draft. The number is six at Auburn and Florida and eight at South Carolina.
“In some ways I think it’s an advantage for us,” Brooks said. “When you think about a kid who’s looking to transfer, a lot of times, especially when they’re heading into that last year or maybe have two years of eligibility left, they’re looking for someone who can develop them and get them ready for the next level. Well, I’ve got a head coach who’s got a proven track record for developing players for the next level, whether it’s truly high-end guys like Dwyane Wade or Victor Oladipo or Anthony Edwards or somebody like Nic Claxton, who he developed in one year, or Cody Zoeller at Indiana.
“So, (Crean) has a long, rich tradition of developing guys, and I think that plays to our advantage. People want to come here and get that.”
Indeed, two of the transfers coming in are Georgia products (Braelen Bridges of Mcdonough and Jailyn Ingram of Madison) who went out of state to play college ball and now are returning as graduate transfers.
As for what has been happening on the court, Brooks points to progress on that front as well. Georgia’s record under Crean has shown incremental improvement each season. The Bulldogs have gone from 11-21 overall with two SEC victories in Year 1, to 16-16 and 5-13 in a pandemic-shortened second season, to 14-12 and 7-11 this past season.
That remains well short of Crean’s self-stated goal of contending for the NCAA Tournament every year, but it does represent advancement.
The Bulldogs’ SEC mark in Crean’s tenure probably is the most concerning data point, with a .350 winning percentage in three seasons (14-40). But his style of play is attractive to players and fans alike.
With this year’s class still to go, Georgia’s average recruiting ranking of 27 over three years is better than ever and also netted it the NBA draft’s top selection for 2020 in Anthony Edwards. Meanwhile, Georgia has gone from averaging 71.1 points in Crean’s first season, to 75.9 and then 77.5 last season. Not coincidentally, the Bulldogs set Stegeman Coliseum attendance records continually up until this past season’s socially distanced seating requirements.
“We play an exciting brand of basketball and that’s attractive,” Brooks said. “We’re a high-scoring team, which I think would be attractive to young men who want to get shots up. That, along with coach Crean’s development, the University of Georgia education, all that I think makes us an attractive option.”