Crean believes Georgia can win
Tom Crean is taking on the difficult challenge of winning big at a football school.
It could require a dramatic adjustment following his nine years at tradition-rich Indiana. Georgia hired Crean as its coach on Thursday, capping a fastpaced search only five days after firing Mark Fox .
After he fired Fox, who took the Bulldogs to only two NCAA tournaments in nine years, athletic director GregMcGarity said, “In the end, I felt like we have not reached our full potential as a basketball program.”
It’s an old complaint. Georgia’s last win in the NCAA tournament came in 2002 and that was vacated by NCAA sanctions. That leaves its most recent tournament win in 1997.
Georgia’s only Final Four appearance came in 1983, one year after Dominique Wilkins left for the NBA. It won its only Southeastern Conference regular-season championship in 1990.
Despite that unimpressive history, Crean sees potential at Georgia.
“Make no mistake, this is a basketball program inside of a great university that can compete for championships doing it the right way,” Crean said in a statement released by the university. “We will work diligently and with great energy to make everyone associated with the University of Georgia very proud of our efforts.”
Crean, who will turn 52 on March 25, will be introduced at a news conference scheduled for today.
The Bulldogs finished 18-15 this season, leading to Fox’s exit. After Fox was fired, players voted to not accept an NIT bid if offered, and the school honored the players’ decision.
Crean was hired one day after former Ohio State coach Thad Matta withdrew from consideration.
Crean will earn $3.2million per year on his six-year contract, according to The Athens Banner-Herald. OLE MISS FINDS COACH» Kermit Davis turned Middle Tennessee into one of the best mid-major programs in the country during his 16 seasons at the school. Mississippi believes he can have the same kind of success in the Southeastern Conference. University officials announced the 58-year- old Davis will be the next Rebels men’s basketball coach. The coach will continue to lead Middle Tennessee this month during the NIT, and the Blue Raiders’ secondround game at Louisville is on Sunday.
Davis has coached at Middle Tennessee since 2002 and led the program to the NCAA tournament in 2013, 2016 and 2017, scoring upset wins over Michigan State in 2016 and Minnesota in 2017. The Mississippi native also led the Blue Raiders to league titles in seven of the last nine seasons during time in Conference USA and the Sun Belt. KANSAS EXPECTS BIGGER RETURN FROM BIG MAN» Kansas expects to have injured big man Udoka Azubuike for more regular minutes when the top- seeded Jayhawks play Seton Hall in the second round on Saturday. The 7-footer played only three minutes, pulling down one rebound without taking a shot, in their 76- 60 victory over Penn.
Jayhawks coach Bill Self said he could have played “max five or six minutes,” but that he held him out in the second half as Kansas pulled away. The hope is to have him 80 percent for practice today. NEVADA CHASES FIRST WIN INDECADE » Nevada is seeking its first NCAA tournament victory since beating Creighton in the opening round in 2007. TheWolf Pack lost to Iowa State in the first round last year. Texas is seeking its first NCAA tournament victory since 2014 after losing in the round of 64 in 2015 to Butler and in 2016 to Northern Iowa. All five of Nevada’s usual starters are Division I transfers. Twin forwards Caleb and Cody Martin came from North Carolina State. Hallice Cooke transferred from Iowa State and Kendal Stephens arrived from Purdue. Swingman Jordan Caroline began his college career at Southern Illinois. GEORGIA TECH’S OKOGIE TO LEAVE EARLY » Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie plans to skip his final two college seasons to enter the NBA draft. He will not hire an agent, leaving open the option of returning to the Yellow Jackets for his junior year. The 6-foot- 4 Okogie was Georgia Tech’s leading scorer at 18.2 points per game. The deadline to withdraw from the draft is May 30. NBA CONNECTIONS FOR HERD » With their coach’s connections to the NBA, the Marshall Thundering Herd players think their offense is the most fun in the nation. Coach Dan D’Antoni is the older brother of Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni. Before he got the Marshall job, Dan was an assistant under his brother at various stops in the NBA.
Guard Jon Elmore said as Marshall prepared for Friday’s game against Wichita State that his team runs a lot of NBA plays.
“Everything Houston does we do, the D’Antonis of course, and you will see Golden State running our plays, and we will run their plays. Then you will see Cleveland running some of that stuff and it’s very prooriented,” Elmore said. GEOGRAPHICALLY CHALLENGED BRACKET» Charleston and Auburn had to travel more than 2,000 miles to face each other. Of the eight teams in San Diego, none is from closer than Las Cruces, New Mexico (NewMexico State). The Charleston-Auburn winner will face the winner of NewMexico State-Clemson. Clemson also had to travel nearly all the way across the country.