I have to be honest…as much as I convinced myself that yesterday’s story was a meaningless plant, part of me was wondering how I’d come to terms with Frank Haith as Georgia’s next coach. No matter how I spun it, the thought was depressing.

Fortunately we don’t have to worry about making such a mistake. Mark Fox is the guy, and I have to agree with Paul here: I like it. He’s maintained a strong mid-major program, recruited well at that level, won NCAA Tournament games, and has beaten several major programs along the way.

Fox is hardly a no-name. He might be unfamiliar in these parts because, let’s face it, who in this part of the country knows anything about West Coast hoops much beyond UCLA and Gonzaga? But he’s been a candidate before for other major positions (Nebraska, for example), and he was even mentioned as a possible candidate at Arizona this week. We can’t let our own provincialism keep us from recognizing a decent coach.

The main knock against Fox seems to be recruiting – specifically, will a guy whose roots and experience don’t go much further east than Kansas be able to hit the ground running in the talent-rich state of Georgia? This is a valid concern since missing out on key in-state prospects has been a problem plaguing Georgia basketball for decades. Still, I think the concern might be overblown to some extent. Why?

• First, Fox – as an assistant and head coach – has been able to attract quality, even NBA-level, talent from several states to a mid-major program in Reno, Nevada. The conference, location, resources, and local talent base are all comparative advantages for Georgia. It will take time getting up to speed and making the connections in the area, but the skills are there.
• Second, and this is a key point many are overlooking, is that Fox won’t be the only one recruiting. Fox likely will not command the $2+ million dangled in front of Mike Anderson, so there should be more than enough room in the budget to bring on at least one proven assistant with experience and connections in this area. It couldn’t hurt to call someone like this.

Rough edges

Fox’s reputation unfortunately includes incidents where his temper has gotten the better of him.

It’s true that Fox’s Nevada team beat Anthony Grant and VCU head-to-head just a few months ago. It’s also true that Fox missed the last eight minutes of the game after getting tossed with his team down 60-51.

No big deal, coaches get tossed all the time. But more disturbing was a March 2007 incident in which Fox "yelled profanities and appeared ready to use force toward a police officer and game officials" after losing in the WAC tournament. Fox admitted fault and added that "I’ve got to realize when the game ends, it ends."

If you’re winning and your coach is intense, emotional, and confrontational, fans love it. He’s a fighter and driven out of his mind to win. If you’re losing, the same coach is out of control, reckless, and an embarrassment. If the coach is Bobby Knight, he’s all of those things. Fox doesn’t have Knight’s win total yet, and both Georgia and the SEC won’t have much tolerance for an explosive coach who can’t control himself. With Damon Evans’ vision of a "CEO of basketball", those rough edges are going to have to get polished up quickly.

The Process

With all but the introduction left, people are beginning to look back at the process and ask did Damon Evans accomplish what he set out to do?

I keep seeing the claim that Damon Evans vowed to "make a splash" with this hire. I’ve read Hale’s interview with Evans. I’ve seen what Evans had to say to Jeff Schultz. I definitely see evidence of Evans’ lofty goals for the program ("I want to win championships," he said. "I think we have to awake the sleeping giant."). I also see some specific things he was looking for in this coach.

Evans said he wants a coach who has experience running a major program. He wants someone who understands how athletics and academics work together. Finally, he wants someone "who can get out there and recruit players and bring some talent to the university."

So I’m looking for a CEO of basketball, someone who possesses outstanding leadership, understands the role of athletics as it relates to being at an institution of higher learning the academic component someone who is going to help our young men grow and develop athletically and academically, and someone who has a great knowledge of basketball, someone who can recruit players to this institution and, just as important, someone who can gauge the Bulldog Nation.

What I don’t see is evidence of Evans promising to make a flashy, big-name hire that makes a splash. If you can point me to it, I’d appreciate it because it seems as if everyone but me heard him say it. Of course such a hire would have been nice. A big, recognizable name would have been a clear success (as far as the process goes), but the lack of one doesn’t necessarily mean failure. If you go by what Evans actually said, we’re not that far away. One can quibble whether Fox has "experience running a major program," but you’d have that same discussion with someone like Anthony Grant.

I have a real problem with lumping Grant into the "big name" category which includes others like Capel and Anderson. Grant, though successful within his conference and respected as a recruiter for his job at Florida, is no more accomplished as a head coach (and perhaps even less so) than Fox. Grant’s advantage is his aforementioned experience recruiting in the SEC which is no small thing but also not enough to call him an obvious missed opportunity.

Regardless, Fox won’t be able to escape comparisons to Grant as long as both coach in the SEC. Fox’s performance, recruiting, and accomplishments will be measured out of the gate against Grant. Georgia’s not exactly short on rivals, but now even the Alabama game is going to carry a little extra significance.

Did Evans and those involved with the search aim high and miss? Sure. There was nothing wrong with that, and, given the outcome, it didn’t hurt to try. The commitment to the program is there, and we ended up with a quality coach.

Expectations

While I agree with Evans’ goals for the program, I have my own expectations for Fox and the program. Some are longer-term, some are not. With the talent in place and only a short recruiting period left before next season, it could be another long year. I realize that. There are opportunities though for some immediate results. We eventually want Georgia men’s basketball to be a championship-level program and perform at the level of many other Georgia programs, but these are some milestones along the way.

• Assemble a staff that can recruit the state of Georgia out of the gate. With major holes at both shooting guard and small forward/wing, filling those holes is job #1 just to be competitive next season.
• Beat Tech. Let’s not forget the most important thing for a coach of any sport at Georgia. The Dawgs haven’t lost to Tech in Athens since the series went home-and-home in 1995, and I don’t plan on that changing next season.
• Embrace Georgia. Dennis Felton, right or wrong, was criticized early on for being flippant with and even standoffish to the fan base. Silly things like the lack of red in his wardrobe were pointed out. While these were trivial things (and the death of Kevin Brophy cemented him as part of the Georgia family), they served as footholds for future complaints and negativity as Felton struggled to build his program.
• Improve performance on the road. Paul’s done extensive work showing just how bad Dennis Felton’s road record was. He also points out a glimmer of hoepe by highlighting some of Fox’s bigger road wins at Nevada. The ability to win on the road is the mark of a successful and disciplined program that doesn’t need its own crowd in order to be motivated for a game.
• Drastically reduce attrition. You can’t build a program by starting over every few years. As important as recruiting is, keeping the student-athletes in school, out of trouble, and on track to graduating is just as important.
• Sustain a winning SEC record. The competition might have increased with the addition of Calipari and Grant to the league, but the SEC still offers plenty of opportunities to win games. Look…we’re not even asking for a conference title (yet). Just get us above .500 in the league and keep us there.
• Finally…make the NCAA selection show must-see TV for Georgia fans.

Chip Towers is reporting in the AJC that Damon Evans will meet with Clemson’s Oliver Purnell and Miami’s Frank Haith in Detroit.

That does not mean we plan to offer the job to either.

This is the kind of thing I was talking about the other day. Georgia and Evans have no motive to leak anything about their candidates or even those with whom they’d like to chat up for advice. Evans wasn’t even a source for anything having to do with Mike Anderson. Purnell is in the process of negotiating an increase with Clemson, and Haith is just trying to defend himself after failing to make the NCAA Tournament. Each has a motive for appearing to be a candidate for other jobs.

As Roger Clarkson of the ABH reminds us, the Final Four is always the annual meeting of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Just about every coach in the nation will be there. Evans is likely to speak with dozens of coaches in Detroit, not just Purnell and Haith. He’s not going to offer the job to all of them. And not every one of them are going to leak the fact that they’re meeting with Evans to the press.

Just keep in mind that “talking with”, especially at an event like this, is not necessarily related to “interview”, “candidate”, or “offer forthcoming.”

If you wonder why Frank Haith’s name keeps coming up (a coach who has never finished better than .500 in his conference), consider that he shares an agent with none other than Dennis Felton. Joseph “Ricky” Lefft also represents Tubby Smith.

ESPN is planning to offer cable and satellite systems the option of swapping ESPN Classic for ESPNU in an attempt to increase the presence of the college-focused network. (h/t Get the Picture)

I have three suggestions for Comcast.

1. Make it happen.
2. Now.
3. Don’t forget HD.

The games between Comcast and ESPN have gone on long enough. I haven’t watched ESPN Classic in years (sorry, Schwab). It’s the most obvious trade since the LA Lakers traded Vlade Divac to get Kobe Bryant.

Quarterback prospect Nick Montana (yes, Joe’s his father) paid a visit to Alabama and Georgia last week, and the AJC’s Michael Carvell had a chance to discuss the visits with Nick. When asked what he found appealing about Georgia, Montana said,

If Georgia is turning out first-round draft picks like (Stafford) at quarterback, then I think anyone would take a close look at Georgia. They just put a lot of guys in the league. I also like that Georgia wins. They were ranked No. 1 at one point last year.

Lots to like about that quote. First, no knock on David Greene or D.J. Shockley, but quarterback has been the one position at which Georgia has historically struggled to develop high draft picks. Even a legend like Fran Tarkenton was only a third-round pick. Stafford is a surprisingly polarizing figure among Georgia fans, but he’ll also be the highest draft pick among Georgia quaterbacks since Johnny Rauch was selected with the second pick in 1949. One has to think that the stature of Stafford helped with Aaron Murray last year, and it even appeals across the country to someone like Montana. Good to see that changing.

The second bit is a nice wake-up call to some Georgia fans. Despite all of our kvetching and quibbling about what’s wrong with the Georgia program, the perception of the program hasn’t suffered as much as we might think. He also noticed Georgia’s preseason ranking last season. It seems like common sense that elite prospects would want to go to high-profile programs that win and are ranked high, but you’ll have to convince those who prefer that Georgia embrace the low-profile underdog role.

Will Georgia even become a finalist for Montana? Who knows at this point. His offer sheet is long and truly national, and he’s just starting the process. Right now it’s enough that Georgia has enough national standing to merit a visit and serious consideration from such a prospect.

It’s hard to mention Montana without Rice, and there’s a related story here. While Joe’s son begins the recruiting process with multiple offers from top programs, the son of the other half of the legendary Montana-to-Rice combination is walking on at UCLA this fall (h/t The Wiz).

That didn’t take long. Once Billy Donovan made clear that he was remaining at Florida, Anthony Grant went ahead and accepted Alabama’s offer.

It was a near-certainty that Grant would have been a top candidate at Florida had Donovan left. With his preferred job in Gainesville off the table for the time being, Grant went ahead and took the one offer he had.

Tonight’s activity at least takes the Alabama job and Grant’s availability out of play. If he was a “Plan B” candidate for Georgia, he’s not anymore. It’s pretty clear that Grant wasn’t Georgia’s first choice since they did little – on the surface anyway – to counter Alabama’s offer. Whether that will come back to haunt the Dawgs or if they are able to end up with a better fit remains to be seen.

UPDATE: Jeff Goodman of FOXSports.com reports that “Alabama offered Grant a deal that was worth about $2 million per season.” If that’s the case, they overpaid. Look at pwd’s survey of salaries around the nation. $2 million gets you a coach with major program and deep NCAA Tournament experience, not a raw mid-major coach who hangs his hat on one NCAA Tournament upset win.

Will a $2 million deal for Grant now cause a readjustment among SEC and the top tier of national coaches? Or will this headscratcher of a deal remain an outlier? It’s easy to understand now why Georgia did little to come after Grant. It’s true that the Dawgs are willing to pay that kind of money for the right coach, but a coach with the risk of Grant doesn’t merit that kind of deal (yet). It’s not like Bama is known for its frugal spending when it comes to coaches, but Grant is no Saban.

The addition of Kentucky to the list of schools looking for a basketball coach has been a possibility hanging over the process for a while now, and now it’s a reality. Billy Gillispie is out at Kentucky, and another opening serves to muddy the waters for those of us waiting to see which coach will end up at Georgia.

Whether or not Kentucky goes after Travis Ford at Oklahoma State or someone else, it’s still likely going to affect Georgia’s search. Even if Kentucky doesn’t hire someone from Georgia’s list, the domino reaction set off by the Kentucky hire could reduce or change the pool of available and interested candidates. It’s also likely to slow up the process since some candidates and agents will wait until after Kentucky moves before pursuing offers elsewhere.

Want another bit of uncertainty from a major program? People are beginning to ask about Jim Calhoun’s future after this season.

Game operations is something that seems invisible and seamless to fans when it works, but teams spend a lot of time trying to make sure it happens that way.

In football, it usually has to do with getting the right personnel groups on and off the field. How often do we see a team have to waste a timeout because someone isn’t on the field for an extra point? Teams have to devote time to working out who should be ready to go when, how information gets communicated from the booth down to the players on the sideline and back, and they’ve even had to come up with the “get back coach” to keep the whole business from spilling over onto the field.

If you’re interested in that kind of thing, the NY Times looks at the amount of time and thought that goes into planning a simple basketball timeout. Do we sit on the bench or huddle out on the court? Which way do we face? Who handles the clipboard? Who keeps track of time? “U.C.L.A. has heard that Kansas players sit in specific order.” It’s as orchestrated now as a pit stop during a NASCAR race. (h/t Double-A Zone)

So about the complaints that the NCAA Tournament is somehow more bland without any huge upsets and a Sweet 16 loaded with top seeds? Ratings were up during the opening weekend.

Through Sunday, the 2009 NCAA Tournament is averaging a 5.4/12 overnight rating on CBS, up 6% from a 5.1/12 through the same point in ’08. Coverage on Sunday averaged a 6.4 overnight rating, up 10% from a 5.8 last year, and Saturday’s games averaged a 6.3 overnight, up 5%.

It’ll be interesting to see now if those ratings continue into this weekend where there are quality matchups across the board.

The San Francisco 49ers – you know the team with the pants-dropping coach – wants you to look at this watch and relaaaaaaax….relaaaaaaaax…

In the latest issue (of SI), Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford said his meeting with the 49ers included a psychologist who persisted about the impact of the divorce of Stafford’s parents when Stafford was in high school. According to Stafford, the psychologist told him as if it sounded like he had “unfinished business” concerning the divorce. Stafford said no, and then said he felt if he should be wondering how much he was being charged by hour for the psychoanalysis. Stafford compared it to the interviews with teams who asked him to script plays.

Hey, when you’re spending tens of millions of dollars, you get to kick the tires a bit, but you can’t blame Stafford for getting a little annoyed when Dr. Freud kept digging at the subject. Stafford’s reaction was great…Will Hunting would have been proud of this interview.

While many potential coaching candidates coach on into the Sweet 16, the season has now ended for others. Predictably, rumors are starting to circulate, and we’re starting to hear rumblings about offers not only at Georgia but also at other schools with vacancies like Alabama. Specifically, a rumor was published overnight in which VCU’s Anthony Grant was allegedly offered the Georgia job.

This is the kind of stuff Paul is talking about when he warns of “multiple false starts.”

As denials go, UGA SID Claude Felton’s statement about Grant is about as strong as it gets. Ouch. Felton’s facts seem to line up…I saw Adams, Evans, and several other AD staff at the Gwinnett Arena on Saturday, and the UGA plane did leave the Gwinnett airport shortly after 3:00 p.m. headed to Nashville for the evening. Fine.

But naturally Felton’s words are nuanced, and even a clear statement like, “I can say with complete authority that neither Damon Evans nor Dr. Adams has ever had a conversation with Anthony Grant as of today, Monday, March 23” leaves the door open.

Has UGA (Adams/Evans) made contact? No.

Has Georgia’s agent (search firm) made contact with either Grant or his agent? I would expect that to be the case for all of the coaches on Georgia’s list. That’s what they do.

Has Georgia made a formal offer? Almost certainly not.

Has Georgia’s agent, through channels, tried to see what kind of a deal it would take? I could buy that.

As for what happens next, it could go several directions. One is that another school forces Georgia’s hand. It could be a peer like Bama, or maybe even VCU is working hard right now to see if they can get Grant to sign an extension. Another possibility is that the search firm has determined that Grant really is the best available and interested option right now, and they’ve begun discussions through channels while not yet to the point of an official interview or offer.

Georgia’s challenge now, if Grant really is a top candidate, is to keep Grant in play while several other likely candidates are still coaching and not available for official contact. They run the risk of being left with a smaller pool of candidates if some other schools move first, but they also run the risk of missing out on someone higher up the list if we jump at the first guy who shows interest.

It was a football-related observation, but it holds true that the underdogs are usually underdogs for a good reason. The opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament is about the upsets and thrilling finishes for a lot of people, but in the end only Arizona (12 seed) and Purdue (5 seed) are the only Sweet 16 participants who weren’t seeded to advance this far. And it’s not as if Arizona or Purdue are exactly strangers to postseason basketball.

Dan Shanoff thinks this is “terrible for the NCAA Tournament,” but he’s wrong. It’s true that a lot of people watch the opening weekend for the unpredictability of it, but after that first weekend those teams that pull the upsets usually make for some pretty bad basketball.

We got the best of both world this year. There were plenty of close games and exciting finishes. But now we’re left with many strong teams and quality matchups. You’d rather see Memphis play Marquette instead of Missouri? Or UNC play Western Kentucky instead of Gonzaga? Fine…do it in November.

The tournament is about many things, but in the end it’s a mechanism for producing a national champion. To that end, I’d much rather see Villanova-Duke and Kansas-Michigan State at this stage instead of Dayton-USC. Novelty time is over, and the teams that don’t belong in the national title discussion have had their One Shining Moment and can claim to have been part of the process. The lack of a George Mason doesn’t mean that we lack reasons to tune in.

Matthew Stafford helped himself with a strong Pro Day performance last week in Athens, and his curve-setting 38 on the Wonderlic test won’t hurt either (h/t The Wiz).

In addition to watching 40 players in the NCAA Tournament who chose to leave the state of Georgia, many of us will be wondering if somewhere along the way we’re watching Georgia’s next coach. You’d like to think that a decision like that would be based on a larger body of work than just this couple of games, but reality is that coaches make names for themselves at this time of the year, and an early exit can quickly cool off even the hottest names out there.

Take VCU’s Anthony Grant. Grant can still hang his hat on a tournament upset of Duke a couple of years ago. His 11th-seeded VCU team isn’t favored to beat UCLA, but there’s still plenty of people interested in the outcome. If VCU pulls the outright win, of course Grant’s stock will only skyrocket. But if they fall flat and don’t put up much of a fight against the favored Bruins in the first round, will it diminsish his attractiveness to a major program?

Other coaches might have more to lose. Jeff Capel at Oklahoma might be the hottest name in play right now, and he could command a larger contract than most candidates. His team raced to a 25-1 start, but they’re just 2-4 over the last six games. If Oklahoma doesn’t live up to their #2 seed, will Capel’s stock take a hit? Sean Miller at Xavier could also use a strong tournament. Xavier has established itself as a solid program, and they have a couple of recent Elite Eight trips to their credit. His team is almost expected now to be able to advance past somene like FSU in the second round.

Still other coaches can use the tournament to rise from complete obscurity. These coaches won’t necessarily become candidates for vacancies at major programs like Georgia, but they’ll certainly become the next group of coaches to rise up the ladder and possibly fill positions left vacant at the mid-major level.

How about $300 to see Arkansas play Texas A&M?

Fans wishing to sit in the Club Level (which is just about everything close to the field) will have to pay $125 for the ticket and also make a $175 donation to the Cowboys’ 12th Man Foundation. Other seats cost $85 and $125. Studens get in at the bargain price a $50.

I’m glad they make it reasonable for the poor, suffering student. As Ryan said, “I’m not sure I would pay $300 to see an NFL game there.” I don’t know that I’d pay $300 to see Georgia in anything short of the national title game. After this and the $100 bucks Oklahoma State is asking from Georgia fans, that $40 per ticket on my UGA order form is looking like a pretty good deal right now.

It’s a beautiful 70-degree day in Georgia and the perfect afternoon to start spring practice. By now you know all of the big questions and players and positions to watch over the next few weeks leading up to G-Day on April 11th. Just a few unrelated notes before we get going…

Underdog. David Hale has a little pre-spring chat with receiver Kris Durham. I don’t mean to read too much into what Durham has to say in an otherwise upbeat piece, but something he talked about touched a nerve with something I hear a lot from Georgia fans. I’ve never seen a fan base so willing to place high expectations on a program while at the same time wanting to remain "under the radar" or craving the status of underdog.

I get what Durham is saying. You draw your motivation from whatever source you can. If it creates the focus and drive that makes a difference this year, great. No one is going to list Georgia among the favorites this year, so we have to use that to our advantage.

But the underdog status will only carry you so far. Underdogs are underdogs for a reason: they usually lose to and finish behind the favorites. Not always of course, but upsets are exceptional because they are infrequent. Sooner or later, if you’re successful, you have to embrace that success and deal with being on top.

Put it another way: do you think the guys at Southern Cal, Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma are relishing the underdog role? Me neither. That’s where we are this year, so we have no choice. I just don’t want it to be Georgia’s permanent condition. You eventually have to learn to live with high expectations. It comes with the territory for that elite class of perennial title contenders, and I hope that’s where our fans and players and coaches want to see this program.

You can show me list after list with wins and Georgia’s performance relative to everyone else over the past ten years, but shedding this underdog mentality is part of taking that next step. We’ve read a lot this spring about a change in approach and a more focused team, and now it’s time to see that on the field.

Offensive line. With the focus on quarterback and tailback this year, the offensive line that got so much concern and attention over the past two seasons is almost an afterthought. It’s true that there’s finally some seasoned depth, and we all know the names of the major contributors. Now they’re expected to be one of the strengths and known entities as the new skill players fill in and get experience.

While I join everyone else who’s been blown away with the job done through two years by Coach Searels and his linemen, I’m also aware that Stafford and Moreno made the line look at times better than it was. Now that a couple of first-round picks are gone from the backfield, will some issues that previously seemed minor emerge along the line as something more serious?

Unfortunately we won’t get a good read on this question (and others) during the spring. Three key contributors – Sturdivant, Chris Davis, and Vance – are out recovering from injuries. All are expected to return in time for the season, but it will be some time before they are back at peak condition. Even though the line is a secondary story this spring (as it should be with several other higher-profile positions in play), I still think it’s as big of a concern as it was a year ago.