You know, I have stayed quiet and will continue to stay quiet and neutral during all of this. I go to the games with my dad. I have always gone to the games and loved this program more than anything. I may disagree with @MonolithicDawgX on a lot of things (most of the time I’m right, but he may have been right about some of these Hawks contracts) but I know that we are two of the most passionate people about Georgia basketball that exist. We need more of that.
I know we are all agitated and want to get this right. I understand the apprehension and doubt around Jonas. It isn’t wrong. I am not saying that I want it to be Jonas. What I do want is for some of us to take a step back and understand why it might make some sense - outside of qualifications and “proven” results. Even if it doesn’t happen now (which it won’t), I believe there is merit to this. The whole point of this post is to just discuss why some people see it as a good option (I am one of those people), and to hopefully convince those who are very against Jonas as a possibility to just consider it for one second. Again, I am not advocating for Jonas to be the pick. But I feel like us UGA basketball freaks being aligned on our idea of the future is important, and I think the idea of Jonas raises an important point.
I am in no way convinced that hiring the mid major guy will work. I don’t think any of us can be. There is nobody on our list that is really from our region, that has any sort of proof of concept in the state. I think that is more important now than ever. There is nobody on our list that we know has good relationships with the people that matter in the state and region. Pearl does. Barnes is respected here. Even Musselman in damn Arkansas has good relationships here.
Medvev is a fantastic coach, for example. Can he keep the top players in the state from going to play for Pearl? Can he keep the number 56 player in the country from going to play for Musselman or Barnes? He may have our players play great basketball and compete above their talent level. Im not saying he can’t, but there is absolutely no way to really believe that he can recruit the way we will need to, and frankly there is more reason to believe that whoever we hire *can’t* do that than they *can*. It unfortunately is our history.
Again, I am not saying that I want it to be Jonas at all. I have trust in ADJB, truly I do. I actually believe that whoever he hires will be the correct move at this time - I don’t think any of us can say that we’ve fully believed that our AD is truly acting in the best interest of the basketball program before. Maybe that’s not fully accurate or the best way to word that - I’m only 25. But i think brooks wants to get this right, and I didn’t believe that about GM.
What I am saying is that I get the push for Jonas. I don’t think we can view this process in simple terms of qualified vs unqualified. This hire needs to be right, we need to hire the right person for this program and for this process more than we need to just hire the guy who went 26-4 in the mountain west or whatever, just because he did that. Or because he had success at a different small school before. I’m not dismissing any of that in the slightest, but I think we can all agree that it doesn’t necessarily translate to success here or in this league. I’m going to reiterate this 1,000 times but i’m not saying that that is a bad move, i actually think Medvev would be a strong hire. I am just saying that there is no guarantee on a similar level that there is no guarantee with Jonas. It could possibly not be the right move to compete in our conference. It needs to be *right* more than it needs to look good on paper or at the press conference. I believe that we need to establish an identity in the state, in the conference, more than anything else. Georgia basketball needs to mean something to people, it can no longer just be trying to play good basketball because of the way this sport is now. In my view, all of the reasons that people think Jonas would be a bad or even pathetic hire could be said in other ways about the other coaches on our list. Sure some of these guys have had some success and have proven that they are good coaches. My point is that I don’t think it is just about having a “proven” coach anymore. It is about having the right coach that kids and their families trust. Maybe that is one of these candidates. I’m not dismissing that as a possibility, but I also don’t think Jonas should be dismissed for the same reason. It is about your players and recruits liking you and believing in you. Any of these candidates could work 100%, but we are not hiring Barnes or Pearl - who we need to compete with, and quickly. Point being, we are likely not making a splash hire. We aren’t getting a press conference home run. I don’t think anybody we could realistically hire would convince the entire larger population that we are actually turning the corner. We have zero reason to believe that anybody on our list can recruit against Barnes, Pearl, Musselman, whoever is at Florida, Hamilton, even Cal (see Hagans), and the rest of those we compete against in Atlanta. I am not saying that our hire can’t do that, I am just saying that we have no reason to believe that they can. The same goes for Jonas, but we have at least seen him work towards it and have some success at that here. We at least know that he would be our guy in the state, and that everyone would know that.
We are in a very tough situation and we need to get this right. My main view is that this program needs an identitiy - and that is why I understand the push for Jonas. I am not advocating for this necessarily. But I feel like the Jonas talk has made some of us disregard the value of what he *could* bring - an identity. It is a different game today. It is a recruiting game, and more importantly a player retention game. There is absolutely something to be said for Jonas in that regard and that is why I believe he should be *considered* in a serious manner.
For the very last time, I am in no way saying that I believe it’s Jonas or bust. But I do think that Jonas represents a direction in the program that could mean more than just trying to hire a “good” and “proven” coach. More than anything I am just not convinced that hiring a “good” coach will get it done in this age of college basketball. I understand that there is a point of view that hiring Jonas may be too soon right now - maybe he is just not the person right now. But I also believe that it shouldn’t be fully dismissed, because I don’t think this should simply be about qualifications. I think that there are more intangible qualifications that should be considered in this day and age. Whether that is Jonas or not, I think this whole thing is a good representation of what we should value.
I hope that my friends on here can hear me and we can not get in fight about this.
Or we could just hire Scott Drew.
TLDR: I think the Jonas push represents something important - an actual identity of UGA basketball - particularly in the state of Georgia where that is severely lacking. Not saying he is the right hire, but I think there is something serious to be said about that. I believe that needs to be a big consideration. More than it is about Jonas himself, I think it is something to consider when evaluating what we should value in our program.
NOTE: I went out with my friends tonight and am typing this at 4:00am. I would apologize, but frankly I think we need more of us that can’t keep this off of our mind at 4am. I’m not proofreading this, it’s probably horribly written but you’re getting a rare MiniMono thread so whatever. Thanks fellas
I know we are all agitated and want to get this right. I understand the apprehension and doubt around Jonas. It isn’t wrong. I am not saying that I want it to be Jonas. What I do want is for some of us to take a step back and understand why it might make some sense - outside of qualifications and “proven” results. Even if it doesn’t happen now (which it won’t), I believe there is merit to this. The whole point of this post is to just discuss why some people see it as a good option (I am one of those people), and to hopefully convince those who are very against Jonas as a possibility to just consider it for one second. Again, I am not advocating for Jonas to be the pick. But I feel like us UGA basketball freaks being aligned on our idea of the future is important, and I think the idea of Jonas raises an important point.
I am in no way convinced that hiring the mid major guy will work. I don’t think any of us can be. There is nobody on our list that is really from our region, that has any sort of proof of concept in the state. I think that is more important now than ever. There is nobody on our list that we know has good relationships with the people that matter in the state and region. Pearl does. Barnes is respected here. Even Musselman in damn Arkansas has good relationships here.
Medvev is a fantastic coach, for example. Can he keep the top players in the state from going to play for Pearl? Can he keep the number 56 player in the country from going to play for Musselman or Barnes? He may have our players play great basketball and compete above their talent level. Im not saying he can’t, but there is absolutely no way to really believe that he can recruit the way we will need to, and frankly there is more reason to believe that whoever we hire *can’t* do that than they *can*. It unfortunately is our history.
Again, I am not saying that I want it to be Jonas at all. I have trust in ADJB, truly I do. I actually believe that whoever he hires will be the correct move at this time - I don’t think any of us can say that we’ve fully believed that our AD is truly acting in the best interest of the basketball program before. Maybe that’s not fully accurate or the best way to word that - I’m only 25. But i think brooks wants to get this right, and I didn’t believe that about GM.
What I am saying is that I get the push for Jonas. I don’t think we can view this process in simple terms of qualified vs unqualified. This hire needs to be right, we need to hire the right person for this program and for this process more than we need to just hire the guy who went 26-4 in the mountain west or whatever, just because he did that. Or because he had success at a different small school before. I’m not dismissing any of that in the slightest, but I think we can all agree that it doesn’t necessarily translate to success here or in this league. I’m going to reiterate this 1,000 times but i’m not saying that that is a bad move, i actually think Medvev would be a strong hire. I am just saying that there is no guarantee on a similar level that there is no guarantee with Jonas. It could possibly not be the right move to compete in our conference. It needs to be *right* more than it needs to look good on paper or at the press conference. I believe that we need to establish an identity in the state, in the conference, more than anything else. Georgia basketball needs to mean something to people, it can no longer just be trying to play good basketball because of the way this sport is now. In my view, all of the reasons that people think Jonas would be a bad or even pathetic hire could be said in other ways about the other coaches on our list. Sure some of these guys have had some success and have proven that they are good coaches. My point is that I don’t think it is just about having a “proven” coach anymore. It is about having the right coach that kids and their families trust. Maybe that is one of these candidates. I’m not dismissing that as a possibility, but I also don’t think Jonas should be dismissed for the same reason. It is about your players and recruits liking you and believing in you. Any of these candidates could work 100%, but we are not hiring Barnes or Pearl - who we need to compete with, and quickly. Point being, we are likely not making a splash hire. We aren’t getting a press conference home run. I don’t think anybody we could realistically hire would convince the entire larger population that we are actually turning the corner. We have zero reason to believe that anybody on our list can recruit against Barnes, Pearl, Musselman, whoever is at Florida, Hamilton, even Cal (see Hagans), and the rest of those we compete against in Atlanta. I am not saying that our hire can’t do that, I am just saying that we have no reason to believe that they can. The same goes for Jonas, but we have at least seen him work towards it and have some success at that here. We at least know that he would be our guy in the state, and that everyone would know that.
We are in a very tough situation and we need to get this right. My main view is that this program needs an identitiy - and that is why I understand the push for Jonas. I am not advocating for this necessarily. But I feel like the Jonas talk has made some of us disregard the value of what he *could* bring - an identity. It is a different game today. It is a recruiting game, and more importantly a player retention game. There is absolutely something to be said for Jonas in that regard and that is why I believe he should be *considered* in a serious manner.
For the very last time, I am in no way saying that I believe it’s Jonas or bust. But I do think that Jonas represents a direction in the program that could mean more than just trying to hire a “good” and “proven” coach. More than anything I am just not convinced that hiring a “good” coach will get it done in this age of college basketball. I understand that there is a point of view that hiring Jonas may be too soon right now - maybe he is just not the person right now. But I also believe that it shouldn’t be fully dismissed, because I don’t think this should simply be about qualifications. I think that there are more intangible qualifications that should be considered in this day and age. Whether that is Jonas or not, I think this whole thing is a good representation of what we should value.
I hope that my friends on here can hear me and we can not get in fight about this.
Or we could just hire Scott Drew.
TLDR: I think the Jonas push represents something important - an actual identity of UGA basketball - particularly in the state of Georgia where that is severely lacking. Not saying he is the right hire, but I think there is something serious to be said about that. I believe that needs to be a big consideration. More than it is about Jonas himself, I think it is something to consider when evaluating what we should value in our program.
NOTE: I went out with my friends tonight and am typing this at 4:00am. I would apologize, but frankly I think we need more of us that can’t keep this off of our mind at 4am. I’m not proofreading this, it’s probably horribly written but you’re getting a rare MiniMono thread so whatever. Thanks fellas
Last edited:
