This game will not decide anything....the preponderance of similar ones (that Fox usually couldn't close) will not decide Fox's fate, not tonight or some unexpected win @ Tenn. Be optimistic for Tyree. Show concern for Turtle.
It's a crazy sport. I foresaw an unexpected win like this left on the schedule before Vandy but was thinking it would be @Tennessee and/or Auburn last Saturday. Vandy, of course, winning was unacceptable.
But no, it's the Arkansas games at home, the UK's like this year where we've had a chance late numerous times--even in better years for them, the Kansas State's, the South Carolina's, and the ones you're DEFINITELY not supposed to lose like Vandy.
Fox hasn't been able to scramble in enough games that truly could have gone either way over the years. Most teams' defenses do them in....with Fox, it's usually been the opposite due to lack of perimeter shooting. His squads play more inside-out on offense than almost any I've seen. You gotta have that energy on the perimeter that gives you space to work and the loose feel for the players--Fox couldn't ever channel that here. Guys like Crump and Kenny Gaines early on guys, guys he could have deployed to break that trend, even Diatta his first year over Geno....Fox never was able to space the floor with shooters...most years we didn't have them....but he coulda done better with Gaines and KCP, Crump, and generally in cases like Diatta last year. And, it's that same brooding, better calculated but less payoff potential that Fox has always erred on.
I was wrong defending him in some of the cases I did....he flat out needed to do a better job with the shooters he has had, and has demonstrated an unwillingness to do that too often....he seems to be learning but it's too late.
Crump is making a lot of people look smart while I understand how Fox came to handle him the way he did though I don't agree with it. A blip for most people would be that Fox expertly got Crump off the long, hard pine at a perfect time for a young kid to help his psyche....and he did...in garbage minutes @ Mizzou, I saw a kid regain a ton of confidence. Fox plays the long game with player development perhaps to a fault. He is great at disciplined players, but if there's one tangible thing you can say is that he has consistently been reticent to play young players until this year or in dire emergencies. I donno if it's this class, but Hammonds, Claxton (thought he'd take at least a year to grow to do anything), and the unexpected Hightower have been supremely ready as freshmen.
We can't know all that goes on and all the interpersonal stuff, but this win won't save Fox. He needed it a couple other years where it may have been the difference of us dancing. Now, with nothing to lose, we can win....that's the problem....and that has to be a reflection of the personality of on CMF. Say what you will about Bruce Pearl (not a fan) but the guy doesn't ever let true stresses seem to affect him....Fox broods in angst...he's prepared his team, but he doesn't seem all that mentally prepared....or have the killer/knock-em-out personality of successful head coaches.
It's not fun to read so much crap after something we can take good away from--youth played brilliantly. Lord, people were happy here when Felton saved his job by going on that run in the SECT. Lord, talk about having to try to enjoy wins knowing that got him more was excruciating except to see Sundiata and a few Dawgs get those moments.
Anyways, hasta lavista, Fox. But, he still is pretty close to the coach I thought he was....just not quite able to tap into that sauce to really take off--otherwise, he really seems to have the trappings of a solid, disciplined head coach.
Now, let's go get Buzz Williams. VT lost by over 20 at Duke tonight.
Fox is light years better than Felton though and has left us in a good place if we want to seize it. Fox is a professional. Felton had no business being around that level of ball.
Cheer up Dawg fans...I see a lot to be excited about on this roster....the youngest ones, too.
Side note: @Dan McDonald or @Anthony Dasher or anyone who speaks to Hagans, King, and the 2018 PF....someone ask them about how they'd feel about UGA if Fox wasn't retained. I'd love to hear a chorus of "uh, I mean, I like Coach Fox a lot...but Georgia...with Rayshaun Hammonds and their other young guys, that really excites me most."
It's a crazy sport. I foresaw an unexpected win like this left on the schedule before Vandy but was thinking it would be @Tennessee and/or Auburn last Saturday. Vandy, of course, winning was unacceptable.
But no, it's the Arkansas games at home, the UK's like this year where we've had a chance late numerous times--even in better years for them, the Kansas State's, the South Carolina's, and the ones you're DEFINITELY not supposed to lose like Vandy.
Fox hasn't been able to scramble in enough games that truly could have gone either way over the years. Most teams' defenses do them in....with Fox, it's usually been the opposite due to lack of perimeter shooting. His squads play more inside-out on offense than almost any I've seen. You gotta have that energy on the perimeter that gives you space to work and the loose feel for the players--Fox couldn't ever channel that here. Guys like Crump and Kenny Gaines early on guys, guys he could have deployed to break that trend, even Diatta his first year over Geno....Fox never was able to space the floor with shooters...most years we didn't have them....but he coulda done better with Gaines and KCP, Crump, and generally in cases like Diatta last year. And, it's that same brooding, better calculated but less payoff potential that Fox has always erred on.
I was wrong defending him in some of the cases I did....he flat out needed to do a better job with the shooters he has had, and has demonstrated an unwillingness to do that too often....he seems to be learning but it's too late.
Crump is making a lot of people look smart while I understand how Fox came to handle him the way he did though I don't agree with it. A blip for most people would be that Fox expertly got Crump off the long, hard pine at a perfect time for a young kid to help his psyche....and he did...in garbage minutes @ Mizzou, I saw a kid regain a ton of confidence. Fox plays the long game with player development perhaps to a fault. He is great at disciplined players, but if there's one tangible thing you can say is that he has consistently been reticent to play young players until this year or in dire emergencies. I donno if it's this class, but Hammonds, Claxton (thought he'd take at least a year to grow to do anything), and the unexpected Hightower have been supremely ready as freshmen.
We can't know all that goes on and all the interpersonal stuff, but this win won't save Fox. He needed it a couple other years where it may have been the difference of us dancing. Now, with nothing to lose, we can win....that's the problem....and that has to be a reflection of the personality of on CMF. Say what you will about Bruce Pearl (not a fan) but the guy doesn't ever let true stresses seem to affect him....Fox broods in angst...he's prepared his team, but he doesn't seem all that mentally prepared....or have the killer/knock-em-out personality of successful head coaches.
It's not fun to read so much crap after something we can take good away from--youth played brilliantly. Lord, people were happy here when Felton saved his job by going on that run in the SECT. Lord, talk about having to try to enjoy wins knowing that got him more was excruciating except to see Sundiata and a few Dawgs get those moments.
Anyways, hasta lavista, Fox. But, he still is pretty close to the coach I thought he was....just not quite able to tap into that sauce to really take off--otherwise, he really seems to have the trappings of a solid, disciplined head coach.
Now, let's go get Buzz Williams. VT lost by over 20 at Duke tonight.
Fox is light years better than Felton though and has left us in a good place if we want to seize it. Fox is a professional. Felton had no business being around that level of ball.
Cheer up Dawg fans...I see a lot to be excited about on this roster....the youngest ones, too.
Side note: @Dan McDonald or @Anthony Dasher or anyone who speaks to Hagans, King, and the 2018 PF....someone ask them about how they'd feel about UGA if Fox wasn't retained. I'd love to hear a chorus of "uh, I mean, I like Coach Fox a lot...but Georgia...with Rayshaun Hammonds and their other young guys, that really excites me most."
