why I am now ready to move on to a new coach:
Why I supported until Fox until this season:
1. It was a 5-10 year building job. No matter who was hired or how well they did, in order for UGA basketball to move forward from where it was it was going to have to show a commitment to a coach for over 5 years.We had experience very short coaching tenures and had a very bad reputation in the business for support of basketball after the Harrick debacle. Facilities, marketing and overall vision of the program needed a face-lift.
2. Recruiting inroads were going to take time. When Fox was hired, I first thought it was a very strange hire. Out of left field and on nobody's radar. He has a wife from the state and that made for an easy transition back to her area for them. I knew it was going to take time to build relationships with the coaches in the state. We needed time anyway to grow the program the right way.
3. Early on, the style of Basketball was better than what we had with Felton. We struggled to learn the offense, but once it was learned, we did have some success and allowed are stars at the time to shine (Thompkins, Leslie, etc). I felt once he got his players in the program a full 4 years again we would see the same success. We did have a little.
4. Looked as if we were beginning to make strides to attract in-state talent. We weren't going to get them all but we were beginning to see positive signs of getting the right talent for our team. We needed players that were going to stay 3-4 years, not one & done. We are not Kentucky or Kansas.
5. Injuries. In basketball, injuries hurt you more than in football because you still only have 13 players to choose from to play. Marcus Thornton and Juwan Parker's injuries did hurt our depth. Because of his commitment to his players (which I didn't mind) he stuck by them. But it did have a negative effect on our depth and recruiting. Part of the game that we needed to overcome.
5. Coaching - was not that bad, but was curious what it would look like when he had a full roster of his players. It takes time to build your team and program in all areas. It is easy to just judge the program based upon the results on the court, but building a program takes time and a clear vision of how everything should work from top to bottom. I assume that people in CEO or upper management positions are going to make the right decisions to adjust to the playing field based on the results they are getting, until they prove they are not. It is usually clear.Time always tells and now I believe it has.
Why I am ready to move on from Coach Fox:
1. Time is up. We should be playing better basketball. I see players making mistakes in year 8 that players did in years 1,2 & 3. There is one constant there and its not the players. Areas of the overall program are better and we have moved forward as a program, but we have reached our ceiling and are now plateaued with no stimulus in sight to break the glass ceiling.
2. Recruiting. We are recruiting the right players but we are not closing the deal. We should be in year 8. I don' t think we should get everyone, but you should be able to pinpoint the players that are going to make a difference in your program and get them here. We need a coach that can recognize that Kamar Baldwin will be a difference maker on a team immediately. Yes we had Crump but he was obviously not going to play this year, Kamar would be a big difference this year. It was a whiff. It wasn't the only one. Fox also waited to long to get in on the AAU game and appeal to the younger players with younger well-connected coaches earlier in his tenure. A day late and a dollar short.
3. Player Development.- I see players improving skills at times but it is not consistent across the board. Especially in guard play which in my opinion has been the real issue with Fox's teams. The guards are not developing under Fox's tenure. Year one, we had a hard time with an entry pass to the block, year eight, we STILL have a hard time with the entry pass to the block, all parts of it, when to do it, how to do it and how to make it happen when a defense is playing tight or playing off.
4. Coaching Philosophy. (general) It is now evident to me that Fox prioritizes his control over all decisions of his players when it comes to basketball. I believe he is hard-headed and stubborn and not willing to see the "Forrest from the Trees". He believes so much in his philosophy that he cannot see the issues with that philosophy in order to change. I recognize this, because I was once there as a coach and teacher. But it finally got to a point where if I didn't change, I would be done. I humbled myself and made drastic philosophical approaches to my teaching. The result was much more success. Our players think too much when they play the game of basketball and it holds them back from reaching their full potential. Because of this, there is a serious lack of creativity and basketball "IQ" when we play. Our players approach the game like robots and are afraid of retribution. You will experience "some" success coaching this way, but not as much as you should or possibly can because of the strength of the hold on the overall "control" of the situation. More on in-game play below.
5. In Game Coaching (specific). This is also based on his over coaching philosophy(which should be obvious). I believe we have some pretty good players on our team top to bottom. Players good enough to get us to the NCAA and win a game there. It is not their fault. Because of Fox's unwillingness to let the players "play" at times, we are still a team in year 8 that makes poor decisions with the ball for fear of making a mistake and getting retribution. I am assuming that we don't allow our players to play a lot of pick-up basketball outside of the team. Not sure if we do, but pick-up games are great way to work on your instinctive basketball skills and put yourself in all sorts of situations that don't happen regularly when there are three referees around calling fouls and traveling, etc. WE THINK TOO MUCH. Details - you don't need more evidence than what happened at the end of the A&M game, UF and UK to know that we are a team that is NOT prepared for every situation in a game. Totally unacceptable in year 8. Substitutions are better, but lost us two games earlier this year. There is absolutely no reason I can think of to NOT have any productive in-bounds plays from ALL areas of the court. It is a wasted opportunity and we don't execute what we are given anyway.
All of this creates a basketball culture that does not promote Leadership on the floor. Who has stepped up and taken the lead at any moment on the floor when we were losing leads or down 20 to Alabama? No one did. Why? Because, Fox is the one in control. That leads to a lack of in-game Leadership. That responsibility is on Coach Fox and should not be present in year 8 with an experienced front and back court. Its time for a change.
I will continue to support the program and will go to all of the games that I have tickets to, because the game and the team are bigger to me than the coach. I am appreciative of all that Coach Fox has done for the program because we have moved forward and are better than we were when he took over. I will be happy when we win. But I am disapointed in the results this year and last and I will be hoping for better days ahead. In my opinion we should be a program that makes the NCAA's on a regular basis and should win 1st round games in the tournament on a semi-regular basis. Good coaching can get you to the tournament with our current players and get you past the 1st round as well. THAT should be our expectation.
Go Dawgs!
Kdawg
Why I supported until Fox until this season:
1. It was a 5-10 year building job. No matter who was hired or how well they did, in order for UGA basketball to move forward from where it was it was going to have to show a commitment to a coach for over 5 years.We had experience very short coaching tenures and had a very bad reputation in the business for support of basketball after the Harrick debacle. Facilities, marketing and overall vision of the program needed a face-lift.
2. Recruiting inroads were going to take time. When Fox was hired, I first thought it was a very strange hire. Out of left field and on nobody's radar. He has a wife from the state and that made for an easy transition back to her area for them. I knew it was going to take time to build relationships with the coaches in the state. We needed time anyway to grow the program the right way.
3. Early on, the style of Basketball was better than what we had with Felton. We struggled to learn the offense, but once it was learned, we did have some success and allowed are stars at the time to shine (Thompkins, Leslie, etc). I felt once he got his players in the program a full 4 years again we would see the same success. We did have a little.
4. Looked as if we were beginning to make strides to attract in-state talent. We weren't going to get them all but we were beginning to see positive signs of getting the right talent for our team. We needed players that were going to stay 3-4 years, not one & done. We are not Kentucky or Kansas.
5. Injuries. In basketball, injuries hurt you more than in football because you still only have 13 players to choose from to play. Marcus Thornton and Juwan Parker's injuries did hurt our depth. Because of his commitment to his players (which I didn't mind) he stuck by them. But it did have a negative effect on our depth and recruiting. Part of the game that we needed to overcome.
5. Coaching - was not that bad, but was curious what it would look like when he had a full roster of his players. It takes time to build your team and program in all areas. It is easy to just judge the program based upon the results on the court, but building a program takes time and a clear vision of how everything should work from top to bottom. I assume that people in CEO or upper management positions are going to make the right decisions to adjust to the playing field based on the results they are getting, until they prove they are not. It is usually clear.Time always tells and now I believe it has.
Why I am ready to move on from Coach Fox:
1. Time is up. We should be playing better basketball. I see players making mistakes in year 8 that players did in years 1,2 & 3. There is one constant there and its not the players. Areas of the overall program are better and we have moved forward as a program, but we have reached our ceiling and are now plateaued with no stimulus in sight to break the glass ceiling.
2. Recruiting. We are recruiting the right players but we are not closing the deal. We should be in year 8. I don' t think we should get everyone, but you should be able to pinpoint the players that are going to make a difference in your program and get them here. We need a coach that can recognize that Kamar Baldwin will be a difference maker on a team immediately. Yes we had Crump but he was obviously not going to play this year, Kamar would be a big difference this year. It was a whiff. It wasn't the only one. Fox also waited to long to get in on the AAU game and appeal to the younger players with younger well-connected coaches earlier in his tenure. A day late and a dollar short.
3. Player Development.- I see players improving skills at times but it is not consistent across the board. Especially in guard play which in my opinion has been the real issue with Fox's teams. The guards are not developing under Fox's tenure. Year one, we had a hard time with an entry pass to the block, year eight, we STILL have a hard time with the entry pass to the block, all parts of it, when to do it, how to do it and how to make it happen when a defense is playing tight or playing off.
4. Coaching Philosophy. (general) It is now evident to me that Fox prioritizes his control over all decisions of his players when it comes to basketball. I believe he is hard-headed and stubborn and not willing to see the "Forrest from the Trees". He believes so much in his philosophy that he cannot see the issues with that philosophy in order to change. I recognize this, because I was once there as a coach and teacher. But it finally got to a point where if I didn't change, I would be done. I humbled myself and made drastic philosophical approaches to my teaching. The result was much more success. Our players think too much when they play the game of basketball and it holds them back from reaching their full potential. Because of this, there is a serious lack of creativity and basketball "IQ" when we play. Our players approach the game like robots and are afraid of retribution. You will experience "some" success coaching this way, but not as much as you should or possibly can because of the strength of the hold on the overall "control" of the situation. More on in-game play below.
5. In Game Coaching (specific). This is also based on his over coaching philosophy(which should be obvious). I believe we have some pretty good players on our team top to bottom. Players good enough to get us to the NCAA and win a game there. It is not their fault. Because of Fox's unwillingness to let the players "play" at times, we are still a team in year 8 that makes poor decisions with the ball for fear of making a mistake and getting retribution. I am assuming that we don't allow our players to play a lot of pick-up basketball outside of the team. Not sure if we do, but pick-up games are great way to work on your instinctive basketball skills and put yourself in all sorts of situations that don't happen regularly when there are three referees around calling fouls and traveling, etc. WE THINK TOO MUCH. Details - you don't need more evidence than what happened at the end of the A&M game, UF and UK to know that we are a team that is NOT prepared for every situation in a game. Totally unacceptable in year 8. Substitutions are better, but lost us two games earlier this year. There is absolutely no reason I can think of to NOT have any productive in-bounds plays from ALL areas of the court. It is a wasted opportunity and we don't execute what we are given anyway.
All of this creates a basketball culture that does not promote Leadership on the floor. Who has stepped up and taken the lead at any moment on the floor when we were losing leads or down 20 to Alabama? No one did. Why? Because, Fox is the one in control. That leads to a lack of in-game Leadership. That responsibility is on Coach Fox and should not be present in year 8 with an experienced front and back court. Its time for a change.
I will continue to support the program and will go to all of the games that I have tickets to, because the game and the team are bigger to me than the coach. I am appreciative of all that Coach Fox has done for the program because we have moved forward and are better than we were when he took over. I will be happy when we win. But I am disapointed in the results this year and last and I will be hoping for better days ahead. In my opinion we should be a program that makes the NCAA's on a regular basis and should win 1st round games in the tournament on a semi-regular basis. Good coaching can get you to the tournament with our current players and get you past the 1st round as well. THAT should be our expectation.
Go Dawgs!
Kdawg
