A Fox with the Hounds

The University of Georgia recently hired their new Men's Basketball Coach, Mark Fox. Fox came from the University of Nevada, where he guided the Wolfpack to at least 2 NCAA Tournament berths, one resulting in a trip to the sweet 16.

Many Dawg fans wanted a big-name coach such as Bobby Knight. However, look no further than Knoxville, TN. Bruce Pearl coached several years at Mid-Major Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He guided the Panthers to NCAA tournament berths in 2003 and 2005. The 2005 team made it to the sweet 16 before losing to eventual National Runner-up Illinois.

Pearl immediately made the Vols relevant again. He was able to get top recruits and has guided the Vols to 4 straight NCAA tourneys. Sometimes a big splash is not necessary, but a small pebble in the water which pushes waves outward. If Fox can get the best players in nearby Gwinnett County, as well as other areas of Atlanta and the State of Georgia, the Dawgs will be back again. Well, actually, they've never really been "back".

They've only had a few blips on the screen: the 1983 Final Four team, ancient history. A couple of trips to the Big Dance in the 90s, and of course, the Jim Harrick-led Dawgs in 01 and 02. But that ended as a disaster.

I think Fox is going to be a surprisingly good coach for the Dawgs. He said recently during a radio interview: "We don't want to just recruit players who we think can play, we want to recruit players who we think can win." With that mindset, Fox will get the players who can help Georgia win. I believe that the Dawgs, under Fox, will have not just a blip, but sustained success.