I will start my last blog until almost mid April by saying, thanks again to those that come here and I hope you enjoy the blog. I started doing this at the first of this year. I really enjoy it-it is almost like a diary in a sense because I wouldn't care if anyone visited as I enjoy writing my opinions. Unlike a diary though, I HOPE folks do come to visit and read what I have to say, for what little it is worth!
First up a good article in my favorite Dog paper, the Athens Banner Herald, about Coach Fox and contract negotiations. I like the fact that a conversation has already taken place, I like McGarity being proactive, I like the fact our AD keeps a very positive working relationship with our coaches. There have been rumors of a couple programs, NCST and possibly Missouri being interested in Mark Fox-and you know as he continues to build the program in Athens, more schools will come calling. What is encouraging to me, again, is we have McGarity as our AD. You simply can't overlook his experience at the most successful athletic program in our conference-yes, I don't care one bit for the University of Florida but they simply are the model sports program in our conference. The fact that a Georgia man could spend 18 years working there, well, hard for me to stomach but needless to say, he gained a tremendous amount of experience in building up that program to where it stands today. Part of that experience is working deals for head coaches, part of that is also hiring coaches. I put the hiring part in there simply because in college athletics, is always something you have to be mindful of. Greg McGarity was there for the Billy D hiring, was there when Billy left for what a day to take the Orlando Magic job only to come back. He was there for the Zook disaster but also there for the hiring of the best coach in Florida history, Urban Meyer. Yes, I think Spurrier would rank up there as maybe the best but the fact remains, Urban has two national titles to one for the evil one. Point being, the guy knows what he is doing, he is working in his hometown and for the school he loves. I feel VERY confident in his abilities to lead our athletic department. So, back to Coach Fox, no doubt we need to lock him up for years to come and show him we are committed to him and we want him to be committed to us. Now, I have no idea what kind of raise he will get but he deservse one for sure. The new UT coach is making the same as Coach Fox, the Auburn coach is making MORE than Coach Fox. Here is the article from the Athens paper.
http://dogbytesonline.com/georgia-and-fox-working-on-contract-changes-44022/
Ok, speaking of the hoops program, last night was the McDonalds all american game in Chicago. I watched a little of it but it was much like an NBA all star game, just basically street ball, very little defense, very little set offenses, just get the ball and go-heck, if you didn't start with the ball in your hands, you didn't stand much of a chance to take a shot, unless you grabbed a rebound and shot it. Our recruit Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played but I think only scored 6 points in about 15 minutes. I didn't see him do much but from what I have read both from the game and from the practice reports, he is the real deal. Let's hope so because if Thompkins and Leslie leave, we will need some offensive firepower next year for certain.
One note about football recruiting, a lot is being made of UF coming up to our state and plucking top talent away from us. While it is true UF does have 3 early pledges from kids that had UGA offers, I don't think these kids were must have kids for UGA. Also, remember, we have a commitment from perhaps the best K in the nation who happens to be from Florida and both UF and FSU wanted him. We also stand a great shot at getting the younger Theus brother, likely a 5 star OT from Jacksonville, Fla. So, not like we are not taking talent from Florida. I am a bit surprised that UF is coming so strong in Ga, even with former UGA player being their HC-yes, he has connections in our state for sure but the state of Florida is so loaded, they have to be real careful taking too many Georgia kids and passing on Florida kids that are just as good. You never want to alienate your home school players/coaches. Also, we all have to remember, our numbers will be down this year, we signed 26 this year, we likely will have between 15-18 for the class of 2012 and we already have 5-if you count our two JUCO guys that are supposed to be coming back-Jalen Fields and Lonnie Outlaw. So, we have to be really picky on who we offer because again, unlike other schools that throw out offers like they are candy, we only offer kids that we are prepared to take. Class of 2012 will be a great class, I have no doubt and especially great if our season pans out like we all hope it does.
Final note before I go, it NEVER gets old beating the Nerds, regardless of the sport. Yes, our baseball team let us down losing to them recently but we swept them in the two big sports, and now our softball team SMOKED them yesterday-and keep in mind, GT has a good softball program as well. To read about the game, click below. Good luck to the UGA baseball team this weekend against Miss State.
http://dogbytesonline.com/goler-dogs-smash-tech-44044/
All for now, I hope you all have a great weekend, hopefull the weather will start to warm up and the rain will go away. Rain this time of year does serve a useful purpose, pollen is AWFUL so the rain at least for a brief moment washes it away. I am off for spring break, going on a cruise and happy to be getting away. I will post again around the 10th or 11th of April. Thanks again for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment