Can Fox recruit? My question when hired, still a question today

When Damon Evans introduced Mark Fox as head coach, coming from Nevada, I immediately thought, can this guy recruit. Not like Nevada is a big name program from out west. I knew of Fox because I follow the NCAA tourney each year and had heard of him because he won a tournament game or two. But, when Felton was fired I immediately began thinking, the next guy in needs be a great recruiter of IN STATE talent. You could agrue that Felton did his best work late in his tenure-some of his early highly recruited guys were from out of state and the kids from instate had issues-Lou Williams never enrolled, Mercer and Humphrey had some good but also bad times. But, he did bring in 5 of our best 6 players from the team that just made the tourney-all from in state. That being said, the guys Mark Fox has brought in so far, not so impressive except for the transfer of Gerald Robinson. Vincent Williams-not so much. Donte' Williams and Marcus Thornton showed this year they have some potential but they were not ready to be prime time as true FR. Sherrod Brantley showed flashes of being a good shooter and playing some solid D but again, not a superstar-he also from the state of Ga. Now this class, with Dixon, Florveus, Djurisic, and then of course the headliner in Caldwell-Pope, not horrible but not the greatest as of now-and only 2 of the 4 are from Ga as Dixon is Georgia native as well even though he played this past season in Florida. So, after his first two recruiting classes, Fox has brought in Vincent Williams, Donte' Williams, Marcus Thornton and Sherrod Brantley. This class I named above-you would have to say, other than Thornton and Caldwell-Pope, the rest are Felton or less caliber recruits. This brings us to the VERY important and very loaded class of 2012. Everyone knows that basketball recruiting is much different than football recruiting-first big difference of course the early signing period. Because of that alone, the recruiting process gets serious earlier. So, a coach really starts to identify and offer kids as sophomores, certainly by their junior year. Of course another huge difference is that basketball has the summer leagues-AAU ball is HUGE in our area and really nationally. This gives players a chance to play against elite competition all summer long, it also gives college coaches more time to evaluate/scout potential recruiting targets and begin to build relationships-but, in basketball recruiting, a coach not only has to build relationships with kid, parents, and high school coach, but maybe more important, the AAU or summer league coach. These guys play a vital role in the recruiting game for college basketball. Unfortunately, from what I could gather, Felton never had a great relationship there and although I think Fox has built some relationships, I am not sure he still is well accepted in those circles-despite his success this year. Many UGA basketball faithful, myself included, have thought, the 2012 class will make or break Coach Fox in Athens. Reason being, he has proven he can win here now, and he has had time to build better relationships. Now the question remains, can he actually take those relationships and build them into kids signing on the dotted line. Early indications are not as promising as I had hoped for. Already a top target in Evan Nolte announced he would sign with Virginia. I had hoped with his brother at UGA, we might lock him down. Let's take a look at the top talent in 2012 and then I will put a few words on what direction I hear they are leaning. This list is from UGA Rivals site.

1	Tony Parker	C	Lithonia, GAMiller Grove	4 stars	6'9"	250	list UNC, OSU, Duke, UGA, appears headed out of state
#2	Shaquille Goodwin	F	Decatur, GASouthwest Dekalb	5 stars	6'8"	230	list UGA has a legit shot but Memphis is a real contender-also could be a football player
#3	Robert Carter	F	Thomasville, GAThomasville	4 stars	6'8"	245	list Hearing we are on the outside looking in, Florida schools in lead.
#4	Jordan Adams	G	Mouth of Wilson, VAOak Hill Academy	4 stars	6'5"	215	list  We have a legit shot here.
#5	Brandon Morris	F	Lithonia, GAMiller Grove	3 stars	6'7"	195	list Not sure about our chances with this one but like Parker, attends same school as Donte' Williams.
#6	Kenny Gaines	G	Mableton, GAWhitefield Academy		6'4"	190	list Speaks highly of Mark Fox, visited for the UK game and loved it.
#7	Damien Wilson	F	Mouth of Wilson, VAOak Hill Academy	4 stars	6'6"	198	list If we get Adams, could have a very strong shot with Wilson as well.
#8	Evan Nolte	F	Alpharetta, GAMilton	4 stars	6'8"	200	Virginia
#9	Marcus Hunt	F	College Park, GANorth Clayton	3 stars	6'6"	214	list
#10	Chris Bolden	G	Norcross, GANorcross	4 stars	6'3"	195	Miami (FL)
#11	Shaquille Johnson	F	Alpharetta, GAMilton	3 stars	6'5"	195	Auburn
#12	Jarmal Reid	F	Decatur, GAColumbia	4 stars	6'7"	225	list  Step-brother of former player Jeremy Price. I think we stand a great shot to get him.
#13	Justin Tuoyo	F	Hampton, GALovejoy	4 stars	6'8"	205	list
#14	Charles Mitchell	F	Marietta, GAWheeler	4 stars	6'7"	220	list
#15	Jaron Blossomgame	F	Alpharetta, GAChattahoochee	3 stars	6'7"	200	Clemson
#16	Darion Clark	F	Conyers, GARockdale County		6'7"	230	list
#17	Jordan Price	G	Lithonia, GASouthwest Dekalb		6'5"	215	list Really seems to like UGA, we have a legit shot to get him.
#18	Justin Seymour	G	Smyrna, GACampbell		6'3"	195	list
#19	Charles Mann	G	McDonough, GAUnion Grove	3 stars	6'4"	190	list
#20	Kyle Meyer	C	Alpharetta, GANorthview	3 stars	6'9"	220	Iowa
#21	Tevin Glass	F	Norcross, GAMeadowcreek	3 stars	6'8"	190	list
#22	Houston Kessler	F	Fairburn, GALandmark Christian		6'8"	210	list
#23	Willie Clayton	F	Thomasville, GAThomasville		6'8"	225	list
#24	Marshall Guilmette	C	Kennesaw, GAHarrison		6'10"	210	list
#25	Devonte Thornton	F	Marietta, GAOsborne		6'7"	192	list

So, as you can see, we do have a shot to get a great class but the top dogs might be leaving. What would be great would be to get one of these top targets to commit to us early, that might help us with others. Jordan Adams had said he would announce June 1st and like I said, UGA is in strong position but now he is saying he is waiting to announce. On the rivals top 150 national recruits, there are 16 kids from Ga on the list by my count, meaning every single one of the kids listed on the above list are NATIONAL recruits. So, if Coach Fox can't sign 4 of 16, or 1/4 of the talented class of 2012, I will really begin to have my doubts. We all know that this state produces more talent than UGA or GT both can sign but if our coach can start signing 4 of the top 10 players in state on a yearly basis, UGA can be a  major player in not only the SEC but in the national scene. I think we have the right guy when it comes to X's and O's, let's just hope he can combine his coaching with top rated recruiting. If so, then our next worry will be giving him enough cash to keep him locked up for years to come. But, again, this class is VERY important and honestly, the early signing period for us could contain the key. Because our program is likely to go down a notch or two-I mean c'mon, without Trey, Travis and Jeremy, it is going to be hard to be as good this upcoming season, getting the kids signed and sealed before our season plays out will be key. The good news is, MOST of the big name kids in basketball DO indeed sign early so they don't have to worry about it during their senior season. Last note, we still have a shot at Kevin Ware, he is listed as the 56th best prospect in the class of 2011, Caldwell-Pope is #11 on the list btw. MAYBE Leslie leaving for the pros might convince him that he could get some major minutes for us next year-he has stated he really likes the idea of playing with Caldwell-Pope. But, for the time being, it appears he really like Pitino and L'ville. It would be a great coup for Fox to grab him, a year after getting Marcus Thornton.