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AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2009 > January > 29 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USA challenge for Damon Evans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I never like to see a good man lose his job, though with the kind of buyout clauses big-time basketball coaches have in their contracts, the sympathy is measured.
Dennis Felton is, by all accounts and appearances, a good man.
He just wasn’t a very good head basketball coach for an underperforming program at a big school in a major conference. As an administrator, Felton appeared to be a bit too inflexible, judging by the number of players he ran off over the past few years. OK, maybe some (or all) of them deserved to be run off. But that probably means Felton wasn’t recruiting the type of players he needed for his type of program.
He sure wasn’t recruiting the talent needed to win big in the SEC. Or, this year, to win at all in the SEC.
As a game coach, the verdict on Felton was mixed. I’ve seen games where he looked at times like a master strategist and others where he appeared out of sync with or even indifferent to what was happening on the court. I heard someone say he couldn’t have done much worse this season if he had picked his starting five, headed out the door and just let them play.
So now comes the hard job of finding the right coach. Ideally, Damon Evans and Michael Adams will find another Bruce Pearl or Tubby Smith, a coach who can quickly turn things around, attract some of the major talent growing up in the state of Georgia and, more importantly, ignite a fire under the UGA basketball program and get the Bulldog Nation excited.
And do it all without bending rules or signing questionable characters.
And then, once we’ve found him and he gets the program on solid ground, we need to keep him. With Smith, I’m not sure any amount of money would have dissuaded him from taking the job at Kentucky, the Mount Olympus of college basketball. When a dream job is offered, there’s not much you can do, as Florida may find out when Notre Dame comes calling for Urban Meyer. But Evans and Co. need to commit to funding a big-time coach and keeping him happy if they want to have a big-time program.
Time for Evans to prove he’s the man for his job by finding the right man for the basketball job.
Comments
By dawg78
January 29, 2009 1:34 PM | Link to this
Great! Now when can we expect Evans to do something and get rid of under-performing Andy Landers? The woman’s team used to be one of the top in the country and certainly in the SEC. They are dropping off the charts. Time for Andy to go too!!!
By Michael Scharff
January 29, 2009 3:01 PM | Link to this
Hi Bill. I hope your Dad is doing better. There has been some chatter on the blogs about the state of our basketball facility. What’s your take on Stegman? I think it is awful for fans in terms of restrooms and concessions, but, then again, like I said in a post on Bradley’s blog, so is Sanford Stadium. I know that the Gym Dogs pack the place. For that matter, we used to pack the place when I was in school and we had ‘Nique, and that was before they renovated the inside of the arena and they still housed livestock outside.
By VolDog
January 29, 2009 3:48 PM | Link to this
Hey if you guy’s give us a couple of good (They do not have to be great) football recruits we will give you Pearl!
By VolDog
January 29, 2009 3:53 PM | Link to this
Ah hell! Just take him please.
By WildBill
January 29, 2009 5:00 PM | Link to this
No problem. Michael Adams has several prospects in mind. Question is, can his ‘choice’ coach? His record in this regard is certainly below par.
By 2 old 2.
January 29, 2009 6:05 PM | Link to this
If they get a “good” coach they better have a gagging-size buyout clause in his contract or we’ll see a couple of years of improvement then…tail lights.
“course, if they could get Tubby back it would save money. The arena is already named for him.
By GuyanaDawg
January 30, 2009 12:24 AM | Link to this
We’ll get a good one - I’m excited. Good luck to Mr. Felton.
By hop
January 30, 2009 7:18 AM | Link to this
BILL, I think you describe it very well the current state of georgia basketball.
this is the first major test for Damon Evans.
Evans is saying all the right things about his desire to build a strong basketball program.
there is no reason why uga cannot be an elite program with all the talent that is in the state of georgia.
damon it is all up to you to find the right coach.
i do wonder why georgia is going to an outside firm to do the initial search for a coach.
i would think Damon Evans with all of his contacts over the years ,would have already compiled an impressive list of candidates from which to proceed.
What has he been doing the last few years,when he knew that that felton was struggling and he almost had to replace last year; until felton completed an “hail mary” in winning the sec tournament.
AGAIN,The ball is now in Damon Evan’s court!
By D.Ellis
January 30, 2009 10:17 AM | Link to this
Steve Lavin….call him.
By Poppy
January 30, 2009 10:46 AM | Link to this
I don’t think Stegeman Colesium is the cause of any of the problems with basketball. As season ticket holders to women’s basketball, I think Stegeman is as good for fans as most of the other places we have been. Winning games does not bring support for women’s basketball as it does for men. A top notch men’s program will bring in a large crowd and perhaps cause a new facility to become a necessity. I hope UGA and Adams and Evans can get the right coach to produce a program on the level of ACC men’s programs like Duke, Carolina, WF and others. I have my doubts that they are willing to pay what it takes to accomplish this.
Please don’t mess with Andy Landers.
By WildBill
January 30, 2009 12:09 PM | Link to this
I remember going to basketball games in Woodruff Hall. If the wind was blowing, it blew right through the building. Basically, it was just a big barn. Went to the first game in the Coliseum. It was a sellout. I still like the Coliseum. Heck, somebody flew a small plane under it when it was under construction. I like it. Its the players that make the game, not the place.
By Kyle
January 30, 2009 4:50 PM | Link to this
Tubby! Tubby! Tubby! …
By goodawgie
January 30, 2009 7:14 PM | Link to this
Jerry Tarkanian. He could get us winning in no time. Then when we get the death penalty, we could replace our decrepit arena. Nobody will miss basketball in Athens cause nobody gives a rats patoot about it anyway.
By Big MIKE
January 30, 2009 8:26 PM | Link to this
Do the name Dominique mean anything, guy been wanting to coach for a while, should would make boosters happy!
By Island Dog
January 31, 2009 9:13 AM | Link to this
One Step to respectability if UGA hires Bobby Knight. There’s a great coach to fill up our joke of a colliseum, guaranteed 2 or 3 legitimate recruits a year and trips to the real tournament. No excuse for not making this happen.
By Huh?
January 31, 2009 11:17 AM | Link to this
Bobby Knight to coach UGA BB? Now, there’s an idea! And maybe we can get Bobby Bowden to coach FB. And then there’s Bela Karoyli to coach the Gym dogs. The possibilities are endless!
By The Ole Ball Coach
January 31, 2009 1:26 PM | Link to this
Bobby Knight is a great coach but has a terrible attitude… Knight and Adams in a dual this first day… LOL
By Rabun Dawg
January 31, 2009 2:46 PM | Link to this
Mark Bradley presented a good list of possibilities in the AJC yesterday. Go after them, and see just who might respond. We are not going to get a “big name” coach from one of the “power” teams, so go after these guys that are having success at places like VCU, Baylor, Xavier,etc. No reason why the University of Georgia should not have as good a program as they do at Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, etc., the so-called “football schools”. All it takes is money, and a commitment from the Univ. to make it happen. We have been mediocre way too long!! Damon, get after it, and make it happen!!
By el cid 1980
February 1, 2009 2:23 AM | Link to this
The BoKnight thing would be an disater for UGA. Bob Knight is a great Basketball coach but he is a very mental and exposive personality. He is better off at home. He bullies his players while trying to smooze recruits to play. The reason he has some success in the NCAA is that he can intimadate players. in the NBA a player would punch his lights out. UGA doesnt need a Tyrant and a bully with the manners of a street urchin to coach their team. What UGA needs is someone who can get players to be disiplined and with some intelligence. what they have had lately could not be accepted except for waivers in administration policy on acceptance. Not even half of the mens basketball players graduate in the past few years and most cant pour pee out of a set of sneekers nor read the directions on how to do it. The is more to a player than someone that can jump out of a gym and say look at me all the time. Jeez the Tatoos and the language at attrocious as well as behavior.Dumb is as Dumb does.
By el cid 1980
February 1, 2009 2:28 AM | Link to this
As far as Andy Landers he is the worst coach i have ever witnessed. he is an egotistical vainity act. He cant win the big one and never will because he is not inspiring ,he is an all me coach, never about his team. its always been about Pansy ANDY, my goodness get rid of this waste of good money.
By bo$$
February 3, 2009 10:36 AM | Link to this
HIRE KNIGHT! He would fill the Steg,and UGA could finally start to be considered a major football and basketball school. Plus imagine the press coverage of Knight’s first game back, it would be crazy, and top GA recruits would recognize a filled and loud arena, a THE winningest coach in mens bball ever, and media exposure! HIRE KINGHT! ps Look for me Saturday on FSN when Uga plays USC, I will be in the lower deck decked out with uga gear and a Bob Knight sign.
By Otto
February 3, 2009 1:24 PM | Link to this
Bring Tubby back. He was a good coach in Athens and he will not leave to UK this time. Would we get leftovers maybe but I don’t blame him for going to UK at all.
The Knight vs Adams fight would be great to watch. lol Knight is out for himself and can not be trusted.
By Millermoose
February 3, 2009 3:23 PM | Link to this
I for one would like to know why Bob Knight is being stuffed down out throats. Why is he not being touted as the savior for Alabama basketball ? I hope UGA wants to build a program that will be competitive for a long time. I do no think you do that by bringing in a coach who is 68 yrs old and brings LOTS of baggage. By all accounts, he cleaned up his act in Lubbock and there is no doubt that he can coach, but the question remains for Damon Evans: Do you want a quick fix coach that will be gone in a year or 2 or do you want an up and coming coach that will make your program good for many years. Coach Knight has alrady gotten tired of 1 school. Who’s to say he won’t do the same here….. By the way, an endorsement from Dicky V does not rate high in my book either !!!
By Brian in Athens
February 3, 2009 6:39 PM | Link to this
In the article you say something like Florida may find out about coaches leaving for the dream job when Notre Dame comes calling. I believe Meyer passed on Notre Dame when he took the Florida job. Why in the world would he leave 2 championships to go to a bad team he didn’t want when Florida was rebuilding?
By millermoose
February 4, 2009 8:59 PM | Link to this
It’s great to see that a student is passing a petition to get Bob Knight at UGA. This is why experienced people like The AD and school President get to make the decision of hiring a coach and not a bunch of people who have no idea what it takes to “build” a basketball program. College basketball is all about recruiting the right players and has little to do with coaching. You should not be looking for a coach the fills the coliseum because everyone is waiting to see if he is going to blow up, but need to fill the building because the basketball program is relevant and building towards being a national power. I doubt that Bob Knight can recruit todays players and be an effective coach anymore. You do not want him in Athens……
By Mike
February 5, 2009 12:56 PM | Link to this
A great coach, whether recruiting or taking teams to the big dance, is just across the state-line in Charleston…this loyal bulldog would suggest we look toward Bobby Cremins to bring us back. He is not only a great coach and motivator, he is an outstanding person. Come on…tink outside the box! Loyal Dawg
By The Old Man
February 5, 2009 4:03 PM | Link to this
The bad UGA basketball team is all the fault of George W. Bush.
Only our Messiah Obama can fix it.
Everything written by anyone on the staff of the AJC is scriptural truth, without any error.
Pass me some more Kool-Aid please.
By MrDan
February 5, 2009 5:26 PM | Link to this
My my my. What a mess. Maybe UGA should ask congress and the messiah for bailout money. Everyone else is.
By Dr. P.
February 5, 2009 8:16 PM | Link to this
Adams was on his way in when Tubby was leaving, and Adams probably didn’t have anything to do with Tubby’s replacement. But Adams gave us his old friend, Harrick, although Harrick was not a choice of the search process or of AD, Dooley. We know about Harrick, and we know what happened to Dooley. Adams then picked Felton, who is a decent guy, but not a great coach. And, Adams will undoubtedly pick the next coach, after paying 1.5 million to make Felton disappear. That amount is meaningless to Adams. Remember, Georgia paid $500,000 for Adams’ desk. (I hope that we we finally get rid of him, he doesn’t take it with him.) A few years ago, amid Adams’ financial misdoings, the School of Arts and Science gave him a 73% no confidence vote. He is as arrogant as the ex governor of IL, but there is nothing anyone can do to get rid of him. As long as Adams entertains Sonny Perdue and state legislators at football games, we can expect more of the same. But, there will be no winning basketball program during Adams’ tenure. Winning coaches tend not to be puppets and yes men.
By Jordy
February 6, 2009 9:08 AM | Link to this
I am not so sure that Coach Felton should be the one to blame for “running” off players. If anyone knows how the Athletic Department works, it is their rules that govern who stays and who goes. Coach Felton did not make a good player have to forego 3 games because he missed an academic advisor meeting - that was the athletic advisor that Coach Felton did not even interview. Not to mention that the player did not even know he had an advisor meeting. Nor is it that Coach Felton is that inflexible. If one knew how the process works you would know that when the basketball team, which plays a lot of games sometimes in the same week, gets in at 1:00 am, even though Coach Felton might ask if they can move their morning study time back an hour so they can get some sleep, he is told no.
Moreover, there is a bit of hypocrisy in the entire enterprise. We want a “good” man who helps develop these young players into young “men” but if they lose, forget it. Throw someone under the bus. Maybe there was some inflexibility, but I think it might have been a bit on both sides rather than on one.
So the problems may be a bit more complicated than they appear, and the responsibility may need to be partitioned out a bit more.
By Lane
February 6, 2009 9:54 AM | Link to this
NO KNIGHT NO THANK YOU!!!
By Lane
February 6, 2009 9:59 AM | Link to this
Consider Sam Mitchell, good guy - Georgia Native -Mercer Grad - played in the NBA - Coached in the NBA
Not to shabby
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/222/story/604710.html