UGA hoops players practice with new coach

Athens — Looking very much the part of Georgia basketball coach in black shorts and red shirt emblazoned with a “G,” Mark Fox had his new team on the practice court for the first time Wednesday afternoon.

In a one-hour session that Fox termed a “mini-practice,” the Bulldogs’ new boss strode enthusiastically around the court, frequently offering tips and corrections to the players he inherited when he took the job last week.

“Initial impression is that it looked like the first day in the gym for a while — like a first practice,” Fox said as he left the court.

All members of this past season’s team except the seniors, and those who have announced plans to transfer, participated in the practice. Fox was joined on the court by newly hired assistants Philip Pearson and Kwanza Johnson.

The one-hour practice was devoted mostly to work on fundamentals, with a couple of minutes of full-court play at the end. Under NCAA offseason workout rules, Fox and staff are allowed to be on the court with the players for two hours per week.

“I think this group is ready for some direction,” Fox said, “and our focus right now is on being successful in the classroom, maintaining good citizenship and working to improve as individual players so we can become a team.”