Fox says his first UGA team ‘made an impact'

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

NASHVILLE -- Before his first Georgia team left Bridgestone Arena around midnight Friday, headed for the offseason, coach Mark Fox thanked the group for starting the process of rebuilding the UGA program.

"I just told them," Fox said, "that they have made an impact on Georgia basketball, that they have given us some momentum forward and earned some respect back for our program, and that I will always be appreciative of that."

The Bulldogs' season ended with a 78-66 loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC tournament quarterfinals Friday night. The loss left the Dogs with a 14-17 overall record, which is off the radar for NCAA or NIT postseason bids. Fox said the record won't justify even a bid to a third-tier tournament such as the fledgling College Basketball Invitational.

Fox was trying to keep his disappointment in perspective.

"I'm upset we lost. I didn't plan on losing," he said. But "I am proud of this team because when I came here everybody kept telling me how terrible we were. And I don't think we necessarily were a great basketball team, but we beat some people that maybe we weren't supposed to beat."

Victories over as many as five NCAA tournament-bound teams -- Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida and Illinois -- fueled the rebuilding process. Four home games sold out, which was four more than in the previous season. Travis Leslie made huge strides as a player, punctuated by a career-high 34-point performance Friday. Trey Thompkins made first-team All-SEC, the first UGA player to do so in seven years.

But the season also showed how far there is to go.

The Bulldogs again finished last in the SEC East. They went 0-11 in opponents' arenas. Fox still needs to break through in recruiting.

The most immediate issue is whether the team's best player, sophomore Thompkins, will return next season or enter the NBA draft.

Thompkins remains noncommittal, insisting he put the issue out of his mind during the season. Fox said he'll meet with Thompkins and his family soon to "discuss what his future will be."

Thompkins had two games at opposite extremes in the SEC tournament -- 24 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Arkansas but only 13 points (none in the first half) and five rebounds in the loss to Vanderbilt.

Leslie has said he plans to forgo the NBA draft and return for his junior season, although he also has said it's something to talk over with his family.

One player Fox is excited about adding to the mix next season is guard Gerald Robinson Jr., who impressed in practice while sitting out this season as a transfer from Tennessee State. Fox said Robinson will provide "speed and quickness we don't have right now. ...  I do think we'll have a chance to open the throttle a little more."

This was the first losing season of Fox's coaching career -- his five Nevada teams averaged 24.6 wins -- and yet uplifting in its own way.

"You know, Dennis Felton should be credited for recruiting good young men," Fox said of the former Georgia coach. "These are good kids who, when I walked in, were very receptive to everything I asked them to do.

"One of the things we felt this team could do was improve the entire year, and we feel we did that. ... Certainly, we had some deficiencies in some areas that we have to address, but this group was very competitive and driven to be a good basketball team. And I told them I respected their efforts."