Metro Atlanta key area for UGA's Fox

By Mike Tierney

For the AJC

Let's start with a word-association test.

University of Georgia men's basketball.

Underachieving? Off-the-radar? Ill-fated?

Whatever image the Bulldogs convey, especially to the high school set, they have brought in a new Mr. Fix-it to, well, fix it. Coach Mark Fox's first task is to persuade teens such as Jelan Kendrick that UGA is A-OK as a destination for hoops prodigies.

"It's a team that's on the way up," said Kendrick, a senior at Wheeler High and the fertile state's premier prospect, whose list of at least a dozen schools includes Georgia. "I believe the future is bright."

At the same time, Kendrick noted some common perceptions among peers.

About fans' support: "They're hesitant, in a way. It's centered around the football program."

About the school: "Are they going to look out for me like they do the football players?"

About some players leaving early because of academics, disciplinary violations and arrests under previous coach Dennis Felton: "You go there as a basketball player, you might not come out" in good stead.

Observers concur that righting USS Bulldog begins with luring recruits, particularly from metro Atlanta. In recent years, only two widely coveted players -- standout sophomore Trey Thompkins and long-gone Mike Mercer -- have taken the road to Athens.

"Talent cures all," said Dominique Wilkins, the Hawks' vice president of basketball and UGA's most accomplished player ever. "We just need to get a couple of key ones."

Georgia was in the mix last year for Derrick Favors -- in the lead for a while, believes Dave Telep, national recruiting analyst for Scout.com -- but the NBA-ready marvel from South Atlanta High landed at Georgia Tech, as so many homegrowns do.

"I love Georgia," Favors said on the night he committed. "I wanted to play in the ACC."

Blue-chipper Noel Johnson of Fayette County High had two chances to sign with Georgia -- before he chosen USC, then after the Trojans liberated him from a letter-of-intent. This time, he chose Clemson.

"He gave Georgia consideration," said his father, Lynbert "Cheese" Johnson, a former NBA player. "It was all positive."

The bright lights of the ACC -- America's foremost league in most seasons, whose games are aired as often as "Seinfeld" reruns -- can be blinding to youngsters, keeping the SEC out of their sights.

"Georgia is hurt by the ACC, to a degree," Telep said. Echoed Jerry Meyer, Telep's counterpart at Rivals.com, "Players really value the ACC."

Telep said Fox and his staff must cultivate relationships in the A-T-L, no overnight feat.

"You just can't walk into a place like Atlanta," he said. "It's a hub for prospects ... a shared area. All kinds of leagues have charged in there."

Said Meyer, "I think [Fox] faces an uphill battle" short-term.

But it's a winnable battle, he continued. "It just makes sense for the University of Georgia to lock down the metropolitan Atlanta area."

Some lookers-on contend UGA fell back in the line for Atlantans because the previous staff did not cozy up to the summer-league AAU coaches who wield influence in recruiting.

The Bulldogs plucked regularly from ripe Atlanta during Hugh Durham's 17 seasons as coach, the last ending in 1995.

"One of the things that makes Georgia such a quality job is there are so many prospects in the state," Durham, now retired, said while voicing optimism. "Everything centers around [getting] players."

Easier said than done in Atlanta, said Tubby Smith, Durham's successor at Georgia.

"Any major city that's easily accessible by plane, that's the challenge for a Georgia," said Smith, who mines the metro area today as Minnesota's coach.

Jarvis Hayes of the Washington Wizards, a native Atlantan drafted out of UGA in 2003, grew silent when asked about the big-city conundrum.

"You've got my tongue tied on that," he said.

Hayes had plenty to say about the notion that hoop guys arrive in Athens and are regarded as inferior to UGA football players, labeling it hogwash.

"I never felt like I was playing second fiddle," he said.

Seconded Wilkins, "I was treated very, very well there."

He is baffled that young players gravitate toward the marquee schools.

"I could have gone to UCLA, North Carolina," he said. "You can go [to Georgia] and create your own identity. I didn't want to be compared to anybody."

UGA's smallish Stegeman Coliseum (capacity 10,523), opened in 1964, suffers by comparison, but a newly unveiled $30 million practice palace is eye-popping.

"It's beautiful," said Hayes, who took a course at UGA in the spring. Which is more than he can say for Stegeman -- "it's a little old, but nice."

To Wilkins, the practice gym "is unbelievable." Durham described it as attractive as any.

"It would be difficult to say there's not a commitment to basketball at Georgia," he said.

The Bulldogs' most recent All-American was Alec Kessler in 1990. They were last ranked in the top 25 six years ago. They've won one NCAA tournament game this decade. Fan support is fickle at a place that worships football through good times and bad.

Ex-coaches and players, in Georgia's favor, point to other SEC campuses where both sports thrive, and Fox himself considers football an asset.

"I think their tradition helps me," he said. To argue otherwise "doesn't make sense to me."

Regarding a turnaround, Smith said, "It's going to take time, but I think they can, and I think they will. They have the resources in place."

Hayes lauds Fox as "the perfect guy for the job" with obvious communication skills. Telep grades him highly as a talent evaluator.

Now all he must do is steer four- and five-star prospects his way, most notably those from fruit-bearing metro Atlanta.

"A good league, a chance to get to the NBA, an education," Fox said. "You can get everything you need just down the road."