Donovan and the Gators had issued a statement that he would be staying at Florida before Gillispie's termination press conference was over.
"In response to the rumors circulating about my interest in other jobs, I wanted to address this as quickly as possible," Donovan said in a statement e-mailed by the school he works for in Gainesville. "I am committed to the University of Florida and look forward to continuing to build our program here."The impact for UGA? I got the sense that Grant was viewed as a solid Plan B in Athens if a home run hire wasn't available. Now, Damon will swing for the fences without a safety net. Let's hope for the best.
PWD
64 comments:
So, who else is courting/will court Anderson now? Kentucky? Or are we the lone suitor? Seems like with Bama taking Grant, we're in better position to vie for Anderson.
I agree wtfdawg. Bama could toss around similar money as UGA. It seems like they took our plan B, but that was one less compatitor to take our Plan A guy. I am excited about this announcement.
I hope Grant is a disaster at Bama. May they rot.
/still bitter about the screwjob in Tuscaloosa in '07
I have stated this time and time again on this site and to anyone that will listen: Mike Anderson will not be the next hoops coach at UGA! Why leave a program that YOU created and turned into a desirable spot for a less desirable program? Apparently you can recruit in Missouri, the have a better gym to play in, oh, and an Elite 8 (at the very least) on your resume. Damon Evans to Mike Anderson:
Coach, we really need you in the Classic City to head the Dawgs! I know our team currently lacks any reasonable D-I talent. And yes, our gym is the worst in the SEC. No, we do not have any fan support what-so-ever. Did I mention you will ALWAYS play second fiddle to the football program, and at times the baseball team? We do have a truck full of money! So, what do you think?
KY may have money but I can't see many guys wanting that job after seeing Gillespie get the axe after two years. That's not even enough time for your guys to take over unless you recruit one-and-done NBA jumpers.
You're going to more time in Athens. If you don't take KY to the SEC title game first year you're on the hot seat with the fans.
As I said earlier, you most be
bat-ass crazy if you think Anderson is heading to Athens. Why in the world would he leave an Elite 8 school for an Elite 107 school? I will eat my shoe if Mike Anderson is our next head hoops coach!
You people need to Dawg the hell up and demand excellence from all UGA sports programs. For crying out loud.
Hobnail_Boot, it has nothing to do with demanding excellence, but everyting to do with realism. What logical reason would bring Anderson to Athens to coach our men's squad vs. that of Mizzou's hoops squad? If this were baseball, football, golf etc., then start looking for homes in Athens. But you are asking an Elite 8 coach to come here. That is like asking a high school state champion winning coach to leave his school and help rebuilt a middle school team. We have to be realistic!
There is a huge difference between an Elite 8 program and an Elite 8 coach.
Missouri has the coach...but, they are hardly and Elite 8 Program.
Why would he come to UGA? Easy. UGA's potential is much, much higher than Mizzou's (and has deeper pockets, to boot). The Atlanta-area recruiting alone is better than anything Missouri has to offer.
More and more it's looking like Bob Knight.
Mizzou can live off of St. Louis much like we can live off of Atlanta. Anderson created the Mizzou program. He has put his personal stamp on that school. Why leave now when you have things rolling? This move makes zero sense. Damon will have to come up with Plan C.
Realism...?? Try mucho dinero. As has been pointed out by this blog and other sources, Mizzou can't "compete" with our resources. Hell they can't even compete with our talent rich state.
I won't go so far as to say 50-60% more money will lure him to Athens, but I'd be willing to bet my entire student loan it gets him to the table. Read over his recent comments.
We're competing against UVa, 'Zona and UK at this point. Two of those will shoot for bigger names, at least out of the gate. The other (UVa) has the facilities but not the $$ to compete with Evans.
This is far from a done deal, but Evans is putting us in a position of power, not weakness. Optimism, not pessimism.
St. Louis recruiting is good, but not in the same stratosphere as Atlanta. The Atlanta-area recruiting talent is second to none...look at the numbers.
Suggesting otherwise reeks of ignorance.
Bernie, have you forgotten a/b Searles & Rodney so soon? Money isn't everything & will not be enough incentive to bring Mike Anderson to Athens. He's happy there, his family is settled, he's now a rock star success w/ an assload of potential for next year. 2 Mil isn't enough to lure him away from all of that, LMAO!What a stupid argument. Get real folks & take off your red & black Disney Goggles.
To you guys calling Missouri an "elite 8 program," you clearly don't know what you're talking about. Missouri before this year hadn't even been to the NCAA tourney since the 2002 season, and hasn't won their conference since 1992. In fact, Missouri has only been to the elite 8 twice in the past 30 years (and only 3 sweet 16 appearances in that time). To call them "an elite 8 program" is beyond a stretch.
Mike Anderson took over a problem rocked by a scandal that Quinn Johnson left there and it took him 3 years to get it into the tourney. Sound familiar? Yeah, sounds like the guy we should have hired to replace Felton in the first place.
Anon - Anonymity must be comforting, but this time read my comment in its entirety...
The money will be enough to get him to the table if you read his comments. Besides, right now I'm perfectly comfortable in my Disney goggles.
And who knows, with a confident, successful AD like Evans (who's very eager to make a big splash in his first real hire) my Disney goggles may be in better focus than your old bi-focals.
Good. Now Alabama is out of the way. They can have plan B.
My guess is UK won't turn to a Nolan Richardson disciple like Mike Anderson. Quite a few of them seem much more enamored with Calipari or even former player Travis Ford.
Question: what comes to mind when you think of the AUBURN basketball program? Nothing/Total crap. Guess what UGA is at that level or lower.
Guys, I'm a dawg fanatic like you but get real, our program and rep is awful. Why on earth do we think we'll get some big time coach??? It's like Vandy thinking they'll land Nick Saban. It ain't happening.
Well in that case let's call Felton and get him back. Seeing as how there is no hope for improvement, we might as well use our $2 million dollars to give Felton a raise and just suck it up.
Seriously, some of you need to get with the program. If we had wanted to settle for less, we would have offered Anthony Grant. Clearly we're aiming higher. You all need to get on board, because changing this program is going to take a change in attitude in the fans as well. And your attitudes stink.
So now we're Vandy? Good Lord man, you have no clue what you're talking about on this one.
Forget the fact that Stegeman is crappy looking from the outside, players don't give a rip what the gym looks like from the street. Our facilities campus wide are magnificent. To argue otherwise just shows that you haven't seen them.
Our recruiting base is one of the richest in the country. We have a ton of money to throw around. We have a young, highly motivated AD who is dying to make a big splash and put his imprint on the school.
Florida has won back to back titles in basketball this decade. If you think that Florida has some advantage over us in facilities or recruiting you are nuts. Their advantage is Billy Donovan. Plain and simple. We need our Billy Donovan and Damon is determined to get us one.
Why do you think no offers have been made public? Why do you think that no one has seen coaches coming or going from Athens in the past week or so? Its very simple, our next coach is still playing ball right now.
Did anything negative happen when Mizzou came to Athens this year? Would there have been anything that would have given Anderson a bad vibe from Athens? Was anyone there?
I'm hoping the pitchfork wielding UK fans are so jaded with the Gillespie era that they focus exclusively on bringing in "one of their own" (Ford).
As for the Dawg fans doubting the attractiveness of the basketball coaching job, consider this:
1. The idea that colleges can only be football or basketball schools is worn out and overblown. UF is deemed a football school, but Donovan showed that he isn't too bothered being the perceived second fiddle by passing up a job at one of the most historic basketball schools in the nation. Yes, if a program is getting overlooked (Dooley era), I can understand a coach being disenchanted with the job. HOWEVER, UGA just built a top notch practice facility and all reports indicate that Evans is willing to do whatever it takes to get basketball back on track. This is evidence in the alleged amount of money Evans is willing to drop on the right coach.
2. If you want to play the Basketball School or Football School card, then Missouri is obviously more of a Basketall School than UGA. HOWEVER, you are blind or lying to yourself if you believe that Georgia is a less attractive job than Mizzou. Georgia has the fans to support a winner or a team that at least shows promise. Even during the mediocre Felton years, the Steg filled up for big games when the team played well. Winning brings fan support, not the other way around. UGA fans are waiting to support a quality product. As for Anderson's situation at Missouri, Anon 11:37 is right in pointing out that Missouri has a Elite 8 coach, not a traditional Elite 8 team. Missouri is going to be second fiddle to KU. Since joining the Big 12, the Tigers have finished 10th, 5th, 2nd, 6th, 6th, 6th, 5th, 6th, 8th, 11th, 6, 10, 3rd... hardly a conference power house. With Kentucky in turmoil, the SEC is ripe for the taking. Anderson's son is graduating this year. This is the highest Anderson's stock will ever be. St. Louis is great, but it's not comparing to Atlanta. As PWD pointed out earlier in the blog, 5.7% of the players in the tourney are from the state of Georgia despite zero Georgia teams making the tournament. Heck, one of Missouri's best players went to Wheeler HS (Tiller). It can't be stated enough: the recruiting grounds are fertile in Georgia, we just need someone to till it.
Cliff Notes version: If the right coach takes the lead, whether that is Anderson or not, Georgia has the potential to take off.
With all that being said, I can't imagine Missouri letting Anderson go if the team makes it to the Final Four. It would just look bad if Missouri reaches that point and loses their coach. However, it might get to a point where Missoui can't fiscally retain Anderson's services.
maybe you should look into getting a new baseball too since you lost to wright state. clearly you deserved to be number 1 in baseball about as much as you did in football. also alabama has now beaten you in football, basketball, baseball, and the most sucessful sport at uga, gymnastics. don't worry though there is always tennis...
Hey Anon 3:43, I guess that Alabama is CLEARLY not as good a program in Football as Louisiana-Monroe, since they a$$-raped the Sabanites last season? Right? Right?
Evans can beat this: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4023021
Tear down the colliseum and cancel basketball. Use the savings to build an indoor football practice facility.
We have to leave the SEC if we cut basketball.
Folks, quit being dumbarses with comments like that.
And Quinn Johnson, Quinn Snyder....never let accuracy get in the way of a rant.
re: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4023021
I'll see your $1.3 mil and raise you, sir.
Ability to recognize humor is a sign of intelligence.
Dumbarse!!
Quit taking yourselves so serious.
Even if UK does not go after Anderson and hires Ford, we will have to compete with stillwater for Anderson. I like our shot, but all that oil money is going to raise the price.
It may take a promise to build a NEW basketball arena
Man, we really need Mizzou to lose today, or else we really might be stuck with Bobby Knight or something worse.
Jerry Tarkanian isn's doing anything right now.
Terry Stotts is an NBA assistant.
Hell, I am sure that Ron Jirsa is available.
If we do not get our top guy, we might as well hire one of the others I mentioned and pay them about $300k a year.
First, those of you claiming that Mike Anderson built the program at Mizzou are apparently younger than I am. Norm Stewart coached there for-fricking-ever, and won the Big 8 8 times and the Big 8 tournament 6 times. Yes, they were their day's version of Wake Forest with their annual tournament flops, but Stewart took them to their only previous two Elite 8's, and had them in the rankings- often high in them- perpetually. Only after Stewart got Fulmered out and then flavor of the month Quinn Snyder got lured into town did the program really fall on hard times.
Second- those of you claiming that UGA never CAN be a great hoops program simply because they have never been so consistently in the past, ask yourselves this- Where was Texas before they decided they were serious about roundball and hired Rick Barnes? What about Florida and Kruger? What about Arizona pre-Lute?
A program with resources, natural and fiscal, such as ours and an AD who is deadly serious about bringing those resources to bear in hoops should never accept anything less than the best, and should never let the limitations of others' perceptions dictate what they can or hope to achieve.
Third, for the wise-arses looking for intriguing Plan B candidates, here's a serious one for you that might be just crazy enough to work- P.J. Carlesimo. He was one hell of a college coach before getting lured away by NBA money and is available. I never thought he was a fit in the NBA in the first place, and am shocked he's been banging his head against that wall for so long after it became so painfully obvious that it wasn't going to work, especially when it's equally painfully obvious what a good college coach he can be. It sure wouldn't hurt to check his temperature at least as a fallback. I bet he'd work for cheaper than Mike Anderson even would, though MA is still my preference.
I'm sure I'm going to get hammered for suggesting this, but a really solid Plan B candidate would be to look into Greg Marshall at Wichita State. Marshall coached at Winthrop for nine years and turned them into perennial NCAA teams that beat ACC schools on occasion, and inherited absolutely nothing at WSU after Mark Turgeon left for Texas A & M--in a new region sans connections, Marshall had to scramble just to put a team on the floor at all, it was so bereft.
But here's the thing: I have watched the guy build this program, and he is a damn good coach. After a year of struggles with a rag-tag bunch and a terrible start with several new players this year, they turned it around mid-season and are primed, with his 2008 and 2009 recruits, to win the MVC and make the NCAAs again in 2010. I predict Marshall will be on people's radar in 2010, and he is much more than a flavor of the month...plus he is from the South and knows the territory.
But that's only if a higher-profile coach does not work out, of course. I absolutely second RC's comments about shooting as high as possible.
Coach Calipari from U of Memphis? I think his system and recruits work well in C-USA. I don't know how well they would be at UGA. Any thoughts?
Someone commented earlier that Grant was put off by something our search firm did. Can anyone corroborate this info and give more details?
S, Calipari is one of the slimiest guys in one of the slimiest businesses on earth. There is no way we would even look at him.
hey anon 6:49, you must be refering to the 2007 season which was two years and i hardly call 7 points and ass raping. now if you want to talk about last year, let me remind you of the beatdown you suffered at the hands of alabama during the almighty "blackout"
41-30
Calipari? Seriously? Why don't we just bring the Harricks back?
In any event, UGA needs to reach deep into the pockets for this hire. The guy ranting above about how there's no way Anderson would come to UGA is ignoring the allure of the almighty dollar. Mizzou's athletic department is not in great financial state; UGA's is. If I'm Damon Evans, I'm going all out for Anderson. Put money on the table he cannot ignore.
Yes, the tradition at UGA in basketball is almost non-existent, but Florida and Texas, schools with similar resources and a football-first mindset, didn't let a lack of history prevent them from becoming elite basketball programs. UGA has that potential, but has to put its money where its mouth is.
Cooper,
When we hired Hugh Durham away from FSU, he was only a few years removed from taking the Noles to the NCAA Finals against Wooden and Walton after beating Rupp in the Final Four.
It's not the same, but we were lower on the totem pole than FSU.
We may not get Anderson. BUT he's from the Southeast. Missouri can't pay him what we can pay him. Atlanta does have a deeper talent pool than St. Louis.
PWD
If I had to guess, what rubbed Grant the wrong way about our search firm/process is that he learned he wasn't our top target.
That's also why I think Anderson is. If there ever seemed to be a match made in heaven it was Anderson to Bama. I think the reason Mal Moore moved on to their Plan B (Grant) so expeditiously is that his own feelers reported back that Anderson didn't love Bama as much as Bama loved him.
What is it about anon posters that they have to be so negative? And, they always know so much! Come up with a fake name, keep it, that way we can all record your fandom. Thanks.
Money. Ever heard of it? It talks. Bull$hit walks. Guess what we've got a crap ton of? That's right! MONEY. Is it not clear to some of you Einsteins that Damon is going to spend some of it on basketball? Dooley, thankfully, isn't the AD anymore and hoops won't have to be the step-child to football.
I think we passed on Grant because we didn't want to have to rely on Billy Donovan's decision-making to know we had a freaking coach. And for that, I give due credit to Damon Evans.
Ya'll can go on hating, I'm going to do what every good Dawg should and be a team player. (Not that what I or anyone here thinks matters to anyone but ourselves.)
Can we cool it with the sky is falling statements on Anthony Grant. We didn't screw anything up, he just wasn't our first choice. Just because some of you guys have heard his name before it doesn't mean he should be our first choice. Damon has chosen to wait it out and pursue our first choice, whomever that may be. Grant wan't that guy. That we've not formally talked to anyone at this juncture can only be taken as a good sign, given who is left in the tournament.
All this talk about Anderson, and I like him as well. As mentioned, it seems to be logical that our #1 target(s) is/are still playing ball. Not that I don't like Anderson, but what happened to any talk about Capel? Is he completely out of the picture now? Was he never in it? Interested to hear thoughts on him as well now that all the spotlight has seemed to turn to MA.
IT appears that a large majority of you guys believe we can pay Anderson to leave a program he has built/rebuilt. Can we also pay for the roll that program is currently on? How about the recruiting juice Mizzou now has? Money is not everything to everyone. There is no indication what-so-ever that he is interested this becoming OUR next HC. Stop for 10 seconds and think logically about Anderson to Athens. I simply see no path that leads him to the red and black. What we need is a proven HC at a smaller school that has the ability to sell our program, not only to recruits, but also to the fans. Until we have some juice behind our hoops program, we have no shot at any big time name. Be logical in your thought process. GO DAWGS!
Whatever, CooperDawg. PWD las already listed numerous examples of coaches who left established programs for lesser ones. It also has been established that Missouri is not a program with an outstanding history.
What YOU are underestimating is that Anderson is from Alabama and coached in the SEC a long time as well as at UAB. You don't know how his family feels about living in the Midwest when they spent so long in the south; you don't know what it might mean to a coach to run an established program in the region he calls home.
Then, there's the fact that UGA's facilities and recruiting potential are top-notch even is the program has not won. We all know it's been the lack of AD support and good coaching that caused that.
So while your point may have some merit...It's Missouri, not Carolina. He's only been there three years.
Now that Mizzou is out...I was for them to beat the UConn toughs but really, we got what we needed: a close loss.
Get to work, Damon.
Should be interesting to see what the next 24 hrs. bring. Methinks this board is going to go apoplectic if we don't land Anderson. Unrealized expectations can be tough. See: football season, 2008.
There's no reason to expect we'll land Anderson or anyone else. But there is an expectation that we don't nibble on the edges.
That we take a bite into something meaningful. That we reach for the stars.
When you start in the middle, you end up with less.
If we have to end up with a mid-major or a less well known guy. Ok. Fine.
But to start there. Screw that. We either have $2 million to spend on this hire or we don't. If we do, then you don't start the search with Anthony Grant.
I wonder if Grant would have chosen UGA had that blog report from (TotalUGA????) came out that SportsComm had to shoot down?
PWD,
Agreed. I think that's just the attitude we need to approach this hire.
PWD - Reading the majority of the posts, one would believe Anderson is already on 316 heading to Athens. The point I want to stress to others is simply to be logical in their thought process. Logically, given Anderson's current situation and team status, UGA is not the right fit. Yes, I would love to land him, or Coach K, or Roy Williams, but none fit our current situation.
A relative to Nick Saban told me today that Mike Anderson will be the next coach at UGA.
We may not get Anderson, but we are sure as hell going to try.
He wants to play 10 seep, no better place in the country to recruit for that type of system.
The only thing we lack is an "Atlanta University Center" or FAMU nearby. But even that situation is much better than it was 10 years ago. No worse than Columbia, MO.
Columbia, MO is the same distance from KX & STL as Athens is to Atlanta. Their arena may look better from the outside, but we are changing that. Inside and practice facilty are nothing to sneeze at.
We have every reason to be optimistic.
Cooper, we're disagreeing with your logic. How the hell do you know who fits and who doesn't any more than the rest of us?
Is it just me or has UGA screwed themself by not grabbing Grant before Bama did?
Jack, it's just you.
If we are arguing about going to the top we should go for Tom Izzo or Steve Fisher or Ben Howland. But then again I have no idea what I am talking about.
Capel makes $1.05 mil, and Anderson was just offered a pay increase from $850k to $1.3 mil. If Evans is willing to spend $2 mil+ like he says, why do you naysayers think we can't get one of them? If someone offered you a job making nearly twice as much as you do right now, wouldn't you at least think about it?
Are there actually people out there who think that we shouldn't at least pursue a top-notch coach? Really? We can at list slip them the Check Yes or No sheet in 3rd period. What's the worse that happens? They check the No box? I say swing for the fences.
Anon 1:25. A few things. Yes, he makes 1.05 million right now but each year Capel stays at oklahoma he gets a 100K raise. His contract is for 6 years so he will make 1.65 million at the end of his current contract. However, i would expect his contract to be redone again after the season.
Anon 12:16, did you really say Steve Fisher, the guy who got forced out at Michigan 10+ years ago?
PWD - Is this the most commented aricle that you have blogged? I can't remember any other article reaching the 60+ comments.
I'm calling that I called it, or at least if somebody else said first, I agreed with it. :)
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4026035
Calipari to UK.
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