Mark Fox Earned His Extension and Pay Raise
By John Buhler
I’m pumped that Mark Fox received his new contract extension and pay raise from AD Greg McGarity this week. Fox has guided a long downtrodden basketball program to three 20-win seasons and two NCAA Tournament berths in his first six seasons in Athens. His Georgia Bulldogs men’s team has been a top four team in the SEC the last two seasons. Mark Fox is building his program the right way through player development, recruitment and in-game execution.
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The SEC sent five teams to the Tournament this past spring. And with four more great coaches joining Alabama (Avery Johnson), Florida (Michael White), Mississippi State (Ben Howland) and Tennessee (Rick Barnes), it was wise of McGarity to keep Fox in Athens as the SEC might be well on its way to being a very deep basketball conference.
It’s not easy building a winning program after decades of perpetual mediocrity. Mark Fox has done just that for the Dawgs and Athenians have taken notice. During SEC play, I have never seen Stegeman Coliseum as energized as it was in 2014-15. After nearly pulling off what would have been the biggest upset in Men’s College Hoops this winter versus #1 Kentucky at home, I realized that Mark Fox had built Georgia’s Men’s Program to relevancy. Going down to the wire with UK does wonders for both recruiting and fandom. Fox is doing great work in winning over a football school to like hoops, too.
Sure, his UGA resume may not look as impressive from an outsider’s vantage point. But Mark Fox has completely changed the culture of Georgia Men’s basketball. Going into 2015-16, Fox’s team led by a three-headed monster backcourt of JJ Frazier, Kenny Gaines, and Charles Mann look to get back into the Tournament with another 20 win season for the Georgia Bulldogs. If wings Juwan Parker and Kenny Paul Geno stay healthy and Yante Maten continues to develop in the low post, Coach Fox’s Dawgs might even find themselves ranked at some point next year.
Congratulations once again, Coach Fox. You’ve done the hard part in winning us over. Keep up the good work. I can’t wait for Georgia basketball to get here this winter. Dawgs on top!