UGA Sports Communications
Tom Crean, who for nearly two decades has regularly led his basketball teams to national rankings and postseason bids, has been named head coach of the Georgia Dawgs. Greg McGarity, Georgia’s J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics, announced the hiring on Thursday.
“Tom Crean is one of the most successful coaches in college basketball over the past two decades,” McGarity said. “His teams have consistently been participants in postseason play, and his players have been extremely successful in the classroom. He’s going to be a great fit for the University of Georgia. I’m extremely excited to have him leading Georgia Basketball into the future and to welcome his family into the Dawg Nation.”
“I am honored an humbled to join the University of Georgia family,” Crean said. “I am sincerely grateful to President Morehead and Greg McGarity for an incredible opportunity. Make no mistake, this is a basketball program inside of a great university that can compete for championships doing it the right way. We will work diligently and with great energy to make everyone associated with the University of Georgia very proud of our efforts. We’re going to need everyone in the Dawg Nation to help us to create the energy and excitement that will take Georgia to the highest levels of success.”
Crean compiled a 356-231 record in 18 seasons at Marquette and Indiana from 1999-2017. His teams have reached postseason play during 13 of those campaigns, with nine NCAA appearances and four NIT bids. Crean led Marquette to the 2003 NCAA Final Four and has reached four Sweet 16s at Marquette and Indiana. All told, Crean’s teams have been ranked in the Associated Press and/or USA Today polls during 12 seasons, including top-10 finishes in 2003 and 2013.
Individually, Crean has coached eight players who have won All-America honors. All 52 seniors to play for Crean during his head coaching career have earned a degree.
Most recently at Indiana, Crean inherited a program with only one returning player, pending NCAA probation and scholarship restrictions due to poor academic performances. He compiled a 166-135 record from 2008-17. Indiana was 28-66 in his first three seasons before compiling a 138-69 mark in his final six years in Bloomington, including a pair of outright Big Ten Championships in 2013 and 2016. Indiana was ranked in each of those last six campaigns, including 11 weeks at No. 1 during 2012-13. Crean was voted Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2016, the same season he was a finalist for Naismith National Coach of the Year honors. Three Hoosiers earned All-America honors under Crean – Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell (2016), Cody Zeller (2013) and Victor Oladipo (2013).
Crean inherited a program faced with reduced scholarships due to a deficient APR score. Four years later, the Hoosiers sported a perfect score of 1000 and maintained that mark for four years.
Crean served as head coach at Marquette from 1999-2008, leading the program to the 2003 Final Four and four more NCAA bids. Marquette also participated in three NITs under Crean and reached the 2004 quarterfinals. Marquette obtained AP top-25 rankings during six of Crean’s last seven seasons in Milwaukee, including final rankings of No. 9 in 2003, No. 12 in 2002, No. 20 in 2007 and No. 25 in 2008.
Crean was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in both 2002 and 2003, with Dwayne Wade earning Player of the Year honors in 2003 as well. Three Marquette players earned All-America accolades under Crean – Wade (2002 & 2003), Travis Diener (2005) and Dominic James (2007). After Crean departed for Indiana, two of his Marquette players later earned All-America honors – Jerel McNeal in 2009 and Lazar Hayward in 2010.
Crean’s winning ways were well established before he became a head coach. In 10 seasons from 1989-99, Crean was a member of the staffs at Michigan State, Western Kentucky and Pittsburgh. Those squads combined to win four regular-season and two conference tournament titles. They also reached postseason play eight times (five NCAAs and three NITs). The season before assuming the reigns at Marquette, Crean helped Michigan State to a 33-5 finish and the Final Four in 1999.
A native of Mount Pleasant, Mich., Crean graduated from Central Michigan in 1989. Crean is married to the former Joani Harbaugh, and they have three children – Megan (22), Riley (18) and Ainsley (12).
Crean Quick Facts
Full Name: Thomas Aaron Crean
Born: March 25, 1966
Hometown: Mount Pleasant, Mich.
High School: Mount Pleasant ’85
Alma Mater: Central Michigan (Parks & Recreation ’89)
Family: Married to the former Joani Harbaugh and the parents of Megan (22), Riley (18) and Ainsley (12)
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Georgia Track & Field Women Capture First NCAA Team Title In History
UGA Sports Communications
The Georgia women’s track and field team earned UGA its first team national championship at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on Saturday.
Powered by two national individual champions and nine scorers, the Lady Dawgs tallied a program record 61 points to finish in front of Arkansas (49), Kentucky (34) and Florida (32) in the team standings. This marks Georgia’s fifth straight top-three finish at the NCAA indoor meet, including the team’s runner-up finish in 2017.
This is the 43rd overall team titles for the University of Georgia Athletic Association, including the 30th by one of the Georgia women’s teams and the first for any team since women’s swimming and diving title in 2016.
The Georgia men completed the meet with their second-best point total in history (32, trailing their 35.5 from 2017) to take third. Florida (40) and USC (37) were the top two finishers.
Becoming just the second competitor in history to win three NCAA indoor women’s triple jump titles, senior Keturah Orji highlighted the day by traveling the eighth-longest distance in collegiate history of 46 feet, 10 inches to give Georgia its second NCAA individual title of the meet.
The Dawgs had 13 more scorers on Saturday:
- Junior Denzel Comenentia scored in his second event of the weekend, taking sixth in the weight throw.
- Freshman Johannes Erm and senior Karl Saluri combined to score seven points in the heptathlon.
- Senior Cejhae Greene and junior Kendal Williams sped to top-seven finishes in the 60m.
- Another Dawg pair, junior Keenon Laine and sophomore Darius Carbin, were back-to-back finishers in the high jump to finish in the top eight.
- Junior Kate Hall scored in her second event after flying across the line in the women’s 60m.
- Junior Michael Nicholls passed the competition by to score in the 60m hurdles.
- Freshman Tara Davis distinguished herself as a double scorer after scoring in the 60m hurdles in the meet’s second day.
- Freshman Lynna Irby clocked the second-best time of her career to add points in the 400m.
- Orji now owns all of the top eight marks on the collegiate all-time list with her win in the triple jump.
- Irby set up in the sixth lane of the 200m final and gave the Lady Dawgs’ extra cushion with a top-three finish in her second final.
Hall was the first Georgia team member to win a 2018 NCAA individual title after leading the charge on a historic 1-2-3 finish in the women’s long jump. In addition, Orji and Davis (long jump), Comenentia (shot put), sophomore Louisa Grauvogel (pentathlon) and sophomore Jessica Drop (5000m) all finished in one of the top eight scoring spots to score on Friday.
There were also a number of school records that fell. Irby topped her own school record in the 200m during the final, trimming .11 off her top time in Georgia’s last event of the meet. During Friday’s action, Hall set a school record in the long jump and 60m, Davis topped her own UGA record in the 60m hurdles and Irby matched her previous Lady Dawg all-time No. 1 time in the 200m. Also of note, Hall’s 7.98 in the 60m hurdle semifinalist topped the World Junior record.
The Georgia women’s track and field team earned UGA its first team national championship at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on Saturday.
Powered by two national individual champions and nine scorers, the Lady Dawgs tallied a program record 61 points to finish in front of Arkansas (49), Kentucky (34) and Florida (32) in the team standings. This marks Georgia’s fifth straight top-three finish at the NCAA indoor meet, including the team’s runner-up finish in 2017.
This is the 43rd overall team titles for the University of Georgia Athletic Association, including the 30th by one of the Georgia women’s teams and the first for any team since women’s swimming and diving title in 2016.
The Georgia men completed the meet with their second-best point total in history (32, trailing their 35.5 from 2017) to take third. Florida (40) and USC (37) were the top two finishers.
Becoming just the second competitor in history to win three NCAA indoor women’s triple jump titles, senior Keturah Orji highlighted the day by traveling the eighth-longest distance in collegiate history of 46 feet, 10 inches to give Georgia its second NCAA individual title of the meet.
The Dawgs had 13 more scorers on Saturday:
- Junior Denzel Comenentia scored in his second event of the weekend, taking sixth in the weight throw.
- Freshman Johannes Erm and senior Karl Saluri combined to score seven points in the heptathlon.
- Senior Cejhae Greene and junior Kendal Williams sped to top-seven finishes in the 60m.
- Another Dawg pair, junior Keenon Laine and sophomore Darius Carbin, were back-to-back finishers in the high jump to finish in the top eight.
- Junior Kate Hall scored in her second event after flying across the line in the women’s 60m.
- Junior Michael Nicholls passed the competition by to score in the 60m hurdles.
- Freshman Tara Davis distinguished herself as a double scorer after scoring in the 60m hurdles in the meet’s second day.
- Freshman Lynna Irby clocked the second-best time of her career to add points in the 400m.
- Orji now owns all of the top eight marks on the collegiate all-time list with her win in the triple jump.
- Irby set up in the sixth lane of the 200m final and gave the Lady Dawgs’ extra cushion with a top-three finish in her second final.
Hall was the first Georgia team member to win a 2018 NCAA individual title after leading the charge on a historic 1-2-3 finish in the women’s long jump. In addition, Orji and Davis (long jump), Comenentia (shot put), sophomore Louisa Grauvogel (pentathlon) and sophomore Jessica Drop (5000m) all finished in one of the top eight scoring spots to score on Friday.
There were also a number of school records that fell. Irby topped her own school record in the 200m during the final, trimming .11 off her top time in Georgia’s last event of the meet. During Friday’s action, Hall set a school record in the long jump and 60m, Davis topped her own UGA record in the 60m hurdles and Irby matched her previous Lady Dawg all-time No. 1 time in the 200m. Also of note, Hall’s 7.98 in the 60m hurdle semifinalist topped the World Junior record.
Mark Fox Will Not Return
Mark Fox will not return as the head coach of the University of Georgia men’s basketball program, Greg McGarity, UGA’s J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics, announced on Saturday.
Fox is in his ninth season at Georgia, with a record of 163-133. He led the Dawgs to five postseason bids in his first eight years, the 2011 and 2015 NCAA Tournaments and the 2014, 2016 and 2017 NITs.
“Days like today are very difficult, especially when you are talking about someone like Mark Fox,” McGarity said. “We have worked alongside each other for eight seasons, and I have the utmost respect for Mark, his staff, our student-athletes and the support staff. They have always represented the University of Georgia in a professional manner. I know I speak for all Dawgs to say ‘thank you’ to Mark and Cindy for the time and effort they have devoted to the University of Georgia.
“In the end, I felt like we have not reached our full potential as a basketball program. I really thought we were on the way to turning the corner this year. We just did not achieve the level of success as a program that I believe we should at the University of Georgia.
“We will move forward to search for a new head coach. It will be a national search in scope, and we will move as quickly as possible.”
“For the past nine years, we have had the good fortune to coach some terrific young men,” Fox said. “This chapter has closed, and I am grateful to the many who have helped us along the way but especially to the young men who wore the red and black. We’ve been able to reach a couple of NCAA Tournaments, a couple more NITs and graduate our players. Hopefully, our time here can be the groundwork for more success.”
Saturday, February 17, 2018
No. 1 Georgia Tops No. 8 South Carolina
UGA Sports Communications
No. 1 Georgia equestrian defeated No. 8 South Carolina, 12-7, on Saturday afternoon at One Wood Farm.
Highlighting the meet was Bailey Anderson (Horsemanship) and Grace Bridges (Equitation on the Flat) who earned Most Outstanding Performance honors for their rides.
“It’s great to get a win on the road,” head coach Meghan Boenig said. “We put down some really strong rides that saw great scores. I am proud of our MOPs. We handled things better today (compared to last week against Auburn). We’ve made great progress as we head into the rest of the season. There is no taking the foot off the gas.”
Competition began with Reining where the Dawgs (7-1, 4-1 SEC) rode to a 4-1 advantage over the Gamecocks (2-6, 0-5 SEC). Graysen Stroud was Georgia’s high scorer of the event, earning the first point of the day with a 75. Julia Spreng and Annabeth Payne each earned a point with scores of 70 and 73, respectively, before Kyndall Harper closed the event with a 72- 70.5 point for the Dawgs.
The Dawgs and Gamecocks split points in Equitation Over Fences. Maddy Darst led off with a team-high 82 to earn a point for Georgia. South Carolina took the next two points before Ali Tritschler rode to a tie against her opponent with a score of 78. In the anchor position, Addyson Cord rode to a 77 to edge Louisa Brackett’s 76.
Georgia led 6-3 at the half-way point of the meet.
Georgia took a 3-2 advantage in Horsemanship. After South Carolina took the first two points of the event, Stroud rode to a 76-70 win over Caroline Gute. Bailey Anderson followed with an MOP-earning ride that scored a 78.5, before Payton Anderson earned a 77 for her ride and a point for Georgia.
Competition concluded in Equitation on the Flat, claiming three more points. Maddy Darst started the event with an 85-74 win. Bridges followed suit, also scoring an 85 for her ride, and taking home MOP honors. Cord also won her point, 70-66.
Georgia returns to action on March 2 against SMU. Competition is slated to begin at 1 p.m. and the meet will serve as Senior Day.
HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
No. 1 Georgia equestrian defeated No. 8 South Carolina, 12-7, on Saturday afternoon at One Wood Farm.
Highlighting the meet was Bailey Anderson (Horsemanship) and Grace Bridges (Equitation on the Flat) who earned Most Outstanding Performance honors for their rides.
“It’s great to get a win on the road,” head coach Meghan Boenig said. “We put down some really strong rides that saw great scores. I am proud of our MOPs. We handled things better today (compared to last week against Auburn). We’ve made great progress as we head into the rest of the season. There is no taking the foot off the gas.”
Competition began with Reining where the Dawgs (7-1, 4-1 SEC) rode to a 4-1 advantage over the Gamecocks (2-6, 0-5 SEC). Graysen Stroud was Georgia’s high scorer of the event, earning the first point of the day with a 75. Julia Spreng and Annabeth Payne each earned a point with scores of 70 and 73, respectively, before Kyndall Harper closed the event with a 72- 70.5 point for the Dawgs.
The Dawgs and Gamecocks split points in Equitation Over Fences. Maddy Darst led off with a team-high 82 to earn a point for Georgia. South Carolina took the next two points before Ali Tritschler rode to a tie against her opponent with a score of 78. In the anchor position, Addyson Cord rode to a 77 to edge Louisa Brackett’s 76.
Georgia led 6-3 at the half-way point of the meet.
Georgia took a 3-2 advantage in Horsemanship. After South Carolina took the first two points of the event, Stroud rode to a 76-70 win over Caroline Gute. Bailey Anderson followed with an MOP-earning ride that scored a 78.5, before Payton Anderson earned a 77 for her ride and a point for Georgia.
Competition concluded in Equitation on the Flat, claiming three more points. Maddy Darst started the event with an 85-74 win. Bridges followed suit, also scoring an 85 for her ride, and taking home MOP honors. Cord also won her point, 70-66.
Georgia returns to action on March 2 against SMU. Competition is slated to begin at 1 p.m. and the meet will serve as Senior Day.
HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Dribble Dawgs Beat Tennessee
UGA Sports Communications
The Georgia men’s basketball team (15-11, 6-8) out-hustles the No.18 Tennessee Volunteers 73-62 on Saturday night in Stegeman Coliseum.
Senior forward Yante Maten has his 25th double-digit game of the season in addition to being the high scorer with 19. Junior forward Derek Ogbeide notched 16 points and a season-high 11 rebounds to record his second-straight double-double and his ninth double-digit game of the season. Junior guard William Turtle Jackson II, red-shirt senior guard Juwan Parker, and sophomore guard Tyree Crump all inked double-digit games with 10, 10, and 11 respectively.
Georgia increases its win streak against Tennessee to five games and the ranked win marks the Dawgs third of the season. Georgia out-shot the Volunteers 42.6 percent to 34.9 percent, making it the fourth time Georgia’s SEC opponent shot below 35 percent.
"We played very determined,” said head coach Mark Fox. "These kids have been through a lot but being at home and having a great crowd, beautiful crowd, makes a huge difference. We were able to play through fatigue, find that extra gear and effort defensively and that was important."
Tennessee (19-7, 9-5) opened the competition with a jumper by Grant Williams. A pair of free throws from Maten tied the game up shortly after. A huge lay-up from Maten, which drew a Volunteer foul followed by a free throw, gave Georgia its first lead 5-2. The two teams went back and forth several times until a huge three from Maten at the top of the key added to the Dawgs five point run over Tennessee. Two free throws from freshman forward Nicolas Claxton lengthened the Dawgs lead to 21-12. Tennessee fought back from a nine point deficit but was two points shy of tying the game before halftime trailing 28-26.
Coming back to action freshman forward Rayshaun Hammonds posted the first points in the paint. A three by Parker launched Georgia over the 30 point mark, 33-26. A three by Jackson brought Georgia 10 points, 38-28, over the Volunteers. Parker stole the ball and went up for a shot drawing a Tennessee foul in which he converted both free throws to combat a 6-0 Volunteer run. Later in the half, a huge lay-up by Ogbeide drew a Tennessee foul that pushed Georgia into the bonus at 5:33 and the made free throw put Georgia up six at 57-51. This, followed by a Crump three brought the sold-out crowd to its feet. Ogbeide scored his fifth consecutive lay-up for the half bringing the edge to 59-51. Three offensive Georgia rebounds brought the ball to Crump who knocked a three widening the margin to eight. Tennessee foul trouble entered Georgia into the double-bonus and a pair of Maten free throws topped the score at 65-58. Georgia came back to the line five more times with Jackson, Crump, thrice, and Ogbeide scoring a combined eight points for a 13 point lead in the last minute of the game. The Volunteers made their way to the line but it wasn’t enough to topple the Georgia lead. The Dawgs secured victory over the Volunteers 73-62.
From the free throw line, Georgia went 27-for-38 including 10 made free throws in the first half. The 27 made free throws marks the second highest total for Georgia this season. The Volunteers were limited to 10 of 15 from the line.
The Dawgs return to action at South Carolina on Wednesday, February 21, at 6 p.m. in Columbia.
Head Coach Mark Fox
On the keys to tonight's win...
"Our team has had a good week and we had a lot of guys contribute. Derek had a big double-double. Tennessee has a terrific team, we have a lot of respect for them and it was a good win for us.”
On the key to slowing down Tennessee's offense...
"Grant Williams is a great player and having a terrific year and we tried to slow him down. I'm not sure we did great in other places we wanted to, but I thought we did a good enough job on Williams to give us a chance to win."
On answering multiple Tennessee runs..
"I was really proud of our team because we had to answer one time with Yante on the bench. We had a lot of guys chip in. Turtle played well, Tyree had a good second half. They're a good team and you're going to have to answer and we did that."
Senior Forward Yante Maten
On the game...
"We’re a capable team and coach said to not give up so that’s what we’ve got to do every time we play well it it’s going to be a ball game. We’re a good basketball team and we proved that this week now we’re just looking to go to the next game and do the same thing. I think it was more of a we’re a good team, let’s go prove it situation so that’s what we focused on we’ve got to start a roll and get on a winning streak."
Junior Forward Derek Ogbeide
On the game...
We’ve definitely boosted team morale and you know it was much needed, at the end of the season it’s been a quite boost for us.
On his second consecutive double-double…
The Georgia men’s basketball team (15-11, 6-8) out-hustles the No.18 Tennessee Volunteers 73-62 on Saturday night in Stegeman Coliseum.
Senior forward Yante Maten has his 25th double-digit game of the season in addition to being the high scorer with 19. Junior forward Derek Ogbeide notched 16 points and a season-high 11 rebounds to record his second-straight double-double and his ninth double-digit game of the season. Junior guard William Turtle Jackson II, red-shirt senior guard Juwan Parker, and sophomore guard Tyree Crump all inked double-digit games with 10, 10, and 11 respectively.
Georgia increases its win streak against Tennessee to five games and the ranked win marks the Dawgs third of the season. Georgia out-shot the Volunteers 42.6 percent to 34.9 percent, making it the fourth time Georgia’s SEC opponent shot below 35 percent.
"We played very determined,” said head coach Mark Fox. "These kids have been through a lot but being at home and having a great crowd, beautiful crowd, makes a huge difference. We were able to play through fatigue, find that extra gear and effort defensively and that was important."
Tennessee (19-7, 9-5) opened the competition with a jumper by Grant Williams. A pair of free throws from Maten tied the game up shortly after. A huge lay-up from Maten, which drew a Volunteer foul followed by a free throw, gave Georgia its first lead 5-2. The two teams went back and forth several times until a huge three from Maten at the top of the key added to the Dawgs five point run over Tennessee. Two free throws from freshman forward Nicolas Claxton lengthened the Dawgs lead to 21-12. Tennessee fought back from a nine point deficit but was two points shy of tying the game before halftime trailing 28-26.
Coming back to action freshman forward Rayshaun Hammonds posted the first points in the paint. A three by Parker launched Georgia over the 30 point mark, 33-26. A three by Jackson brought Georgia 10 points, 38-28, over the Volunteers. Parker stole the ball and went up for a shot drawing a Tennessee foul in which he converted both free throws to combat a 6-0 Volunteer run. Later in the half, a huge lay-up by Ogbeide drew a Tennessee foul that pushed Georgia into the bonus at 5:33 and the made free throw put Georgia up six at 57-51. This, followed by a Crump three brought the sold-out crowd to its feet. Ogbeide scored his fifth consecutive lay-up for the half bringing the edge to 59-51. Three offensive Georgia rebounds brought the ball to Crump who knocked a three widening the margin to eight. Tennessee foul trouble entered Georgia into the double-bonus and a pair of Maten free throws topped the score at 65-58. Georgia came back to the line five more times with Jackson, Crump, thrice, and Ogbeide scoring a combined eight points for a 13 point lead in the last minute of the game. The Volunteers made their way to the line but it wasn’t enough to topple the Georgia lead. The Dawgs secured victory over the Volunteers 73-62.
From the free throw line, Georgia went 27-for-38 including 10 made free throws in the first half. The 27 made free throws marks the second highest total for Georgia this season. The Volunteers were limited to 10 of 15 from the line.
The Dawgs return to action at South Carolina on Wednesday, February 21, at 6 p.m. in Columbia.
On the keys to tonight's win...
"Our team has had a good week and we had a lot of guys contribute. Derek had a big double-double. Tennessee has a terrific team, we have a lot of respect for them and it was a good win for us.”
On the key to slowing down Tennessee's offense...
"Grant Williams is a great player and having a terrific year and we tried to slow him down. I'm not sure we did great in other places we wanted to, but I thought we did a good enough job on Williams to give us a chance to win."
On answering multiple Tennessee runs..
"I was really proud of our team because we had to answer one time with Yante on the bench. We had a lot of guys chip in. Turtle played well, Tyree had a good second half. They're a good team and you're going to have to answer and we did that."
Senior Forward Yante Maten
On the game...
"We’re a capable team and coach said to not give up so that’s what we’ve got to do every time we play well it it’s going to be a ball game. We’re a good basketball team and we proved that this week now we’re just looking to go to the next game and do the same thing. I think it was more of a we’re a good team, let’s go prove it situation so that’s what we focused on we’ve got to start a roll and get on a winning streak."
Junior Forward Derek Ogbeide
On the game...
We’ve definitely boosted team morale and you know it was much needed, at the end of the season it’s been a quite boost for us.
On his second consecutive double-double…
"It comes down to attention to details and you know whatever my role is I want to make sure I can help the team the best that I can and give my best effort to produce the factor of winning."
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