Georgia men’s basketball coach Tom Crean is out after four seasons with the Bulldogs, the school announced on Thursday.
The buyout clause in the six-year, $19.8 million contract Crean signed in 2018 decreased from $7.2 million to $3.2 million with the end of the season
Crean was 47-75 overall and 15-58 in SEC games in four seasons at Georgia. The final loss came on Wednesday night when the Bulldogs were beaten 86-51 by Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament in Tampa, Florida.
Georgia (6-26) lost 18 of 19 SEC games, setting a new low for the program in the conference. The Bulldogs suffered the most losses in a season in the program’s history while being held to only one SEC win for the first time.
“I would like to sincerely thank Coach Crean and his family for their commitment to Georgia Basketball,” Georgia AD Josh Brooks said in a statement. “Tom Crean demonstrated unquestionable effort and enthusiasm in what he has attempted to accomplish at Georgia. That said, our expectation is to compete for post-season success in all 21 sports. We believe a leadership change in men’s basketball is needed to achieve our goals.”
Crean couldn’t overcome the inability to keep his best players in the offseason. Georgia’s two leading scorers from last season transferred to other SEC schools — point guard Sahvir Wheeler to Kentucky and guard K.D. Johnson to Auburn.
Yet another player who could have played a key role this season, Tye Fagan, transferred to Mississippi. The losses of the three players through the transfer portal was devastating.
Georgia then lost two players to season-ending knee injuries. The Bulldogs’ only returning starter, forward P.J. Horne, was hurt before the season. Jailyn Ingram averaged 10.7 points and six rebounds through nine games before hurting his knee in early December.
Crean said he didn’t have a true power forward the remainder of the season. As a result, the Bulldogs plummeted to the bottom of the SEC standings.
Crean’s highlight at Georgia was signing Anthony Edwards, who became the NBA’s No. 1 overall draft pick by Minnesota in 2020 following one season in Athens. But even with the dynamic talents of Edwards, Georgia finished only 16-16 overall and 5-13 in the SEC in the 2019-20 season.
Crean said the coronavirus pandemic, which dramatically cut down on in-person visits, shut down his opportunity to take advantage of the recruiting boost he would have otherwise expected from having a Georgia player selected as the NBA’s top draft pick.
Instead, Crean increasingly was forced to rely on transfers. Georgia’s only winning season under Crean was a 14-12 finish in 2020-21, when the Bulldogs were 7-11 in the conference.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.