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Pete ThamelESPN
Georgia fired men’s basketball coach Tom Crean in the wake of a 6-26 season, the school announced on Thursday.
Crean’s tenure at Georgia ends after four seasons and a 47-75 record, including a 15-58 mark in SEC games. The school owes Crean a $3.2 million buyout, per his contract.
Crean’s tenure at UGA included No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards and star big-man Nicolas Claxton, but the Bulldogs finished over .500 just once in four seasons.
Georgia went 14-12 in 2020-21, but the transfer of its two leading scorers from last season — Sahvir Wheeler to Kentucky and K.D. Johnson to Auburn — were among a flurry of defections that stalled much of the progress.
Crean’s hire at Georgia came after a stint working as an analyst for ESPN. He’d previously been the head coach at both Indiana and Marquette. He’d led Indiana to four NCAA tournaments in his final six seasons there and led Marquette to the Final Four in 2003.
Crean could never muster the same caliber of success in Athens. This year’s Georgia team finished 1-17 in the SEC, ending with a 86-51 SEC Tournament loss to Vanderbilt on Wednesday night in Tampa, Florida.
“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.”