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Georgia basketball: Mark Fox on the hot seat after losing Ashton Hagans

By Tristan Freeman

iATHENS, GA - FEBRUARY 17: Head coach Mark Fox of the Georgia Bulldogs cheers on his team during their basketball game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Stegeman Coliseum on February 17, 2018 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
iATHENS, GA - FEBRUARY 17: Head coach Mark Fox of the Georgia Bulldogs cheers on his team during their basketball game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Stegeman Coliseum on February 17, 2018 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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For coaches who are struggling, great recruiting news can be their saving grace. For Georgia head coach Mark Fox, bad recruiting news could be the death knell for him.

Georgia basketball in recent years has always had a star to lead them under the leadership of head coach Mark Fox. Since 2009, he’s had players like Trey Thompkins, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, JJ Frazier and now Yante Maten.

On Dec. 21 of 2017, the next superstar that was supposed to be coming to Athens was Ashton Hagans, a five-star point guard from the class of 2019. According to 247sports, he was a top-10 player in that class with the capabilities of transcending a program.

With Yaten leaving after this season, a new crop of Bulldogs were going to be needed to keep Georgia in contention of the SEC. This is a conference that’s improved greatly in recent years, with a number of programs getting quality players thanks to a batch of high-profile coaches.

That’s left Fox, now one of the longest tenured coaches in the SEC, partly left behind in the recruiting world. That’s why getting someone the caliber of Hagans was a big deal in order for Georgia to compete with these other teams.

But in another example of the volatility of recruiting, the five-star guard has decided to reopen his recruitment, with the Bulldogs still an option. It’s been rumored that he could reclassify to the 2018 class, but for now it seems like he’ll stay with 2019.

This is a devastating announcement for Fox, who’s potentially on the hot seat with a 16-12 (7-9) record. The Bulldogs are currently on the outside of the NCAA Tournament, according to our latest Bracketology. Another missed tournament appearance could be the final straw for a University who is watching other football-based schools like Alabama and Auburn succeed.

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Coaches on the hot seat can prolong their fate by securing talented players down the pipeline. That’s because schools are hesitant to fire coaches knowing that those commits would leave and force the program to start from scratch. But with Hagans now gone, that takes away a potential excuse for the school to possibly make a change. For Fox’s sake, Georgia better make a run in the SEC tournament.

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