Georgia Basketball: Tom Crean era off to good start with pair of 2019 commits
Georgia Basketball Head Coach Tom Crean needs a good 2019 recruiting class to help restart the program. With two commits in one day, the Bulldogs are off to a good start.
When Georgia Basketball fired longtime head coach Mark Fox, they needed to find someone who can recruit on the same level as the other coaches in the SEC. They were able to get Tom Crean, a former Indiana leader who was known for getting quality midwest prospects.
It’s a new world down south in terms of recruiting, making it important that Crean and the new staff get acclimated and form the relationships needed to make splashes of their own. Progress clearly has been made, with the Bulldogs getting a pair of marquee recruits for the 2019 class.
First is Jaykwon Walton, a 6’6 guard out of Montgomery, Alabama who originally committed to Mississippi State this offseason. He’s a guard who can play all three perimeter positions with his size and versatility while shooting the ball at an efficient clip. Georgia was able to beat out the likes of Louisville, Memphis, and Auburn for his services the second time around.
The other four-star commit for Georgia is Kyle Sturdivant, a 6’3 point guard from inside the state. It’s important in particular for the coaching staff to well with the local prospects if they’ll be competitive with the other SEC teams. He chose the Bulldogs over Georgia Tech, USC, and Florida among others.
Georgia will need both of these players to be impactful contributors out of the gate when they arrive for the 2019-20 season. The team doesn’t have any returning double-digit scorers for the upcoming season and will lose rising senior and second-leading scorer and leading passer William Jackson Jr. (8.4 ppg and 3.5 apg in 2017-18). The next best guards on the roster are Tyree Crump and TeShaun Hightower, role players but not big contributors that can carry a team.
Next. Preseason SEC Rankings for 2018-19. dark
With guards Ignas Sargiunas and Tye Fagan part of the incoming freshmen class, Georgia has a solid foundation in the backcourt for future seasons. It’ll allow the coaching staff to focus more on the frontcourt and finding a replacement for star forward Yante Maten. Once that happens the Bulldogs will be a program to look at for the future in the SEC.