Georgia fires coach Tom Crean after four seasons and 6-26 record in dreadful final year

Georgia fired men’s basketball coach Tom Crean on Thursday after four seasons in which the program floundered in the SEC and never came close to cracking the NCAA tournament field.

The Bulldogs finished a program-worst 6-26 this season and in last place in the SEC with a 1-17 record. They lost 20 of their last 21 games, leaving little doubt that the school would make a change as the team stumbled to the most losses ever by an SEC team.

Crean and the team returned before noon on Thursday after a blowout loss at the SEC tournament in Tampa ended Georgia's season Wednesday night. UGA president Jere Morehead and athletic director Josh Brooks returned late in the afternoon.

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Georgia players were informed a team meeting was being held at 6 p.m. Thursday via Zoom after Crean was informed of the school's "intent to change program leadership."

Brooks released a statement just before then: "I would like to sincerely thank Coach Crean and his family for their commitment to Georgia Basketball. 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, the former Indiana coach who reached a Final Four at Marquette, was hired to bring the program to the next level after Mark Fox reached March Madness just twice in his nine seasons.

Crean brought in a 2019 class with four top 100 recruits including prized shooting guard Anthony Edwards who became the NBA No. 1 overall draft pick a year later.

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That helped Georgia set an overall home attendance record for the second year in a row but that team went .500 and won just 5 SEC games.

A year later after a 7-11 SEC season, came a mass exodus of nine players through the transfer portal including top players Sahvir Wheeler, K.D. Johnson and Toumani Camara. If that corps remained, the Bulldogs could have contended for a postseason bid. Instead Wheeler is at Kentucky and Johnson at Auburn and are key pieces to teams that could make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Georgia was picked to finish last in the SEC this season and then lost two of its best players — P.J. Horne and Jailyn Ingram —to knee injuries. It suffered home losses to Wofford, George Mason, East Tennessee State and Gardner-Webb before SEC play even began.

With an overhauled roster, Crean said after an upset of Alabama in February: “It is hard to build cohesiveness. It is hard to get that chemistry that you want to have. And without that it's hard to get traction. “

Georgia finished this season with its lowest winning percentage (.188) since the 1955-56 season. This season ended with the most lopsided SEC tournament loss in program history, 86-51, Wednesday night to Vanderbilt in Tampa.

Crean had two years remaining on a six-year contract and is due to be paid a $3.2 million buyout. He sought an extension after last season but that was not granted.

He agreed to the contract terms after then athletic director Greg McGarity and Morehead flew to Crean’s Florida home in March 2018 to interview him after he spent a year out of coaching as an ESPN analyst.

Crean went 47-75 in four seasons with the Bulldogs including 15-57 in the SEC. The .385 winning percentage is the lowest for a Georgia head coach (not including an interim) since John Guthrie from 1974-78.

It’s the shortest run for a Georgia basketball coach whose team wasn't facing NCAA sanctions since Ron Jirsa went 35-30 in two seasons from 1997-99 following Tubby Smith. The final Georgia season for Crean included first-year assistant Wade Mason being suspended and not returning after a locker room altercation with support staff member Brian Fish.

Louisville and Maryland — the two most prominent job openings — made coaching changes during the season and Kansas State also now has a vacancy.

Now Georgia joins them in a search. Brooks, the second year AD, and Morehead will be looking for another coach yet again.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Tom Crean out as Georgia men's basketball coach after four seasons