Georgia basketball: Jonas Hayes had to go
Beloved Georgia basketball assistant coach Jonas Hayes packed his bags and left for Xavier. It’s the best thing for both Hayes and Georgia.
Former Georgia basketball star and assistant coach Jonas Hayes made the right move for himself when he accepted an assistant coaching position with Xavier.
As much as it hurts, Hayes made the right move for Georgia and new head basketball coach Tom Crean, too.
Hayes is a rising star in the college basketball world. No one knows the Georgia basketball story and can sell it with as much authority as Hayes. But the fit with Crean and his staff at Georgia would never have been right. It would not have been because of Hayes or Crean or even the fickle Georgia basketball followers.
Some things are not right no matter how much we want them to be.
More from Southbound and Down
- Texas A&M vs. Auburn: Line, Prediction, TV Channel & Live Stream for SEC Football
- 3 Up’s, 3 Down’s from Georgia’s 24-14 Win Over South Carolina
- Ole Miss Football: Looking back at the Rebels career of Zedrick Woods
- Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Line, Prediction, TV Channel & Live Stream for SEC Football
- “Horns Down” will not be a Penalty in the SEC
Why not Georgia
With an established, energetic coach taking the reins of Georgia basketball, Hayes could have remained and continued his march toward a head coaching opportunity. He could have proven himself the recruiter he is believed to be and learned his Xs and Os.
But it wouldn’t have worked.
Jonas Hayes would have always been “retained from Mark Fox’s staff.” He would have fallen asleep every night wondering, “Am I getting the same shot Coach Crean is giving ‘his guys.’ Is Coach listening to me, or am I just a recruiting figure-head.”
Hayes was well on his way to becoming the Erk Russell of Georgia basketball. But in the profession, he may have become, “The Georgia guy that can’t go anywhere.”
At the same time, Crean wanted Jonas to stay and demonstrated his desire by offering Hayes a lucrative offer. Hayes was the key to holding together a top five recruiting class, a class that would have put as many as 12 more wins in the coach’s win column across the next two years.
But for Crean, and eventually the fickle Georgia basketball fans, Hayes would always be “the guy I had to keep.” He would have always been a place holder for a coach Crean wanted to hire, and Jonas’ total talents would have been wasted. Eventually, Georgia basketball, Crean, and Hayes would all suffer.
Hayes needed to leave for everyone’s benefit, and he did everyone, especially himself, a huge favor by leaving now.
The Xavier opportunity
At Georgia, Hayes toiled in one of the most difficult assistant coaching positions in the country. The big G does not draw high school basketball players to Athens. It has at time repelled them as Georgia basketball suffered through the post-Jan Kemp ice age and the self-imposed death penalty that followed the Jim Harrick fiasco. With former head coach Mark Fox’s job in constant jeopardy, Hayes struggled to bring talented visitors inside the Stegman Coliseum .
The talent the Georgia basketball team requires to make its dreams come true lies an easy drive from campus, but also as an easy drive from Lexington, Durham, and Chapel Hill. The Georgia state borders are minutes away from ACC campuses, the Holy Land for scholastic stars. Recruiting for Georgia basketball is a tough gig.
The Xavier opportunity changes everything for Hayes. What everyone believes about Hayes will be confirmed as he recruits for a top five basketball powerhouse.
And besides, the clock on the Crean program is now ticking. Jonas Hayes may be back.