Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe is aware that Georgia’s basketball program has not exactly been blessed with a history of recent success.

However, it’s the challenge of helping new head coach Mike White establish a new winning tradition that appealed to the former Oklahoma State player enough to commit to the Bulldogs on Monday.

“Georgia just won the national championship in football, and I know the fans there are wishing for a basketball team they can be proud of,” Moncrieffe said in a telephone interview with UGASports. “That was something that was really enticing to me, and taking on that challenge, to make Georgia basketball relevant and competitive to compete for championships.”

At an athletic 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds, Moncrieffe, "MA" for short, is ready to be just the sort of spark to help White accomplish those goals.

“(Fans) are going to be getting energy every night,” he said. “They’ll be getting a ton of energy, rebounds, playing hard, dunks, athleticism, pushing the break. I’m going to bring a fun style of play, an energetic style of play into that arena.”

The decision apparently was an easy one.

Moncrieffe visited Georgia on April 17 along with Bradley’s Terry Roberts and Syracuse’s Frank Anselem.

Roberts committed less than a week later, while the Bulldogs are still hoping to hear from Anselem soon.

“I really loved the energy on the campus. The people were great; everyone was welcoming, just saying hi,” Moncrieffe said. “I just connected with him (White). instantly, we both kind of had a similar vision of how I can affect this team and how he can develop me into the player I want to become.”

Having Erik Pastrana on White’s staff did not hurt, either.

Pastrana was an assistant on OSU’s staff during Moncrieffe’s freshman year, and actually was the coach responsible for getting him to Stillwater, Oklahoma.

“I’ve known him since I really started this process. He was a big part of my development my first year and a big reason for my success,” Moncrieffe said. “I was excited knowing that one day if that opportunity presented itself, I could continue that development with him. It made my decision a lot easier.”

Moncrieffe started seven of OSU’s 30 games last year, averaging 4.2 points per game and 4.9 rebounds.

As a freshman, he was better, averaging nine points and 5.3 boards. He shot 51.3 percent from the floor, which was the sixth-highest clip by a freshman in school history.

Moncrieffe has three career double-doubles, including one against second-ranked and eventual NCAA champion Baylor.

He joins a Georgia team that includes Roberts, Alabama transfer Jusuan Holt, Kario Oquendo, Braelen Bridges and Jabri Abdur-Rahim. Jailyn Ingram told UGASports that he will also come back assuming the NCAA approves his waiver for a sixth year after only playing in 10 games last season due to a torn ACL.

The Bulldogs also have former Longwood player Justin Hill, who announced his commitment to Georgia a month ago.

“I met Kario, Jabri, everyone that was still there, and we connected instantly,” Moncrieffe said of his visit. “We talked about what we saw for this team and everything we could bring to the table. Everybody had the same vision. There was an instant connection.”

Ironically, Moncrieffe was already somewhat familiar with White and his style of play. His former OSU team played Florida in this year’s SEC-Big 12 Challenge, a game won by the Gators. In that game, Oklahoma State lead by 13 before losing 81-72.

Little did he know at the time that the coach on the other end of the court would be coaching him less than six month later.

“At the time wasn’t thinking like that, just thinking of beating Florida,” he said. “But down the road, I started looking back at how they played the game, to see how they pressed us in the second half.”

After putting that knowledge together with what he learned during his visit to Athens, his choice was an easy one.

Despite a large number of other schools that reached out, Georgia was where he wanted to be.

“I feel quite a few others. Definitely quite a bit. But at the end of the day, it’s not like high school,” Moncrieffe said. “You don’t want all the glitz and glamour, I’ve got this, I’ve got that. I knew exactly what I wanted and what I was looking for. It was a quick process.”