Georgia basketball coach Mike White said Tuesday he’s got the utmost confidence in the administration when it comes to fixing the problems at Stegeman Coliseum after the 60-year-old facility was closed after a small piece of the ceiling fell to the floor.

“They’ll do what it takes to fix the problem, to navigate the issue, to evaluate, and make the right decisions moving forward,” White said during a Zoom session to preview this week’s SEC Tournament.

“You know what I know and that is we won’t be able to practice at Stegeman – we normally don’t practice there anyway – we’ve been practicing upstairs and staying the course, that’s it,” White said. “Our focus has just been LSU and the SEC Tournament.”

Monday, Georgia president Jere Morehead and athletic director Josh Brooks sent out an email with more details of last week’s news, confirming that a palm-sized piece of ceiling material was found.

The email also stated, "Safety is the University’s top priority, and the facility will not reopen until necessary repairs, improvements, and inspections are completed, which could take several months."

Events scheduled for Stegeman Coliseum, including various graduation ceremonies, have been told to reschedule to other venues

White was asked what the impact of not being able to show Stegeman would have on recruiting, as White and his staff typically show off the building during visits by recruits.

“Definitely. It always is, and we’re proud of Stegeman. I’ve only been here a year, not even a year yet, and if we’ve missed on a recruit, it hasn’t been because of Stegeman,” White said. “There’s facility upgrades throughout the country in college athletics, and all different types of sports and maintenance, and all those things. Some of those things are out of our control. If they tell us we can’t walk in there, we can’t walk in there.

If that happens, we’ll pivot and figure out what we’re going to do next.”

Ultimately, White is confident everything will turn out for the best.

“Again, I’ve got great confidence in our leadership that we’ll figure it out. All that said, in addition, I thought we had a great environment this year,” White said. “Our home games were loud and electric, the attendance was terrific and we look forward to continuing to build a home court advantage in the future and really look forward to the realignment of the seating, and even an increased environment next season.”