No. 1 Auburn at Georgia
WHERE: Stegeman Coliseum
WHEN: 1 p.m.
RECORDS: Georgia 6-16, 1-8; Auburn 21-1, 0-0
TV/RADIO: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Jon Sunvold); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Chuck Dowdle, Adam Gillespie).
Georgia hosts top-ranked Auburn Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum (1 p.m., SEC Network).
Most years, the excitement of seeing the Bulldogs play the No. 1 team would be the main talking point. Not this season.
With the Bulldogs (6-16, 1-8) struggling, most eyes are on the future of the program, most specifically head coach Tom Crean.
On Friday, Georgia held its typical Zoom press conference before a home game.
However, instead of Crean, it was assistant coach Steve McClain who took questions from reporters. No player was made available.
Assistant coaches will typically address the media a couple of times throughout the course of the year. Friday marked the second appearance for McClain, whose brief session was highlighted with questions about the current psyche of the Bulldogs, who have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
“I thought yesterday we had a great workout—in the weight room, on the court, guys doing extra. That’s the mentality you read as a coach, what mindset are they walking in with, because as coaches, you’re preparing to win every game,” McClain said. “Again, when we went in the weight room and to the work, got in the gym and started working on the game plan, everybody was locked in and ready to go.”
During Wednesday’s athletic board meeting, athletic director Josh Brooks was asked by the Athens-Banner Herald and other media entities his thoughts on the basketball program.
“When I’m in season with a coach, my focus is on how I can be supportive and how can I help in any way that’s productive,” Brooks told the Banner-Herald and others.
Crean is currently in the fourth year of a six-year contract that pays him $3.2 million annually. Per his contract, Georgia would still owe Crean $3.2 million if he’s fired after this season.
Meanwhile, the players carry on.
Nobody feels worse about the season than the athletes on the court, but according to McClain, he and the coaching staff are not detecting a team ready to call it a year.
“I think it comes down to this: what attitude does everyone walk in with every day? You can have a defeated mindset, or you can have the mindset that we’ve been in some really tough games, and we’ve had some things happen to us, yet we’ve been so close,” McClain said. “I think that one, these kids are great kids. So, their mindset, the coaching staff’s mindset is there’s no question when we walk in, we’re preparing to win the next game. The kids know that; they know that’s how we’re approaching it. I have no question that’s why they walk in every day ready to go.”
To do otherwise, McClain said, would not do anyone any good.
Fortunately, there do appear to be players who are still trying to lead.
“I just came up from the court, and there’s guys doing extra stuff down there, Aaron Cook being one of them. The fact that they’re doing those things and trying to lead in that manner is what does affect everyone else,” McClain said. “Nobody’s walking down there like we’ve got to get through practice today. No, they’re walking down there with the mindset we’re getting ready to play the No. 1 team in the country. It’s going to be a sold-out building, and here’s what we’ve got to prepare for.”
