Image: ESPN

Seth Davis over at Sports Illustrated says that Georgia has been zeroed in (scroll down a little) on Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel since last year:

Jeff Capel is the first, second and third choice at Georgia. In fact, Georgia had an offer ready to go after Capel last year until Dennis Felton saved his job by winning the SEC tournament. You can be sure a lot of schools will go after Capel this spring, but they will have a formidable adversary in OU athletic director Joe Castiglione, who may well be the best AD in the country.

This is actually great news if you’re in the “Just say no to Bobby Knight” camp. Can we get Capel though? It sounds like we’re going to be pulling out all the stops to lure him to Athens.

Oklahoma seems like a place where they could outbid us for his services, though.

Chip Towers from the AJC caught up with former Georgia Basketball coach Hugh Durham over the weekend and he had some interesting commentary about the Georgia Basketball job and the current situation involving the Bobby Knight rumors.

(3) A lot of people think Georgia is a tough job, hard to recruit to. Durham believes Georgia is not only a good job, which it was when he had it, but “a great job.” He said it still has its unique set of obstacles to negotiate but, with Stegeman fixed up like it is these days and the $30 million practice facility, there should be nothing holding them back. (4) Said he likes Bob Knight and thinks he would create a nice buzz for Georgia but he doesn’t believe it’s what’s best for the Bulldogs in the long run. (5) Of the candidates we discussed Anthony Grant seemed to be the only one he was real enamored with but he didn’t want rate candidates, not right now anyway.

This is a good read. It’s nice to hear Hugh is still pulling for the Dogs and following the program. I’d say Durham’s legacy is aging well considering the facilities and the “football first” mentality of an SEC program (excluding Kentucky) during his tenure.

Of course, I also think he is spot on about Knight and articulates the case against him coming to Georgia perfectly in a single sentence.

Hugh Durham… DGD.

Image: ESPN

Georgia players expressed their enthusiasm in the potential hire of Bobby Knight, the Indiana coaching legend, as their head coach.

Georgia freshman Trey Thompkins…

“Coach Knight is a legend,” Thompkins said. “I’d love to have him coach here, and I feel like he’d make me even better than I am now.

“That would honestly be a tremendous thing to me. I’d be really happy.”

…and Albert Jackson…

“I would love to have a coach of that caliber, that stature,” Jackson said. “You have a Hall of Fame coach, you have somebody like that, all you can do is be happy.

“If Bobby Knight wants to come in here, I’d be more than happy.”

…and who could blame them? Love him or hate him, Bobby Knight is a sports icon and coaching legend. If you were down and out over your coach being fired and presented with the possibility of having the position filled by the winningest coach in NCAA history, you’d probably be excited too.

You’d always be able to tell your grand kids you played for “The General”. You’d benefit from the increased media exposure, etc…

I have been surprised by the amount of support that Knight has received amongst Georgia fans though. My own brother, who’s never really followed the basketball team that closely, is crazy about the idea. He really just wants to see the lightning bolt of media coverage that will descend on Athens if he’s hired.

In other words, he’s excited by the novelty of it.

It’d be neat! And if it didn’t work out, basketball never meant that much to him in the first place.

Fortunately for the future of Georgia Basketball I believe Damon Evans will take a longer view and hire someone that will be able to begin work on building a winning, and sustainable basketball tradition.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN just identified Jeff Capel (Oklahoma), Sean Miller (Xavier) and Anthony Grant (VCU) as Georgia’s A-list of candidates to replace Dennis Felton.

If so, that is good news, as each one would be capable of building the tradition of which Georgia hoops fans have been deprived, without the baggage that may just drag us further down.

Furman Bisher breaks the news that Bobby Knight has expressed interest in being the next head coach of the Georgia basketball team.

If you are one of those Bulldogs deeply distressed about the course of basketball at the University of Georgia, I have promising news for you. How would you like to have Bob Knight coaching your team?

No thanks.

I mean, I get it, Bobby Knight is a legendary college basketball coach and would turn the national media’s eye towards Athens for next year’s basketball season and beyond. He lifted Texas Tech into basketball respectability and could possibly do the same for Georgia. He’d build the foundation for the next coach to build on.

But, he is 68 years old. How many years could he give us? Granted, while grumpy old curmudgeons tend to live well into their 90’s, can they coach college basketball much past 70?

He doesn’t seem like a candidate that a young AD like Damon Evans would gravitate towards. It seems like Evans would want to bring in a fresh energy to the program. Someone who would take advantage of modern technologies in coaching and recruiting and who could relate more closely with today’s student athlete. Knight seems like the opposite.

Also, when is the last time he made a championship run? Sure, older Dawgs like myself appreciate his accomplishments made during the 70’s and 80’s but today’s student athlete knows Knight for his ill temperament and being a jerk while hunting on someone’s private property.

I admit there is something inherently fascinating about a person who speaks his mind in such a blunt and dramatic fashion. If he is hired, it could be a fun ride for Georgia Basketball. I just think there are many younger candidates like Jamie Dixon, Jeff Capel and Anthony Grant that match the profile that will serve Georgia Basketball well now, and forward into the future.