Fox faced tough call in ‘heartbreaker’ loss to Gators
Jeremy Price said it was a mental collapse, not fatigue, that doomed the Dogs in the second OT against Florida. (Associated Press)
Lots of debate among UGA fans after Tuesday night’s game over whether the Dogs should have fouled Florida’s Erving Walker at the end of the first overtime rather than letting him make an admittedly surprising 30-foot 3-point shot.
Georgia was leading 85-82 with 6.7 seconds left and the conventional thinking in such situations is that you foul, give up a couple of free throws and get the ball and the game.
But Georgia didn’t foul Walker and didn’t even cover him that closely, apparently relying on distance and the long odds against him making the shot.
Coach Mark Fox maintained after the game that it was his decision not to foul. Partly, he said, that was because “we have always trusted our defense.”
But more to the point was “the way the rebounding was going in the second half,” he said. While Dogs had dominated the glass in the first half, the Gators beat them 33-23 on the boards after that. Fox obviously was concerned the Gators would deliberately muff the second foul shot, get the rebound and tie the game up that way.
It’s a tough call either way. If he really trusted his defense, then shouldn’t he have trusted they’d get that crucial rebound? Or was he actually playing the odds correctly considering how unlikely that Gator shot was?
And then there’s another question. Did Fox really make the decision not to foul? Florida’s Walker said he thought he heard Fox “say something” about fouling “so I just tried to take the three before they could foul me.” And the ESPN crew calling the nationally televised game seemed pretty convinced that Fox wanted the Dogs to foul but couldn’t communicate that to his players.
Maybe they were mistaken; or perhaps Fox was just covering for his inattentive players after the loss.
To me, though, the more disturbing development was the way Georgia came out in the second overtime, turning the ball over three straight times and allowing the Gators to go up by nine, pretty much putting the game out of reach.
Fox said he thought his Dogs “looked fatigued” in that second overtime, but the Dogs’ Jeremy Price said he thought it was “more mental than physical” and that the Gators’ tying shot “took away a lot from us.”
If Fox was correct, then perhaps Mark Richt isn’t the only Georgia coach who needs to take a harder look at his strength and conditioning program.
If Price is right, and I think maybe he is, perhaps having lost that way will teach this team about mental toughness and what it takes to win a game like this.
If so, down the road Georgia might win one of these “heartbreakers,” as Fox called Tuesday’s game. In order to make the NCAA tournament, they’re probably going to have to do just that.
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101 comments Add your comment
LAKE OCONEE DAWG
January 26th, 2011
12:33 pm
saban:
YEA, IT RIVALS THAT ONE THAT SABAN LOST TO THE GREAT TEAM FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA MONROE, 21-14….OH, YOU THOUGHT WE FORGOT THAT ONE…WE’RE ONE AND ONE IN OUR LAST 2 MEETINGS, BUT THAT UL MONROE LOSS SHOOK THE NATION MUCH LIKE MICHIGAN LOSING TO APPALACHIAN STATE….UGA WIN CAME IN TUSCALOOSA WHEN IN OVERTIME BOBO OUTFOXED THE MIGHTY SABAN BY GOING DEEP AND HITTING THE HOMERUN BALL….JUST SAYIN’
GEORGIA GATOR
January 26th, 2011
12:37 pm
LAKE OCONEE PUP! Fact is UF has better players that can go the distance. But to be honest i do hate every UGA team and fan for the same reason you hate UF teams and fans. So yes i will continue to gloat on this on this site actually.
Concerned Officiating
January 26th, 2011
12:39 pm
Thanks for clearing that up and I missed them walking over. Camera work wasn’t on it and neither was the crew calling the game. Yes a stoppage for that would allow a player to sub in.
AF Guy
January 26th, 2011
12:44 pm
You are not a tournament team if you give up 25 point to a 5′ 7″ point guard while playing on your home court – THAT IS A FACT!
robodawg
January 26th, 2011
12:44 pm
Face it, the Gators have better depth than us, so they have the advantage the longer the game gets. But those turnovers in 2OT were killer.
I’m okay with making Florida go for a three. But based on Walker’s shooting earlier in the game, I wish our defense had set up a little further out on the perimeter, arms straight up. Yeah, he was already falling sideways as he shot, but make him shoot over you as well.
Tough loss. Bounce back strong guys. Still a very promising season ahead.
dawgfacedboy
January 26th, 2011
12:52 pm
Tough call. Foul, make the first, intentionally miss 2nd, get rebound and shot goes in for tie and he still looks like dumba$$. I don’t think an uncontested 3 pt. try is exactly what he wanted though. Tough loss.
Cardinal Sin
January 26th, 2011
12:58 pm
Amen GA Gator!!
Gators win the East in basketball, baseball, and football in 2011!
Enough Said!!!!
saban
January 26th, 2011
1:04 pm
Yesterday`s news puppies.
How are the red panties selling at Richt`s hair salon?
Boise State 50 Dawgs 0
By the way Crowell is mine.
PC
January 26th, 2011
1:39 pm
glad folks “still think he is a good coach”. Halfway through second year and kids are avoiding the NBA to stay at UGA, we are competing every night, and it is fun again. Way to stay realistic.
IveyLeaguer
January 26th, 2011
1:43 pm
The Price IS right. I was right there, front and center, and Walker’s 3 took the wind out of our sails. It wasn’t fatigue. Immediately into the second OT, we looked sluggish and slow. It was SO obvious. Even Stegeman seemed to be in shock and I was out of my seat, clapping and yelling trying to get the team back up as they transitioned to defense after the first and second TO’s. I looked over and Fox was doing the same, trying to get the energy back.
But we were gone. We certainly LOOKED fatigued. But yeah it was mental, of that I am sure.
Bill has nailed it pretty good. We have grown a lot, and learned a lot about how to win. I think this could be the final lesson. In this case, for Fox & Co. as well the players. If we respond to this adversity, and learn from it, we have a chance to win these type games down the stretch.
And like Bill said, we’re going to need it.
I think we should have fouled Walker at the end, and never let him get to midcourt. Sure. But it was far from all bad. We had an above average night overall, but TT was just average, and GR sat most of the first half, and had a poor game (for him) otherwise. Florida played harder than we did for the entire game, and I got the feeling we hadn’t seen talent quite like this year. Florida’s quick guards really affected GR, I thought. It was definitely a growing experience for him.
That we hung with Florida when we were less than our best, on a night when they were at their best, speaks a lot for our team, IMO. I don’t think we can give Florida enough credit. They responded to every adversity, and it’s hard to imagine them playing much better. Florida is a great team, their three Bigs are unbelievable (#4 Young & #32 Macklin (32) are built like OLB’s, & #25 Parsons has a stroke that reminds me of Larry Bird), and so is Walker.
But we nevertheless found a way to come back at the end, and almost won. That we couldn’t finish is disappointing, and no doubt our guys are hurt. But if we can bounce back one more time, we may have what it takes to get the Dance in a historically tough year in the SEC East. And if we can do that, we’ll have as good a chance as anybody else.
I think we’ve seen pretty much everything now.
~~~
Dr. Morpheus
January 26th, 2011
2:04 pm
I watched to game on ESPN over here in Baton Rouge- naturally, I was very disappointed in our collapse during the second overtime. As to what really happened at the end of the first OT, who knows? I find it more plausible that Fox did tell the team not to foul, because the players obviously respect their coach and are playing with great discipline (”unselfish” is the word the broadcasters used repeatedly). Fact: they talked to him and didn’t make an effort to foul. This being sports, tough losses are going to happen; but, the program is obviously in very good hands and moving rapidly in the right direction (NCAA playoffs). I view this as a case of “stuff happens.”
Freddie G
January 26th, 2011
2:15 pm
Mark Fox has done a great job in reviving fan interest in the BB program, however his decision to not foul was a bad one. I hope he and the players will learn from this experience. It is unfortunate that he could not find an outside threat to help this team with Trey and Travis deciding to come back this year and certainly they will be gone next year. The good news however is that Fox has shown he is one of the very good young coaches in College BB, and therefore will have some young talent in the State and Southeast consider Georgia.
Abnerish
January 26th, 2011
2:23 pm
I’m glad my DVR recording ended after 2 minutes into the 2nd overtime. I really didn’t need to see us implode like that. I give our team all the credit in the world to come back from 8 down late in regulation to get it to OT. I am glad that Trey’s putback counted, because if it didn’t, the no call on Ware’s drive (and miss) would have been the story. If you watch the replay of that play, you’ll see Ware get absolutely shoved in the back. No call. I guess you can do anything you want when the clock nears 0.0. The refs have been pathetic all year. zero consistency.
UGA Insider
January 26th, 2011
2:34 pm
I was at the game and the end hurt me as bad as the end to the UF/UGA football game. I know the players feel badly. I hope they keep their heads up and keep playing hard. They can make some real waves I think in the NCAA tourney if they can squeak in.
UGA Insider
January 26th, 2011
2:36 pm
ps…I also heard while at the game from unnamed sources that UGA is about to sign a HUGE recruiting class next week. What and who that means I don’t know.
hoop dawg fan
January 26th, 2011
2:40 pm
Tough, tough loss. Great thing about basketball though is we get another shot at them. It’ll be tough to win in Gainesville, but UCF went in there and did it, and we don’t look as timid on the road this year.
That being said, we can’t lose to UF, UT, and UK all on the road and expect to make the tourney. UK is going to be very tough this weekend, but I feel like at UF and at UT are going to be very crucial games in deciding whether we are in or not.
Gotta stay out of foul trouble though, it hurt not having Ware and having GR22 with 4 fouls and playing timid.
Go Dawgs! Beat UK Saturday!
saban's mother
January 26th, 2011
3:05 pm
saban’s a nerd troll. No doubt about that.
Chris
January 26th, 2011
3:09 pm
It was a tough loss to swallow but I’m glad Georgia Basketball is relevant and worth watching again. This team has the talent to go to the sweet 16. Think about it…5 losses total for the season. 2 of the loses are in double overtime (Notre Dame who just beat the #2 team in the land, and Florida ranked #23.) A third loss was on a tip in at the buzzer to Tenn. I think Georgia is showing the can play with anybody.
You also bash them for fatigue. Georgia’s main issue is depth and remember Fox hasn’t even completed his 2nd full season yet. Give the Guy a chance to build the program. Last night Georgia played 7 guys for the most part. Florida was rotating 10 which in 2 overtimes, they are going to be more fresh.
This team is good……There is still alot of season to be played so let’s see what happens.
Bo Williams
January 26th, 2011
3:19 pm
It appeared to me that the Fl guard got the ball in open space and got up the court and shot before anyone could foul him, except they foul him in the act of shooting a 3-point shot.
Bo Williams
January 26th, 2011
3:23 pm
UGa was lucky to be in the game at the end of regulation. Fl had several turnovers between the 2:50 and 2:00 minute marks, where a basket or foul shots could have put the game out of reach (9 – 10 point lead). Also, UGa hit a deep-contested 3 with less that 1 minute that kept them in the game. In summary, it was a great game. Fl looked to play a bit more intelligently.
1eyedJack
January 26th, 2011
3:25 pm
$#*1 happens.
SoCal Dawg
January 26th, 2011
3:28 pm
Hard game to lose last night. What is really hard to swallow is all the morons bashing Fox. Give the guy some respect. Have we forgotten what he inherited last year. Some of your guys on here are real idiots. Go Dawgs! Proud of our ball team and our coach.
Dixie Redcoat Band
January 26th, 2011
3:33 pm
Would somebody tell Lake Oconee Dawg that his “CAPS” key is stuck and nobody wants to read it.
Who Cares
January 26th, 2011
3:59 pm
Everyone continues to praise Fox and this team, yet it’s become obvious that this team is not that good. They have beaten one good team so far this season, that would be Kentucky. But they have lost 5 of 6 to decent teams. Temple, Notre Dame, Tenn, Fl, & Vandy have beaten this so called good team. And to make matters worst, this team has lost 2 of 3 at home to Eastern Conference rivals. This team will not make the tournament unless it somehow wins the SEC tournament. You can count on this team losing on the road to Kentucky, Tenn, Fl, and at least one of the remaining Western conference teams. They will probably lose at home to Vandy also, so that would leave them with at least 8 SEC losses, or if they are lucky an 8-8 conference record. That wouldn’t get them into the big dance. Actually, this team is worse at home than last year’s team. At least last year’s team beat Tenn, Fl,&Vandy at home in close games. And for all of you Fox lovers that think he has turned the program around, all i have to say to you is look at the roster for next year. All of the big men will be gone, Thompkins, Barnes, Price&Leslie. This team will be back to last year’s record next year, and then what will everyone say about Fox? Besides, if it weren’t for players recruited by the last coach, this team would be terrible. He inherited Barnes, Price, Leslie&Thompkins. And to make matters worse, he lost 7 or the 8 players from the state of Ga. that were rated in the top 100. My god, he lost one head to head to Tech, one head to head to Vandy. This guy is a joke
Dr. Morpheus
January 26th, 2011
4:02 pm
All I can say to Who Cares is, “Who cares what a troll says?
SoCal Dawg
January 26th, 2011
4:10 pm
@January 26th, 2011 is that you Felton.
3:59 pm
Delbert D.
January 26th, 2011
5:30 pm
Basketball? Writing about basketball? That’s not normal.
Just Like Football ! Gators Beat Georgia
January 26th, 2011
5:59 pm
In basketball too! Life sucks when you are a UGA Mutt……or Bill King!
Former UGA Player
January 26th, 2011
6:02 pm
Bill, you kind of made your self look goofy with the line about the lack of conditioning on UGA’s basketball team. Obviously you have not played in a highly emotional NCAA collegiate game in a while. Actually never!!!! Yes we looked fatigued, and probalby were late, no matter what Price said. We spent a lot of emotional energy in the first half, along with the real energy that we only have a good starting 5, and 3 real role players off the bench! Unfortunately, Mark Fox’s team is an excellent half court offensive team. Very Good! But we are not a real good defensive team, and have not been since Coach Fox has been there. I am not trying to knock Mark Fox, I am just stating the facts! It is probably based more on the fact that Trey T and Travis L are not real good defensive players (who cares, I love to watch them run the offense), but if UGA could play defense as well as they play offense, UGA would be VERY GOOD! We will not win a championship until we can play MUCH BETTER ON DEFENSE! That said, Mark Fox is an excellent coach!!!!!!!!!! Count me on the bandwagon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Former UGA Player
ca dawg
January 26th, 2011
6:03 pm
i think you have to foul in that situation. we obviously should fire mark fox.
jack bull
January 26th, 2011
6:13 pm
coaching is a tough job. wish we could publicly 2nd guess a whole lot of folks on this blog in their job.. if i were the coach, i wouldn’t have fouled either. although i wouldn’t be upset if he did elect to foul. i bet he couldn’t make that shot in that situation again…well, maybe 20% of the time he could…i’ll take those odds.. it was a great game though. actually had a few of the computer geeks at work talking about it today…
PT
January 26th, 2011
6:40 pm
The Gators are deeper and more talented off the bench. This is just year two. I’m really not disappointed with the Dawgs.
Girldawg
January 26th, 2011
7:23 pm
Cannot wait until Saturday 4pm… Go Dawgs!!! Hold you head up and go get Kentucky!!
TiredFan
January 26th, 2011
7:40 pm
No way this team makes the NCAAs. Last night’s game was absolutely crucial to making the case, and they failed to—both the coach and the players. They’ll get whipped badly by Kentucky and will finish the season 4 games above .500. Another plug for our new athletic motto: Come to UGA and be slightly better than mediocre!
harold
January 26th, 2011
7:48 pm
FOX WAS STUPID. FOUL THE GUY!
LakeDawg
January 26th, 2011
8:50 pm
Former UGA Player…Excellent post. That sums it up nicely. I would add that Coach Fox can’t allow TT to play too aggressively on D. Can’t afford for him to be in foul trouble. He leaves it up to Barnes and Price to play low post D. Alas, Price is too slow to play effective D and Barnes is only a decent defender. As for last night, UGA lostthe game because our guards couldn’t keep up wth Florida’s guards.
Just Like Football
January 26th, 2011
9:28 pm
Florida > Georgia. Period.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
January 26th, 2011
9:48 pm
It was a heart-breaking loss but I give credit to UF for playing well. UF was better than I thought and may end up beating UK at least at home to win the East. Did UF really beat Auburn only by 45-40?
UGA is much improved but will probably need at least 1if not 2 good road wins to get an NCAA tourney invite now.
Flatsdawg1
January 26th, 2011
10:15 pm
Yea, 94′ grad , I agree, and I love this guy as coach but I believe 9 out of ten college coaches would agree with fouling, it’s common sense. You can give them one shot to tie it or two shots to tie it at the foul line by missing it intentionally on the second free throw. Also there’s the chance of fouling just before he shoots that three pointer and then he could win the game at the free throw line.
OldFan
January 26th, 2011
10:28 pm
As the first OT was drawing to a close, Donovan told his players, “We’re Gators. We don’t lose to Georgia. Go out and make the play.” Fox was telling our guys, “We’re UGA, let’s hope Florida misses.” The coach let the players down, and the players returned the favor. This will be tough to overcome when the next game’s on the line.
Retired Coach and Dawg Fan
January 26th, 2011
11:27 pm
Mr.King, have you ever played or coached in a double OT game at ANY level? What would give you any credence to question a professional such as coach Fox?? Personally, I believe in fouling in that situation, but I am not going to question our coach in that situation. Please support our guys, or go join the Techsters. With “friends” like you… Obviously, I get touchy about people who have never “been in the arena” questioning from their non-competitve positions.
Chris S
January 26th, 2011
11:46 pm
Isn’t that the point of playing these preseason games? You learn your teams strengths and weaknesses so you know what to do when it’s tourney time.
Come March, when the regular season begins, I’m sure Mark Fox will get it right.
Chris S
January 26th, 2011
11:48 pm
And I’m tired of the people like the moron above who thinks that just because you don’t play or coach, you have no right to criticize the decisions of others. Really? I guess if you’ve never run an oil company, you shouldn’t criticize BP for the spill.
» BBL: Walker’s comeback; Polson, Lacey, Dawson John Clay’s Sidelines
January 27th, 2011
8:12 am
[...] Bill King of the AJC: “Lots of debate among UGA fans after Tuesday night’s game over whether the Dogs should have fouled Florida’s Erving Walker at the end of the first overtime rather than letting him make an admittedly surprising 30-foot 3-point shot. Georgia was leading 85-82 with 6.7 seconds left and the conventional thinking in such situations is that you foul, give up a couple of free throws and get the ball and the game. But Georgia didn’t foul Walker and didn’t even cover him that closely, apparently relying on distance and the long odds against him making the shot.” [...]
jbeggs
January 27th, 2011
8:30 am
Really Bill? So you are going to question conditioning at tghis early stage of the game? After where this team was two years ago to now? Unreal!
Bring Tubby back !
January 27th, 2011
8:41 am
He was a good fit for UGA….
KeepDreaming
January 27th, 2011
9:06 am
YOU ALWAYS FOUL up 3 points with little time left on the clock. Any armchair coach knows that! I do believe Fox was calling for the foul too. Always seems like the ball bounces in the damn Gaytors favor.
dawgster
January 27th, 2011
9:20 am
I have to agree with many on here..you foul and force the other team into the decision on whether you make both free throws or make one and miss the other…Yes its a tough call, i think you can make a case for either decision…but having seen other coaches in similar situations call for a foul and more often than not it works out…but its easy to say what you should or should not have done now that the game is over…The bottom line is the dawgs defense allowed the gator player to get behind them which gave him the space to make the shot…the odds were still against him making it, but to the kid’s credit he nailed it…seems like against the gators whether it be football or basketball we come up short…Hopefully we learn from this loss and can put it behind us…the worst thing would be to let it carry over to our next game…go dawgs
producewiz
January 27th, 2011
10:08 am
either team could have won this game, and either teamcould have lost.that’s what happens in 2 OTs.Both coaches can look back and say why.
Loyal Dawg
January 27th, 2011
10:40 am
Don’t jump on the strength and conditioning band wagon with our hoop dawgs. It was more about depth than anything. We may not have played our best but I do think we played hard. There are some great days ahead for Coach Fox and our dawgs.