Tom Crean addresses assistant coaching suspension following Georgia loss

Georgia abruptly cancelled its Friday afternoon media availability with head coach Tom Crean after reports surfaced that an assistant coach had been put on suspension, but the university provided a statement Saturday that denied any correlation between the suspension and the media availability.

Crean and the Bulldogs fell to 6-21 on Saturday after an 85-68 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels, after which the head coach addressed reports that said assistant basketball coach Wade Mason had been suspended indefinitely for an altercation with director of player development Brian Fish at halftime of Georgia’s Wednesday night loss at LSU.

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“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate situation that we’re dealing with,” Crean said of Fish’s suspension. “It was all handled correctly, and we’ve tried to keep our focus on basketball. Unfortunately, today, we just didn’t play very well. We had our moments, but not enough, especially defensively. We just gave up too many open shots. So, that’s just what it is. Our practices have been good, we’ve worked hard, prepared well, practiced short — we just didn’t play very well today as a team at key times, especially in the second half.”

Mason initially joined Georgia’s coaching staff in June of 2021 after five years at Stephen F. Austin. Prior to his arrival at Stephen F. Austin, he worked at Oral Roberts as an assistant coach from 2012-2016 and at Oklahoma as a graduate assistant.

One reporter asked if Crean saw what happened between Mason and Fish, with a follow-up question asking whether the suspension was Crean’s idea. Crean did not allow the reporter to finish his question before interjecting.

“I’m going to just refer everything back to the statement after making that first comment,” Crean said. “I hope you guys understand. We’re just going to leave it at that. I’d be happy to talk about the game, but I would just refer everything in regards to the situation we had to the statement.”

With Saturday’s loss, Georgia (6-21, 1-13) did not help its case climbing out of the cellar of the SEC, as Ole Miss (4-10, 13-14) extended its lead over the last-place Bulldogs. Crean and the Bulldogs have a few days off before returning to action on Tuesday at Texas A&M.

Georgia releases statement following suspension, Crean media cancellation

Georgia released a statement on Saturday that denied any correlation between the cancelled media availability and the suspension.

“There have been various media reports related to UGA Athletics personnel ranging from completely inaccurate to incomplete and premature,” Georgia said in its statement, via The Athletic’s Seth Emerson. “The incident in question was reported properly as required by university policies and is under review. We will comment if and when appropriate.”

Frustration is undoubtedly building up for Georgia, as illustrated by Wednesday’s incident and the ensuing suspension. The Bulldogs look to have all but lost their chances to finish better than dead-last in the SEC, as Georgia has just one SEC win with four regular-season games left on schedule.