Former Georgia Basketball stars back Jonas Hayes as next UGA head coach
Even with conference tournaments going on across the country, Georgia Basketball, knocked out of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday to finish off one of the worst seasons in program history, has managed to remain the talk of the town. That’s because Tom Crean was fired on Thursday, leaving the Bulldogs with a head coaching vacancy – one of the most exciting storylines in all of sports.
With a new head coach comes a fresh start and a rejuvenated sense of energy. That’s exactly what Georgia fans are looking for, and many believe that the man best fit for the job has already seen, and been a part of, what the program is capable of accomplishing. That of course would be Xavier assistant coach and former Georgia player Jonas Hayes.
On Friday, several other former Bulldog standouts came calling to “Bring Jonas Home.” J.J. Frazier has been among the most vocal supporters. However this time, it was others leading the charge including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Yante Maten and others.
Hayes has spent the last four seasons on staff under Travis Steele at Xavier. Prior to that, he both played and coached at Georgia, helping the Bulldogs to a combined seven postseason bids in 11 seasons in Athens. Georgia posted three consecutive 20-win finishes in Hayes’ first three seasons as an assistant, just the second time in 112 seasons of play the Bulldogs have accomplished that feat. Hayes also spent time on staffs at Morehouse (2005-06), South Carolina State (2006-07) and Belmont Abbey (2007-12).
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As a player, Hayes was a three-year letterwinner and started 41 of 88 games played for the Bulldogs from 2001-04, averaging 8.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for his career. Hayes and his twin brother Jarvis played at Western Carolina as freshmen before transferring to Georgia in 2000. Jonas helped Georgia reach postseason competition twice, including the 2002 NCAA Tournament and 2004 NIT. Jonas started 29 games as a senior and averaged 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds. His connections both to Georgia and the fertile recruiting ground that is Atlanta make Hayes the attractive option for some fans.
Hayes, the betting favorite to get the job at +300 according to SportsLine, is one of several names that has been mentioned in connection to the open position. Other candidates would seem to be Murray State head coach Matt McMahon, Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates and Colorado State head coach Niko Medved.
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