Sure Enough, Crump goes back to the Bench

Glad that the Dawgs beat Mississippi State, but we won't have help from the refs every night.  At some point, we need to show we can hit a jump-shot.

That's where Crump comes in, or rather, did not come in.  After Crump's great game at Tennessee, Fox decided not to start him.  To make matters worse, Fox substituted Crump in fairly early in the first half, but after Tyree played a couple of minutes, then hit a deep three, he was yanked.

Houston Kessler, however, got ample playing time.  He only went out after picking up his second foul.

I guess it's too late in the season to complain.  Maybe Fox can win the SEC Tournament and get to the NCAA's after all.  I hope so.

I don't know what Fox is doing, and I don't think he knows, either.  I'd be happy to be proven wrong, but it looks like another NIT year for the Dawgs.

Bet you dollars to doughnuts

that Fox returns Tyree Crump to the bench against Mississippi State Tuesday night.  That's what happened when Crump shot lights out against Morehouse, and was thereafter relegated to the deep bench against Marquette.  I doubt Fox has changed much since then.

Crump has shown that he can score from long range.  He can knock down pressure free throws.  And he can score a bunch of points in a short time (he scored 13 in 16 minutes against Tennessee).

Crump's a great complement to J.J.  Sure, you likely have to play zone if both Crump and Frazier are in the game at the same time, but we need to play more zone defense anyway.  The pay-off for UGA will be most apparent on offense, because teams can't just double-team J.J. or Yante if Crump is in shooting position.

Unfortunately, Fox hates zone, and he apparently dislikes adjusting his scheme to his talent.  I remember being stunned that Fox sat Kenny Gaines instead of finding a way to put him on the floor with KCP.

Likewise, Coach Fox will have his reasons for not playing Crump all  year:  

"He was behind a pretty good player in J.J.", will likely be his "go-to" reason.  If he doesn't reach for that one, he'll say that "the match-ups didn't favor" giving Crump any time on the floor.  Fox will then declare that "Crump has been getting better in practice all year."

I say, if you're in next-to-last place in the SEC, do something different!  Besides, J.J. won't be here next year, so give Crump playing time now.