6:22 pm ET
Pete ThamelESPN
Georgia fired men’s basketball coach Tom Crean after a 6-26 season, the school said Thursday.
Crean’s Georgia tenure ends after four seasons and a 47-75 record, including a 15-58 mark in SEC games. According to his contract, the school owes Crean a $3.2 million ransom.
Crean’s UGA roster included first-pick Anthony Edwards and star big man Nicholas Claxton, but the Bulldogs only hit .500 over once in four seasons.
Georgia went 14-12 in 2020-21, but the transfer of two of its top scorers last season – Sahvir Wheeler to Kentucky and Kay D Johnson to Auburn – was one of a flurry of defections that stalled much of the progress.
Crean’s hiring in Georgia came after he worked as an analyst for ESPN. Previously, he was head coach at both Indiana and Marquette. He led Indiana to four NCAA Tournaments in his last six seasons there and led Marquette to the Final Four in 2003.
Crean could never achieve the same success in Athens. The Georgia team finished 1-17 in the SEC this year, finishing the SEC tournament 86-51, losing to Vanderbilt on Wednesday night in Tampa, Florida.
“I would like to sincerely thank Coach Crean and his family for their commitment to Georgia basketball,” Georgia AD Josh Brooks said in a statement. “Tom Crean showed undeniable effort and enthusiasm for what he was trying to achieve in Georgia. However, we expect that at the end of the season we will compete for success in all 21 sports. We believe that a leadership change in men’s basketball is needed to achieve our goals. .”