ATHENS - A Georgia basketball fan's first reaction when hearing South Carolina was hiring Frank Martin should be: Wow, that makes the SEC tougher, and the job a bit tougher for Mark Fox and Georgia.
But the second reaction might be: Wait, does this mean Fox could end up replacing Martin at Kansas State?
Fox is a Kansas native, he was an assistant at Kansas State (1994-2000) and at least once this year he quoted KSU head football coach Bill Snyder. So it's no surprise that at least one national college hoops expert, ESPN's Andy Katz, is throwing Fox's name out there as a potential replacement.
But I made a couple calls to people in the college hoops business, both of whom who don't work at Georgia, and each was skeptical that Fox would be interested.
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There are a couple of reasons:
- Fox just got a contract extension last year and seems to genuinely like it in Athens.
- Kansas State isn't as attractive a job as it might seem, even to a native. There was a reason Martin wanted to leave, having butted heads with athletics director John Currie. So Fox would think twice about that, especially since he apparently has a good relationship with his bosses at Georgia.
Then again, the addition of Martin - as well as Missouri and Texas A&M - is only going to make the sledding that much harder in the SEC. Georgia is trying to compete and is still going after star recruit Tony Parker, but it would be a surprise if Parker chose the Bulldogs.
You never rule anything out, whether it's Parker to Georgia or Fox to Kansas State. But at this point, Georgia seems likely to hold on to its basketball coach.
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UPDATE: Fox weighed in via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon:
"I grew up in Kansas but I plan to grow old in Georgia. Any rumor mentioning me with another job is false. GO DAWGS!"
So there you go.
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