Coach Fish @ UGA

[A-Frame]

It's tough to say what the full story is here. In another article I read UGA is considering firing head coach Tom Crean.

He was really hard to watch coach. I never liked how much he yelled at his players, this sort of behavior doesn't seem surprising.

According to people familiar with the situation, the incident began during the first half of the game when Mason overheard Fish make what he considered an inappropriate comment about a Georgia player. Mason, who sat next to Fish on the bench, brought up the remark to Fish immediately after and then again in the locker room at the intermission. It was then that the altercation turned physical with Mason pushing, and possibly punching, Fish.

Fish was hired as a director of player personnel by Crean in 2019. He’s in his third season with the program after six seasons as head coach at Montana State. Georgia has three on-court assistants — Mason, Steve McClain and John Linehan — and Fish contributes to the program in the premier support staff role. Fish was caught on camera berating freshman Christian Wright during the second half of the team’s 74-72 loss to Auburn earlier this season.

https://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-bull ... 4K6J47HN4/

[blueandgoldblitz]

Good for Mason for standing up for his players. I never liked how Fish treated his players...

[GoldstoneCat]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

[MSU01]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

Agreed. One can only imagine what Coach Sprinkle could've accomplished with a roster including two NBA players and Harald Frey.

[kcatz]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

[GoldstoneCat]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

Fair enough. Results spoke for themselves though.

[Bobcat4Ever]

I was surprised when Georgia hired Tom Crean. Never seemed like the most empathetic coach, and then I guess I wasn’t surprised when Brian Fish went there. As for Tyler Hall, they go way back and Tyler must trust him when he’s out dealing with the big guys.

[LTown Cat]

He doesn’t wear socks…

[BStinsMSU]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

Fair enough. Results spoke for themselves though.

Results show 3 pro basketball players on a roster for multiple years and no conference title to show for it. I remember watching games when Lassi was on the team, and Fish ripped into him so bad for every mistake that he’d always have 2 or 3 teammates that would come console him afterwards.

[GoldstoneCat]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

Fair enough. Results spoke for themselves though.

Results show 3 pro basketball players on a roster for multiple years and no conference title to show for it. I remember watching games when Lassi was on the team, and Fish ripped into him so bad for every mistake that he’d always have 2 or 3 teammates that would come console him afterwards.

Yep the individual parts were greater than the sum of the parts. That's coaching and by extension culture, no doubt.

[BelgradeBobcat]

Jubrile Bello was a Fish recruit...but Fish probably would have benched him because he too couldn't simultaneously hedge on the point guard whilst also fronting the low post. Fish probably would have converted Adamu into a center like he did with Sam Neumann. One of the most frustrating eras of Bobcat basketball-amongst a lot of frustrating eras.

[Bobcat4Ever]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

Fair enough. Results spoke for themselves though.

Results show 3 pro basketball players on a roster for multiple years and no conference title to show for it. I remember watching games when Lassi was on the team, and Fish ripped into him so bad for every mistake that he’d always have 2 or 3 teammates that would come console him afterwards.

It’s odd how an educational institution can go against its grain in hiring coaches. The best professors instill a love for the subject matter, make sure you are challenged, and get great results. If all the professors treated students like Lassi (see above) the enrollment would be about 170 instead of 17,000. Thank you Coaches Bin, Sprinks, Jones(vb), Weese(track) and Vigen — you seem to get it, and the results are following.

[kennethnoisewater]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

Fair enough. Results spoke for themselves though.

Results show 3 pro basketball players on a roster for multiple years and no conference title to show for it. I remember watching games when Lassi was on the team, and Fish ripped into him so bad for every mistake that he’d always have 2 or 3 teammates that would come console him afterwards.

It’s odd how an educational institution can go against its grain in hiring coaches. The best professors instill a love for the subject matter, make sure you are challenged, and get great results. If all the professors treated students like Lassi (see above) the enrollment would be about 170 instead of 17,000. Thank you Coaches Bin, Sprinks, Jones(vb), Weese(track) and Vigen — you seem to get it, and the results are following.

Yes, they get it. They HAVE to get it. Us old guys can piss and moan about kids being soft or whatever all we want, but players need and deserve a coach that cares for them as human beings. That's obvious, but it's a higher bar nowadays to show you love your players. Right or wrong, kids don't get yelled at anymore growing up and they can't be coached by the old Bobby Knight types. Those guys are dinosaurs and I'm OK with it. Love and push your players and they'll love and push each other, then the whole group can accomplish amazing things together.

[MSU01]

Yes, they get it. They HAVE to get it. Us old guys can piss and moan about kids being soft or whatever all we want, but players need and deserve a coach that cares for them as human beings. That's obvious, but it's a higher bar nowadays to show you love your players. Right or wrong, kids don't get yelled at anymore growing up and they can't be coached by the old Bobby Knight types. Those guys are dinosaurs and I'm OK with it. Love and push your players and they'll love and push each other, then the whole group can accomplish amazing things together.

There was a play late in the game Saturday against SUU where the Bobcats had the ball up 6 with about a minute and a half left, and Raequan Battle unsuccessfully tried to go in for a contested layup after running almost no time off the clock. You could tell Sprinkle was upset by the decision but by the time Battle made it over to the bench he just quietly talked to Battle and got on with coaching the game. The player knows he screwed up, no need to embarrass him on the sidelines - if there are issues, take care of them behind closed doors and not in front of thousands of fans watching in the arena and on TV!

[AFCAT]

Yes, they get it. They HAVE to get it. Us old guys can piss and moan about kids being soft or whatever all we want, but players need and deserve a coach that cares for them as human beings. That's obvious, but it's a higher bar nowadays to show you love your players. Right or wrong, kids don't get yelled at anymore growing up and they can't be coached by the old Bobby Knight types. Those guys are dinosaurs and I'm OK with it. Love and push your players and they'll love and push each other, then the whole group can accomplish amazing things together.

There was a play late in the game Saturday against SUU where the Bobcats had the ball up 6 with about a minute and a half left, and Raequan Battle unsuccessfully tried to go in for a contested layup after running almost no time off the clock. You could tell Sprinkle was upset by the decision but by the time Battle made it over to the bench he just quietly talked to Battle and got on with coaching the game. The player knows he screwed up, no need to embarrass him on the sidelines - if there are issues, take care of them behind closed doors and not in front of thousands of fans watching in the arena and on TV!

Exactly, many people just don’t understand the art of being a leader. There is no single leadership style that works for every situation. You have to be flexible, understanding, and teach, not just dictate, humiliate, and yell. There are times when a directive type of leadership is needed but it’s not very often and it just doesn’t work very well when used all the time.

[Bobcat4Ever]

John Wooden might have known this when his teams ran off eight NCAA national titles in a row.

[GrizgradCatFan]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

Fair enough. Results spoke for themselves though.

Results show 3 pro basketball players on a roster for multiple years and no conference title to show for it. I remember watching games when Lassi was on the team, and Fish ripped into him so bad for every mistake that he’d always have 2 or 3 teammates that would come console him afterwards.

It’s odd how an educational institution can go against its grain in hiring coaches. The best professors instill a love for the subject matter, make sure you are challenged, and get great results. If all the professors treated students like Lassi (see above) the enrollment would be about 170 instead of 17,000. Thank you Coaches Bin, Sprinks, Jones(vb), Weese(track) and Vigen — you seem to get it, and the results are following.

If you thought he treated Lassi bad how about Joe M. He used to yell at him so bad it drove me nuts. He was a very abussive coach and also ran off a great player in Isaac Bonton who did very well at WSU and is in the Euro league now. He was one of the worst coaches I have ever seen and can only believe he was kept around was due to his chemistry with Tyler. Tyler could do no wrong in Fishes eyes. Its great to have a real coach and to see the bench coaches actually be able to do their job during the game.

[Camo_Cat]

I haven't missed him one day since he wasn't asked to return. Good recruiter but a poor coach, can't imagine how he was to play for.

And yet Tyler Hall chose to have Coach Fish with him when he met and tested with NBA teams

Fair enough. Results spoke for themselves though.

Results show 3 pro basketball players on a roster for multiple years and no conference title to show for it. I remember watching games when Lassi was on the team, and Fish ripped into him so bad for every mistake that he’d always have 2 or 3 teammates that would come console him afterwards.

Lassi is currently the starting PG for the Helsinki Seagulls in Finland. Interestingly enough, also on that team is Zaccheus Darko-Kelly who is from Great Falls and played for both Western and Providence (Great Falls).

[kennethnoisewater]

John Wooden might have known this when his teams ran off eight NCAA national titles in a row.

For sure. And that was extremely progressive at that time. But even he might have some issues today. He famously had issues with Bill Walton's long hair. He was a "my way or the highway" kind of guy, but he did it in a way that didn't shame or belittle players. Obviously Walton cut his hair and everything was fine, but I'm always curious how Wooden would do today with players who are probably a little more concerned with self promotion than they were 50 years ago. I have a feeling he'd make it work.

[imacat]

Wade Mason has been fired.