Birmingham News on Anthony Grant

Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News says that Anthony Grant isn't coming to Tuscaloosa per his sources. If he comes to the SEC, it will be to coach the Georgia Bulldogs. He's much more interested in our opportunity because:

"Why would he prefer Georgia to Alabama, given the choice? Georgia has a better in-state talent base, and Georgia has proven it will hire a black head basketball coach."

Grant's agent, UGA alum Mark Carmony of Career Sports and Entertainment, was rumored to have informally asked that Grant be considered as part of UGA's search if the job had opened up last year.

Let's back up. Who is Anthony Grant?
Grant was Billy Donovan's top assistant from 1994 at Marshall thru 2006 at Florida. He is currently in his third year as the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth where he is 67-20 overall and 39-7 in his league. In his first two seasons, he won his conference's regular season title; however, he only made the NCAA tourney once after his squad lost the Colonial League Conference Championship game in Year 2.

He is best known for beating the 6th seeded Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA Tourney in Year 1. He was also widely speculated to be Billy Donovan's successor at Florida if Billy had taken the Orlando Magic job.

While in Gainesville, the Gators and Grant landed:

1 National Title
2 Final Fours
2 SEC Tournament Championships
2 SEC Regular Season Championships
3 SEC East Titles
Dozens of obscenely talented players

He's a good basketball coach and a lights out recruiter with SEC and Atlanta AAU ties, but UGA may shoot higher at least initial when a search opens.

The biggest knock on his resume right now is the lack of longevity, and he's only won a single NCAA Tourney game. I will say that's one more NCAA Tourney games than Dennis Felton has won in 10+ years as a head coach, but Felton isn't the measuring stick for the next hire.

The other concern with Grant...the Duke win came with players recruited by Jeff Capel, Oklahoma's coach.

Regardless, Scarbinsky's article is interesting. Pat Forde of ESPN lists the other high-major conference jobs that may open this season. It gives you a sense for who UGA may be competing with.

See Also:
-- Anthony Grant Bio - Wikipedia

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