from dawgpost
ATHENS – Mark Fox is going to have to effectively recruit to win at Georgia. And today he may have gotten the best one recruit around.
At a minimum, Kentavious Caldwell is the best player in Georgia. Without question Caldwell’s decision to pick Georgia over virtually every other school around serves notice to the SEC and perhaps the ACC, too, that Georgia is going to be a player with in-state kids.
“The reason I wanted to go is that it is close to home with a great coach with great academics,” Caldwell said of the decision. The Greenville product is likely to be named the state’s Mr. Basketball, which means the Bulldogs will pull in back-to-back Georgia Mr. Basketballs for the first time in recent memory.
The quiet Caldwell let Fox know of his decision, but had to call twice to make sure the new head coach knew that he was coming aboard.
“I called them today. I told him that I had some good news, but he was on the plane. When I finally told him he was really excited,” Caldwell said.
But Fox may his owe Caldwell’s initial interest in Georgia to the football program.
“I grew up a Georgia fan,” Caldwell said. “I like the football team… I didn’t know much about the basketball team. I liked A.J. Green. He’s the reason I really liked Georgia when I was growing up.”
Green, too was a talented basketball star in high school, but decided to focus on football, where he is sure to be a high draft pick a coming NFL Draft. For Caldwell the commitment to Georgia is the first step on the way to what most observers consider a professional career in basketball after college.
For now, Caldwell sad he was happy to share the news of his decision with his mother.
“My mother was pretty excited,” he said. “She told me that it was a great choice