Georgia basketball back in the running for Upson-Lee standout Tye Fagan
Upson-Lee product Tye Fagan will consider staying closer to home after being granted a release from his national letter-of-intent Friday afternoon by Middle Tennessee State.
The sudden move for the senior guard comes after Kermit Davis accepted a head coaching job at Mississippi earlier in March. At the time of Fagan’s pledge to play for the Blue Raiders, Georgia was his only scholarship from a Power 5 program.
Now UGA is back in the running. Immediately after his announcement, a number of Fagan’s followers sent replies petitioning him to join the Bulldogs.
“Yeah, (Georgia is back as a contender in my recruitment),” Fagan told The Telegraph. “I just released the news, so I haven’t had coaches reach out to me yet, but they (head coach Tom Crean and assistant Jonas Hayes) have spoken with people that know me and are asking about me.”
Fagan is rated as a three-star prospect, according to 247Sports composite rankings, and is the 18th-best-rated 2018 prospect in the state of Georgia. But his recent successes have drawn some interests from programs like Georgia.
Upson-Lee recently capped off its second consecutive undefeated season, and Fagan was a leading force. As a senior, he averaged 25 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Georgia has focused its pursuit at the guard position on Newton five-star guard Ashton Hagans with the hope he could re-classify to the 2018 class, but Fagan could serve as a surefire option to play alongside the returning backcourt talents of Teshaun Hightower, Tyree Crump and others.
“I know a little about Crean,” Fagan said. “I don’t know enough to say much about his style of play or anything, just what he did at Indiana.”
Fagan will take time to evaluate what Crean brings to the Georgia program, but Hayes was an integral part in making Georgia a contender before committing to Middle Tennessee State. His job status will be the make-or-break factor in the Bulldogs’ chances.
The same notion has been echoed by signees Amanze Ngumezi and Jojo Toppin, but there’s a greater level of importance for Fagan.
“He has to be there for Georgia to have a chance,” Fagan said. “He gives that brother feeling and he earns your trust.”
In his statement, Fagan indicated he “fell in love” with what Middle Tennessee State — which proceeded to hire Nick McDevitt — had to offer by being in the Nashville area, but the coaching shuffle was the deciding factor.
The expectation is for recruitment to continue from Davis at Ole Miss, but it’s not a sure advantage.
“I honestly don’t know if coach Davis will have an advantage,” Fagan said. “Everybody is now on a level playing ground. Ole Miss is going to have to work, too.”
This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Georgia basketball back in the running for Upson-Lee standout Tye Fagan."