Upson-Lee's Fagan goes from "UUUU LLLLL" to "U-G-A, U-G-A"
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Mississippi did Georgia a solid.
It hired Kermit Davis as its new head men’s basketball coach in mid-March.
Within a week, commitments and signees began rethinking things. Tye Fagan asked for a release from Middle Tennessee State, Davis’s former employer, and eventually got it.
Fast forward about six weeks, and new Georgia men’s basketball head coach Tom Crean has his first full commitment, and it’s from a Central Georgian with a championship pedigree.
Upson-Lee’s Fagan will trade the purple, black, and silver for the red and black of Georgia, having announced his decision late Monday afternoon.
Tye Fagan was featured recently in Sports Illustrated.
He’ll adjust his hearing from “UUUUUUU LLLLLLL” to “U-G-A, U-G-A”. Crean and the Bulldogs hope he can continue his undefeated ways for awhile.
Fagan was the focal point of an Upson-Lee team that has gone undefeated two straight seasons while racking up a pair of GHSA Class AAAA state titles.
Fagan has been one of the state’s top high school players the past few years, and is considered a three-star prospect. He is the 2017-18 Class 4A player of the year in Georgia for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sandy’s Spiel, and the Class 4A South player of the year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association.
Fagan, a lean 6-4 wing with a high basketball IQ who has a mid-range game and plays defense, averaged 25 points, 4.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.4 steals a game in helping the Knights to 63 straight wins.
According to Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Fagan was also recruited by College of Charleston, Arkansas State, East Carolina, South Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast. He received an offer from Georgia and former head coach Mark Fox.
Upon getting his release from MTSU and re-opening the recruiting process, he still considered the Blue Raiders along with Georgia, but Xavier and Mississippi had entered the derby.
He re-visited Georgia – which has a perimeter-oriented roster at this point - and entertained Crean on a visit to Thomaston.
“Ain’t no place like home,” he said in a video release Monday, putting on a Georgia cap.
Georgia football fans hope to continue a pipeline to Upson-Lee.
David Marshall is a sophomore defensive lineman on the football team, and Upson-Lee rising senior Travon Walker – who will compete in the state track meet next week – is a standout basketball player but is a four-star football recruit as an athletic and smart 6-for-5, 255-pounder.