Mark Fox (to Trey Thompkins): Coach [Stacey] Palmore was calling you out about next year. I'm not going to do that.
Trey Thompkins: Don’t worry, coach. I’m coming back.
Mark Fox: God bless you, Trey.
How do I like this exchange? Let me count the ways:
1. It happened at the Georgia Tipoff Club's season-ending banquet, which was a great place to make the announcement, and it also made me aware of the fact that we have a Tipoff Club that hosts a season-ending banquet, which is cool.
2. It happened without anyone riding up in a limo, holding a press conference at the Hall of Fame, putting on a cap in front of photographers, or doing anything showy or self-promoting; a guy made an important personal decision, was given an easy opportunity to let folks know what he'd decided, and took it without fanfare. That's class right there, folks.
3. It answered (at least in my mind) these concerns about Coach Fox's creation of a family atmosphere around the program. While there's certainly a way to read Coach Fox's reaction cynically and opportunistically, the fact that he reacted as he did to an announcement he clearly did not know was forthcoming suggests to me that he was sincere. You don't say "God bless you" to someone you don't genuinely care about unless that person has just sneezed.
4. It means Trey Thompkins is coming back. (Duh!) Ladies and gentlemen, MaconDawg and I will be writing about, and you will be reading about, Georgia basketball in March 2011. How cool is that?
5. It might mean---might, mind you---that renegator is right and life in Bulldog Nation is about to become good again.
Go 'Dawgs!