With a new $30 million practice facility, a much needed face lift of Stegeman Coliseum on the horizon, and one of the most fertile basketball recruiting grounds in the country just an hour away, the potential is there for Georgia basketball. Some may even call it a sleeping giant in college basketball.

But since the Jim Harrick debacle of seven years ago, the men’s basketball team has been nothing other than the doormat of the Southeastern Conference. However, if first-year head coach Mark Fox has anything to say about it, those days in Athens will be long gone starting Friday, when basketball practice can officially begin, opening the 2009-2010 season.

“I think our players are ready for a fresh start,” Fox said. “I think last year was a difficult year for them, which they’d admit that to you, but they’re young, and they’re resilient, and they’re excited about a new season and having the chance to go out and play and represent Georgia in the right way.”

As for Fox’s plan of how to mine that untapped potential, it’s simple – honesty.

“We just try to be truly genuine. We try to be honest with people. I don’t think there is really any other way to do it. We are exactly who we are,” Fox said of how he’s tried to change the culture and perception around the program. “We’ve done what we’ve done, and we have a vision and plan for ultimately what this program can be.”

Fox knows about the talent that surrounds the Atlanta area as well. He says he does not see the need to go out to the west coast to get players, and he wants to build a pipeline of talent from the southern region. He has begun that by getting out and meeting the people in the area.

“We’re just taking it day-to-day, and everyday we’re trying to strengthen a relationship, build a relationship, make contact with a new player, find a prospect. I think no matter what the situation, whether you’re rebuilding or defending championship, I think you have to have that same approach, and you can’t get complacent.”

The difference is already apparent in the optimism surrounding the program, which Fox says started with getting the players to buy-in to him and his coaching staff first and foremost.

“It’s a lot different with coach Fox. We just support him more, we like him more, and he likes to interact with us more,” junior power forward Chris Barnes said. “It has been great getting to know him, and he looks like the real deal so far.”

One challenge faced with a new coaching job is implementing the new offensive system. Teaching it to 15 players that are unfamiliar with it, as opposed to the usual one to five freshman who need to be acquainted, is something that Fox says will take a couple of years.

Although Fox admits it won’t be easy teaching his complex Triangle Offense to a brand new team that finished 12-20 last season, Fox said the players have been very receptive to what he wants.

“It’s more of just learning when to do certain things at this point,” sophomore point guard Dustin Ware said of his learning curve for the offense. “We’re anxious to see the changes. It is almost like we’re all freshman again.”

With senior leader and main scorer Terrence Woodbury, who averaged 14 points per game last season, exhausting his eligibility, Fox will look to lean on the sophomore tandem of Trey Thompkins and Ware.

“We know we’re not going to be picked by anyone, but we’re not paying attention to any of that. If we put in the work that we should, then I think the sky is the limit this year because I know we have some of the best talent in the SEC,” Ware said.

And when asked which player fans can expect to step up this season, Barnes answered perfectly: “We all should [step up].”