Opinion: Step one completed; step two most important

ATHENS -- OK. Step one is completed in Athens -- the sinking ship that is Georgia men's basketball has finally gone under.

After yet another embarrassing performance on the court Wednesday night, Bulldogs athletics director Damon Evans pulled the trigger on coach Dennis Felton and turned the program over -- in the interim -- to assistant Pete Herrmann.

Now comes the hard part: finding the right man to pick up the pieces.

It certainly appears as though Evans has started the process on the right foot, specifically by starting the process before the season finishes.

By creating a vacancy now, Evans will be able to actively size up replacements during the season and take his time in finding whom he feels to be the best successor. Had he waited, Evans may have had to scramble against other programs looking to fill the same position. And while conference rival Alabama will also be competing with the Bulldogs -- coach Mike Gottfried walked away from the Crimson Tide earlier this week -- Georgia's coaching job is currently the pick of available positions.

Georgia produces some of the best high school basketball talent in the nation, including players like Kwame Brown and Dwight Howard, who were the No. 1 players picked in the NBA draft in 2001 and 2004, respectively. And last year, ESPN.com ranked Atlanta as one of the top eight cities for high school basketball in the nation. So there is no shortage of talent for the next Bulldogs coach to work with.

Certainly facilities in Athens aren't what they are at other programs -- Stegeman Coliseum is a bit of a dinosaur. But Felton, to his credit, did dramatically help to improve the basketball work out and practice facilities. And do potential recruits really care too much about the place the play? Usually, they are far more interested in television coverage and being seen.

And, as we've seen, when Georgia basketball is competitive and relevant, the fans -- and cameras -- will follow.

So, who will be the best fit for the Dogs? Who is ready and willing to turn a dormant program into a potential player on the Southeastern Conference and national scene?

Apparently the list is pretty expansive. Names like Virginia Commonwealth's Anthony Grant, Dayton's Brian Gregory, Butler's Brad Stevens, and even former Georgia coach and current Minnesota head man Tubby Smith have been bandied about. And that's just skimming the surface.

Each has his pros and cons. But, most importantly, Evans now has ample time to weigh those pros and cons and make the decision that will hopefully move the Georgia program out of the sinking state it has suffered through since 2003.