Georgia Tech employed Boston Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire as this system’s subsequent head coach, this system introduced Monday. Here’s what you must know:
- Stoudamire joined the Celtics in 2021 after 5 seasons as head coach at Pacific.
- He will exchange Josh Pastner, who was fired final week after Georgia Tech completed the season 15-18 general and 6-15 in convention play.
Backstory
Stoudamire, 49, might return to the collegiate teaching ranks for the primary time since his five-year stint with West Coast Conference member Pacific. He compiled a 71-77 general report with the Tigers, who failed to achieve an NCAA Tournament throughout his tenure. The former NBA guard who performed 13 seasons for the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies and Spurs additionally beforehand served as an assistant with Memphis and Arizona.
Pastner had been with Georgia Tech for seven seasons earlier than his firing final Friday. He completed his tenure 109-114 with one NCAA Tournament berth (within the 2020-21 season).
What they’re saying
“I am humbled and honored to be the head coach at Georgia Tech,” Stoudamire stated in a press release. “It is an incredible honor to be entrusted with leading such a tradition-rich program. I am excited to get to work with the goal of consistently having our team compete at the championship level that we all know we can and should compete at. I’m proud to represent Georgia Tech and can’t wait to walk out of the tunnel and onto the floor at the Thrillerdome in front of our fans. Go Jackets!”
Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt stated this system is “thrilled” to rent Stoudamire as coach.
“Coach Stoudamire’s success and credibility as a player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels make him a great fit to lead our program,” he stated. “He will serve as an outstanding mentor on and off the court and will attract talented student-athletes to The Flats. We could not be happier to welcome Coach Stoudamire to the Georgia Tech family.”
The Athletic’s prompt evaluation:
Why Stoudamire?
There’s some irony right here in that newish Georgia Tech athletic director J Batt fired Pastner to rent one in all Pastner’s former assistants at Memphis. But whereas Pastner was a strong coach, developed some gamers and was cherished by these in this system, the main mark in opposition to him was recruiting.
The Jackets haven’t recruited properly in basketball for the reason that early years of the Paul Hewitt regime. Batt, who employed Nate Oates at Alabama, moved shortly after firing Pastner on Friday, so he apparently believes Stoudamire could make inroads within the proficient recruiting base within the state of Georgia at the highschool and AAU ranges. It’s equally vital that he has an affect with transfers, assuming Tech can beef up its NIL pool.
Stoudamire went 23-10 and 9-9, respectively, in his ultimate two seasons at Pacific after a 39-58 begin, however the ACC is a step up from the WCC and he’ll need to show he can recruit and coach at this degree. This is a vital rent for Batt as a result of it’s usually simpler to construct a contending basketball program sooner than soccer, and Tech has reached the NCAA match simply as soon as within the final 13 years. This comes lower than 4 months after Batt employed Brent Key as soccer coach. — Schultz
What this implies for the Celtics
This is the third coach from the entrance of the Celtics bench to depart for the reason that finish of final season, after Ime Udoka was let go and affiliate head coach Will Hardy was poached by Utah. Stoudamire was one in all Joe Mazzulla’s prime assistants, as he was beneath Udoka, and was the substitute coach when Mazzulla needed to miss two video games on account of a watch damage in December. Mazzulla sits between Stoudamire and assistant Ben Sullivan throughout video games to allow them to advise in actual time, after which additionally brings assistant Tony Dobbins into teaching huddles firstly of timeouts.
Stoudamire is an important a part of the tradition Boston has constructed up over the previous few seasons and performed a giant function in incomes participant buy-in. The Celtics have plateaued after their sizzling begin, rating simply eighth in web score for the reason that starting of 2023. It stays to be seen whether or not they can flip it up one other gear come playoff time, however Stoudamire would have been a giant a part of revving that engine. Aaron Miles and DJ MacLeay are the opposite remaining assistant coaches, so a kind of two are prone to transfer as much as the entrance of the bench with Dobbins and Sullivan the highest assistants remaining. — Weiss
Required studying
(Photo: Paul Rutherford / USA Today)
