Tech: Basketball search still going
Georgia Tech says it is still looking for its basketball coach.
Associate Athletic Director Wayne Hogan issued this statement Friday night, denying a report earlier in the day by the website sportsbybrooks that said Tech had offered the job to Dayton’s Brian Gregory:
The search for the next men’s basketball coach at Georgia Tech has
not concluded and is still ongoing, contrary to a number of published
internet reports on Friday. As is our policy, we do not comment on
ongoing searches. However, due to these erroneous reports we felt
compelled to clarify the status of the search process.
The website cited a source within Tech’s athletics department. Hogan’s statement is the first public communication Tech has had about the search in more than a week, other than a note that appeared on Thursday in Dan Radakovich’s blog, “The Good Word.”
Radakovich said that he hoped to have a coach hired by the Final Four, which begins April 2 in Houston. Tech’s former coach, Paul Hewitt, was let go two weeks ago after 11 seasons.
Because of his 172-94 record at Dayton, Gregory has frequently been mentioned as a candidate for jobs, including at Iowa, DePaul and Rutgers last year. At the time, Gregory said: “I’m not interested in leaving Dayton. … I’m concerned with helping this team and the incoming players have a great summer and continuing to recruit the guys who can help us in the future.”
Among the candidates that have reportedly interviewed are Tulsa’s Doug Wojcik, New Mexico assistant and Tech alum Craig Neal, and another alum, Mark Price.
– Doug Roberson, AJC
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407 comments Add your comment
Tico Brown
March 25th, 2011
10:15 pm
Why not let D-Rad go to Miami while you’re at it?
GT65
March 25th, 2011
10:18 pm
Rads is staying @ GT…period.
Mickey D
March 25th, 2011
10:19 pm
Apparently, the UD faithful are tired of Gregory and would be glad to see Gregory go. Why wouldn’t Tech want to take him off of their hands?
Jeffgt00
March 25th, 2011
10:46 pm
Doug, why don’t you go to fsu and we will keep Coley. It’s a win win win situation.
braves70
March 25th, 2011
10:58 pm
A few things to ponder: Wojcik and Gregory were teammates on the 1985-86 Navy team. They also were both assistants to Izzo on the 2003-04 Michigan State team. Radakovich already hired Paul Johnson from Navy for football. Maybe he wants a basketball coach with a Navy background?
ATLnsider
March 25th, 2011
11:32 pm
Shaka Smart would be the best choice.
He is smart (no pun intended) , a good coach, and he would be able to recruit very well in metro Atlanta and throughout the state of Georgia.
ATLnsider
March 25th, 2011
11:48 pm
Either Shaka Smart or Brad Stevens will create excitement for GT Basketball, and will help GA Tech recruit 5 star talent.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 26th, 2011
12:12 am
I like what I’ve seen of Smart tonight, but if they lose in OT it’s because of lousy free-throw shooting. We don’t need any more of that.
Bball Fan
March 26th, 2011
12:17 am
All you Smart lovers…he finished 4th in the Colonial!!! How many times do I have to say this? You cannot judge a coach solely by a run in tournament. If that’s the case, should we go after Leonard Hamilton, or bring back Paul Hewitt for going to the title game? Come on guys. No way he’s our coach. Period.
ATLnsider
March 26th, 2011
12:22 am
I would love an opportunity to shoot lousy free-throws in a “Sweet 16″ game in the NCAA tournament.
When was the last time we made it to a Sweet 16? (btw, I already know the answer)
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
12:24 am
O.k. something is not passing the smell test here. First we get a new football coach, from a service academy (although I like the hire). Now we are looking for a new basketball coach and the first four interviews are with two alums and two guys from a service academy. Hmmmmmmm. I think maybe Drad, Fogler, and the commitee are running this search, but why does it smell to me like someone in the Administration has turned the academic screwdriver on Drad and told him essentially, “you will consider these candidates first and foremost because the standards for athletes, although higher than anyone else we compete with, are going to be raise closer to the average GT student…..no more borderline athletes.” This concerns me.
GT65
March 26th, 2011
12:29 am
agree GT Alum
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
12:32 am
VCU!!!! Hell at this point I’d offer the job to Shaka. Why not??? Seriously, GT basketball has no place to go but up anyway.
IL Jacket
March 26th, 2011
12:45 am
Shaka Smart!! What a great inbound play to win the game. Great coaching! Terrible clock management by FSU.
William Satterwhite
March 26th, 2011
12:47 am
Both Fox and Matt Stewart are now also reporting their own versions of the Gregory rumor so either someone is feeding everybody bad information or the statement refuting the story is a bad case of spin control.
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
12:48 am
IL Jacket
And did you see Hamilton at the end with that “I can’t believe we didn’t get call on that last play” grin of his. He’s such a victim.
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
12:49 am
William Satterwhite
What are they saying?
ATLnsider
March 26th, 2011
12:49 am
Bball Fan: You have to look at VCU’s schedule during the season. They scheduled and beat UCLA, George Mason and Wake Forest, but lost to Tennessee.
You can’t penalize VCU for playing a tough schedule. George Mason is in the same league and finished ahead of VCU during the regular season, but George Mason did not schedule or play any ACC or SEC teams like VCU did.
VCU finished 2nd in the Colonial tournament, only losing to the tournament winner, Old Dominion.
Then in the NCAA tournament, they beat: USC, Georgetown, Purdue and Florida State. You can’t just dismiss this as a fluke or just a tournament run. You have to give credit where credit is due.
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
12:51 am
ATLnsider
All I know is the guy is a Donovan/Pitino disciple…..I’ll take that all day long.
William Satterwhite
March 26th, 2011
12:53 am
Tech Forever, that the job has been offered and could be a done deal as early as tomorrow. Both claim very reliable sources.
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
12:56 am
William Satterwhite
To whom? Mooney?
William Satterwhite
March 26th, 2011
1:00 am
Tech Forever, no, they are reporting the same rumor that Gregory has been offered the job. Both of these reports came *after* the statement from Hogan was released.
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:01 am
Good god gt athletics…..please hire a. Coach with a name that will bring recruits back with his name. Just for once please listen to your fans.
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:02 am
William Satterwhite
So we made a job offer to the HC at Dayton without making at least a phone call to Butler, Texas A&M, Wichita State, or VCU? If that’s the case then hire Neal!!!!!
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:02 am
Break the ice and hire a big name coach….get the program back on the map
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:03 am
I would love to have butlers head coach
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:03 am
William Satterwhite
Not to mention I;ve spent some time trolling the Dayton boarda and it seems half of them WANT HIM TO LEAVE!!!! Are you kidding me? We’re going to hire a guy who’s current fanbase doesn’t want?
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:05 am
Hey tech forever……what about butlers head coach??
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:06 am
Gt
He’d e #1 on my list. He’d never leave Butler for Tech I don’t think but at least make the phone call.
William Satterwhite
March 26th, 2011
1:12 am
Tech Forever, I agree, there is no good reason to jump on Gregory right now unless there’s already been an indication that none of the more desirable candidates are interested in the job at all. I still think he’d be a solid choice but i hate the idea of him being a top choice. And yes, the fan rancor against him is very unsettling but I think a lot of that is that is just Dayton fans having too high an opinion of themselves and their team.
ATLnsider
March 26th, 2011
1:16 am
Tech Forever: You’re right. Also, Shaka Smart was on Oliver Purnell’s staff at Clemson as an assistant for a couple of years.
He is already familiar with playing and scouting ACC teams. He is also already familiar with recruiting against ACC schools like Duke and UNC.
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:22 am
What????the acc…,,gt vs butler. Not even close. Gt is way of a bigger Job then small butler
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:22 am
William Satterwhite
Well there is no way we should stoop to Gregory and offer him over Neal. Granted Neal has no HC experience but seriously….Gregory? His announcement and introduction to GT basketball will not even be lukewarm. Whomever we hire is already walking into a hornets nest….Gregory would be walking in without the support of a huge contingent of fans. 1000s will “sit back and wait and see”. At least Neal would sell tickets…..I mean if we’re going to suck we might as well do it with a full house right?? Not saying we will suck of course, just saying that filling the arena immediately overshadows anything unique Gregory brings to the table.
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:24 am
But tech’s top b ball recruit royal said he is staying at tech
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:25 am
Gt
Butler dominates their league and wins in the tournament. Stevens already makes over $1M per year and wins, without the pressure of the ACC. If I were him and continued with this level of success he’s attained….I wouldn’t leave Butler for any other coaching job anywhere.
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:26 am
Look I would contact the gonzaga coach, butler coach
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:28 am
My point is….the acc, gt …..exposure. Buff said
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:30 am
Butler is not a big program like gt nor is their conf the acc…..the acc is the sec of college bball
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:30 am
Gt
Mark Few will NEVER leave Gonzaga. He already makes $2M per year with all his bonuses and extra contract, he has no pressure on him, and he doesn’t have football to contend with so he gets all of Gonzaga’s athletic dollars. He’’s already turned down Oregon, UCLA, Washington State, and a few others whove requested to interview him in years past.
William Satterwhite
March 26th, 2011
1:31 am
Tech Forever, I hear you, Gregory is a very underwhelming choice if this is true. There was some speculation on Twitter that this could have just been floated to gauge fan reaction, that would seem pretty shady but not outside the realm of possibility.
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:31 am
Nuff said
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:33 am
Gt
Ia gree the ACC is the SEC of basketball. But to a lot of coaches making great money that’s not all that. Byrd has been at Belmont forever and has turned down a ton of offers to interview him (although I think he’ll interview for the vacant UT job this time around). there’s lots of those type coaches out there.
I mean if you’re making a ton of money and you’re winning all the time and there’s no pressure on you what’s the intrigue to leave if you’re Brad Stevens?
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:34 am
Think about it though…..the acc & gt is a way bigger job then the zags job or butler. Not saying gt is having their success lately. But being gt and in the acc…..he will get cream of the crop talent unlike what butler or the zags get.
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:37 am
Tech forever…..think about a young good coach as these guys are with the talent gt gets…..scary huh? Those two coaches would have prolly won a national title at tech
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:40 am
Gt
LOL. Look at the results of the last few years man……talent at GT compared to Gonzaga and Butler. If those guys can do what they’re doing with the recruits they’re getting do you think they care about the big name high school talent?
I think Tech is a bigger job than Gonzaga and Butler. But bigger jobs bring more difficulties, responsibilities, and negatives too. For Mark Few and Bard Stevens I don’t think they feel it’s worth another $200k per year to take that on……especially when they can stay right where they are and probably win more games and become a legend.
William Satterwhite
March 26th, 2011
1:40 am
Gt, if (and this is still a big if) it’s true that Brian Gregory has been hired at this stage of the coaching carousel, that’s an indication of one of two things-
1) Tech really can’t afford to compete for any of the “trendy” coaches out there or 2) the Tech job isn’t being held in nearly the same regard as we fans would like to think it should be and it’s already been made clear that none of the “trendy” candidates are really interested in the job. There’s no other reason for this to be going down now.
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:44 am
Gt
I understand, but for them the cons of moving on to a bigtime ACC program out weigh the pros and the pros of staying put outweigh the cons. I don’t blame them one bit…..and if I were them I’d stay too. They have found their dream job. There are different characteristics that go into everyone’s different dream job. I’m an S&C coach and most S&C coach I know view NBA and colleges without football programs as their dream jobs……not the NFL which is what everyone else not in my field thinks is our dream jobs.
Gt
March 26th, 2011
1:44 am
Hey I’m not disagreeing with y’all, just think every coach wants to win titles….not just make the tourney and win conf championships. Correct?
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:45 am
William Satterwhite
I agree and think that you’re dead on with both points. And if both are the case and we hired Gregory over Craig Neal I’ll scream bloody murder.
Tech Forever
March 26th, 2011
1:53 am
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