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
gomabman2
March 26th, 2011
8:32 pm
Nah, same ramblin bout insignificant coaches for our beloved program! LOL
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
8:33 pm
jacketsonline is reporting that Mooney and Tech AA have met today to discuss the position.
GT65
March 26th, 2011
8:35 pm
Thanks again dadgum. Keep us informed. Hope Mooney will hurry up and let Drads know his answer.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 26th, 2011
8:37 pm
Is anybody else besides me who’s watching the game on now get periodic split-second blackouts. This has been going on all afternoon and again since my power came back up. I tried calling my local station, but obviously nobody answered. I can’t tell if it’s the station, CBS, or my cable provider. I know it’s not my TV, since it happens on more than one TV in my house.
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
8:38 pm
Nobody who knows anything reliable is talking, so anybody not named Radakovich, Fogler, Peterson, or Hogan knows anything for sure. I do not assume that Mooney would take the job even if offered, as there are too many openings and too many variables in play. But, it would be a relief to know we had taken our shot with him and could move on to other candidates, at least. He is the unofficial favorite for the position, it seems, and I think it would be a good match, but none of us knows what he wants or what DRad thinks about him.
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
8:40 pm
I’m in Charlotte now and the HD signal has been flawless.
Dadgum......
March 26th, 2011
8:44 pm
Just for the record, Mooney is not my choice. Anthony Grant is. Mooney is top 5 for sure and a solid choice. Not sure how exciting he is but recruiting and wins will be the criteria.
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
8:47 pm
To me, the most annoying posts during this whole process have been the incessant clamorings for Price and the demands for DRad to ask Brad Stevens to come to Tech (as if DRad was afraid to do so). I am as guilty as the next guy (probably much more so) about wanting to float out ideas and speculate, but we all have to trust DRad’s judgment. There is absolutely no chance that DRad would “forget” or “be afraid” to contact Butler’s Stevens IF there is the slightest chance he would be interested. I may be naive in some ways, but I do believe that good AD’s know what the lay of the land is, generally, and that DRad is a darn good AD.
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
8:50 pm
Mooney would be my first choice, Marshall second. Grant is way down my list and (I believe) not likely to leave Bama. Wojo and Smart would round out my list. I wouldn’t fall over and die if Neal or Price were chosen, but I would be extremely surprised.
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
8:50 pm
Of course I haven’t interviewed any of them, nor do I know the inner working of the GTAA.
Dadgum......
March 26th, 2011
8:52 pm
I can promise all here that Drad and Mooney have a mutual admiration. Agreed with Full Metal that Mooney indeed could turn down the offer. Mooney graduates 5 of his 6 main players. He has pretty much gone as Far as you can go with Richmond. I still don’t see him turning down the ACC and GT at all. He is going somewhere for sure.
GT65
March 26th, 2011
8:58 pm
My list was Grant, Mooney, Stevens, Beilein and Marshall in any order.
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
8:59 pm
What worries me about Grant is his performance at Alabama, where he’s only been for two years. He was very good at VCU (then again, Smart has been good there too, with Grant’s recruits) but hasn’t taken Bama to the NCAA. This year’s 12-4 conference record (a down year for the division) improved on last years 6-10 SEC record, but not exactly overwhelming. He just hasn’t proven himself in a high major setting yet, and in a way I’d have been higher on him if he were still winning at VCU. My other big concern is his style of play, which in many ways resembles Hewitt’s, though he appears to be more of a disciplinarian. Bama pays him well, will pay him even better if he’s courted, and the result would be a bidding war we can’t afford.
gomabman2
March 26th, 2011
9:00 pm
Super…the signal is good where I am in south of the ATL area
FullMetalJacket
March 26th, 2011
9:04 pm
Dadgum, I’m encouraged by your assertion that Drad and Mooney like and know each other somewhat. About your first choice Grant, could you give us a couple of specific reasons why you like him, in addition to a winning record? I’d like to know more about him because I think it odd we haven’t heard anything else about him after the initial reports.
GT65
March 26th, 2011
9:06 pm
Chris mack @ Xavier turns down Tenn and their 8 million offer to stay at X……….
IL Jacket
March 26th, 2011
9:33 pm
I still don’t understand why with big crowd support, a nip and tuck game, with plenty of time and behind by two why do you not go to the basket instead of settling for long threes. I just don’t understand Sean Miller’s strategy.
Martin K
March 27th, 2011
12:34 am
how bout Tim Floyd ?
braves70
March 27th, 2011
2:12 am
I see that Tennessee has backed off on their interest in Chris Mooney: The Vols’ interest in Richmond coach Chris Mooney cooled after learning of violations committed by a Mooney assistant at Richmond in 2007.
http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2011/mar/26/rick-byrd-interviews-lawrence-frank-interested-ut/
Anyone know anything about this?
Justafan
March 27th, 2011
8:20 am
braves 70..Go Braves!…nothing to worry about..Mooney has done nothing wrong.
Dadgum......
March 27th, 2011
9:03 am
FullMetal….I had the opportunity to meet Anthony Grant on a couple of occasions as his daughter attended the school where my wife works in Richmond. He is impressive and a winner and a great recruiter. I don’t see a lot of similarities with Hewitt in style of play or coaching. I remember telling him I was sorry to see him leave VCU but couldn’t blame him but added I wish he was going to GT. He said that is a great program but they have a good coach in Hewitt. I bit my tongue at that point. Maybe it is more personal for me but the man impressed me and GT could do a lot worse. Doesn’t look to be happening anyway.
Dadgum......
March 27th, 2011
9:19 am
Man I have to say the more I think about Shaka Smart the more I am thinking he will excite the GT fan base. I was thinking earlier that maybe it was a year or two early for him and GT. That is now wrong. The man has coached his butt off and eventhough most are Grant’s players Grant didn’t draw up that last play against FSU or instill the enthusiasm in the team or fans. Smart has brought high energy.
To that end GT figures to be a limbo team next year. An orphan team if you will without great expectations. Could be a perfect time to Get Smart and let him get another year as HC in a less than ideal environment. While my big GT source swears it is Mooney’s job to lose, could Smart be coming in the back door?
Jack P
March 27th, 2011
11:01 am
Have they thought about hiring a player-coach?
Doug Roberson
March 27th, 2011
11:19 am
They did not meet yesterday, FullMetalJacket.
Diana Ross & the Supremes
March 27th, 2011
11:44 am
…You just keep me hangin’ on….
Ron Dayton
March 27th, 2011
12:24 pm
Brian Gregory? Really? PLEASE hire him!
FullMetalJacket
March 27th, 2011
12:45 pm
So, GT did NOT meet with Mooney after all? Hmmm. Reckon they’ll get around to it. NC State has lowered their sights and are targeting Marshall and Smart (after earlier talk about Miller and Barnes).
FullMetalJacket
March 27th, 2011
12:47 pm
Going to be a long Sunday afternoon, guess I’ll just have to watch Elite Eight and NASCAR….too cool and wet outside to stay in and clean the garage.
William Satterwhite
March 27th, 2011
1:02 pm
Doug, do you have any insight as to where the Gregory rumors may have come from? Did you hear anything independently along those lines in your own digging?
IL Jacket
March 27th, 2011
1:08 pm
Dadgum, my thinking parallels yours. I just never have been excited by Mooney and Shaka Smart appears to bring a lot of passion to his job and his players certainly respond to him. We may nit have a full dossier on his recruiting abilities, but if you have someone with his passion sitting in your living room, I have to believe he is going to win his fair share of the recruiting wars.
William Satterwhite
March 27th, 2011
1:10 pm
To clarify, I’m not asking you to actually out anybody as a source or anything, just wondering if there is indeed a valid source to the rumor.
IL Jacket
March 27th, 2011
1:13 pm
nit=not. Fat finger syndrome.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
1:41 pm
After a 5 hour power outage last night, causing me to miss the entire AZ-UConn game, I’m back, and hopefully today will be better for me. Still having signal problems on CBS here in Augusta though, and I learned today that it’s not my cable company, because users of another cable provider are experiencing the same periodic loss of image transmission too. Interesting to read that none of the rest of you are having the problem.
Tech Forever
March 27th, 2011
1:44 pm
FullMetalJacket
We’re hearing out here in God’s Country that State has targeted Turgeon pretty hard and Yow has been given an official endorsement of Turgeon from Roy Williams.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
1:49 pm
IL Jacket, I agree with your last post. I haven’t seen enough of either of them to have an educated opinion about either, but I was a lot more impressed with what I saw of Smart Friday night than I was of Mooney
IL Jacket
March 27th, 2011
2:06 pm
Supersize, no problem with our signal here in northern Illinois. Clear day so satellite signal is good. Come on up, I’ll throw another log on the fire.
Doug Roberson
March 27th, 2011
2:06 pm
I have heard things about Gregory related to Tech’s search but I can’t share the information because of sourcing rules.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
2:07 pm
Way to tease us, Doug. lol
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
2:09 pm
IL Jacket, I don’t think I could make it in time, but thanks
However, I was having this problem here Friday when it was a perfectly clear day. Something obviously is screwed up at our local CBS affiliate, but naturally nobody answers the phone there when I call.
Doug Roberson
March 27th, 2011
2:09 pm
Sorry, supersize. What I know (or think I know) and what I can report don’t always run on the same channels.
IL Jacket
March 27th, 2011
2:13 pm
Come on, Doug! We aren’t going to tell anyone.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
2:14 pm
Understand, Doug, but you shouldn’t have mentioned it at all. Now people will be bugging you all afternoon.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
2:15 pm
IL Jacket, with all the fakers who log in here, you KNOW that’s not a reasonable thing to say. lol
Do What?
March 27th, 2011
2:17 pm
It looks like the only coach you GT folks haven’t hired in your dreams is Phil Jackson. This may come as a surprise to you boys, but it’s true, not everyone wants to take the job at GT, some of you act as if all these guys are begging to be offered. There are several high powered programs searching for a coach, all of whom have more money, better facilities, better tradition and are premier schools. Oklahoma, Missouri, N C State, Tenn. If Gregory will take the job you ought to be happy, he’s about as good as you can hope for. Mooney has had a prior NCAA issue, Smart is an unknown much as Stan Heath was a post season one time wonder, Brad Stevens is a rock star who is at Butler until a UNC, Kentucky, Kansas come calling. The options and pool of candidates is narrowing.
Good luck
IL Jacket
March 27th, 2011
2:20 pm
I know, just teasing. What is it that call it in government circles-plausable deniability?
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
2:22 pm
Do What?, you lost it when you included Tenn in that group. Tenn may have more money, don’t know about their facilities, but definitely have no more basketball tradition than Tech does. I also don’t think Missouri has much of a basketball tradition either.
IL Jacket
March 27th, 2011
2:31 pm
Missouri is where I get my firewood from. Off to the gym, got to get ready for golf season-if it ever comes.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 27th, 2011
2:35 pm
IL Jacket, if you’re off to the gym, then who will let me in when I get there to watch the game and get warm by your fire? LOL
IL Jacket
March 27th, 2011
2:40 pm
The missus. She’s watching Toy Story 3 though.
William Satterwhite
March 27th, 2011
2:47 pm
Thanks Doug, I always assumed Gregory was a candidate but an actual offer being on the table seemed a bit odd. Sounds like some of the other reporters may have just jumped to conclusions in order to claim a scoop if something did/does end up happening.