Archive for March, 2011

Former Georgia Tech and NFL standout Drew Hill has been admitted to Piedmont Hospital for an undisclosed reason, an official with the hospital confirmed today. There were no updates on Hill’s status as of 4 p.m.

Hill is in Tech’s record books in several categories: receiving yards per season (t-15th, 708, 1978), receiving yards/career (19th, 1,080, 1975-78), and yards per reception/career (t-4th, 19.3, 1975-78).

Hill, a native of Newnan, caught 634 passes for 9,831 yards and 60 touchdowns in the NFL. He was selected by the Rams in the 12th round of the NFL draft in 1979. He played for the Falcons in 1992-93.

– Doug Roberson, AJC

Continue reading Drew Hill admitted to Piedmont Hospital »

Eddie Fogler, who led three different teams to the NCAA tournament, is assisting Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich in his search for the team’s next basketball coach. Radakovich decided not to retain Paul Hewitt after 11 seasons.

This isn’t Fogler’s first go-round helping schools find a new leader. So, how has he done? First, it must be noted that Fogler just serves in an advisory capacity. He doesn’t make the hire. Obviously he has no influence on the team’s success beyond helping the search committee.

He has advised at least five schools: Auburn, Kansas State, Illinois-Chicago, South Carolina and Tennessee. He’s also assisting Towson in its current search.

Here’s what has happened:

School…..New Coach……Record at New School.

Auburn……..Tony Barbee, formerly at UTEP……11-20.

There were some that said Barbee should have gotten consideration for SEC coach of the year, considering the mess he inherited.

Illinois-Chicago………….Howard Moore, former assistant at …

Continue reading Fogler’s history of helping find coaches »

N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe resigned on Tuesday, three days after Georgia Tech decided not retain Paul Hewitt.

That’s two coaches out in the ACC, with perhaps a third, Miami’s Frank Haith,  on the horizon.

Talking to colleagues at last week’s ACC tournament, many agreed that N.C. State and Miami are arguably two of the toughest jobs in the ACC. Miami because of its apathy and geography. N.C. State because of its expectations and geography.

Before Hewitt was let go, a former colleague said that Georgia Tech and N.C. State would most likely butt heads if they were looking for coaches at the same time.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two schools is the salary budget. Athletic director Dan Radakovich said the next coach’s salary won’t be “capped” (a question I asked him. Capped wasn’t his word, it was mine). I would be stunned if Tech opens its wallet like N.C. State will allegedly do. A guess on my part, but I’ll be surprised if Tech spends more than $1.7 …

Continue reading Will N.C. State’s decision affect Tech’s future? »

During the conversation I had on Saturday with Paul Hewitt, he told this story involving former football coach George O’Leary.

Despite no longer having Mr. Everything Joe Hamilton, the team was expected to have a big season in 2000. It did well, winning nine games and playing in the Peach Bowl, which it lost to LSU.

But it seems the fans weren’t happy, and they let O’Leary know their displeasure. After a 7-5 mark the next year, O’Leary left for Notre Dame.

He didn’t like the fans’ reaction after winning “just” nine games.

“I remember him being upset and saying that some don’t understand how hard we work and the players work,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt said he remembers the conversation as if it happened Friday. Though Hewitt had been fired an hour or so earlier, he wasn’t in a sour-grapes mood. The matter-of-factness of his tone made it seem he was just telling a story. He praised Tech repeatedly, saying he will be a fan for life. But he implied the fans need to understand that …

Continue reading Your expectations, are they realistic? »

Continue reading Video: What’s next for Tech hoops »

Kenny Anderson said today that he’d love to be a part of the next coaching staff at Georgia Tech.

“I know with my inexperience on the sidelines in college, I don’t need to be a head coach, but I would love to be a part of the program in some form or fashion,” he said.

Anderson, of course, is one of the greats in Tech’s history. A point guard from New York, he led “Lethal Weapon 3″ to the Final Four in 1990 as a freshman. He played one more year, helping the Yellow Jackets earn a No. 8 seed in the next NCAA tournament while averaging nearly 26 points per game.

He said he has a lot of respect for Paul Hewitt, who was fired on Saturday after 11 season as Tech’s coach. In one of those ironic statements, he said it’s too bad that Hewitt had so many one-and-dones that hurt the program’s momentum. Though Anderson left Tech early, he eventually earned a college degree from St. Thomas University in Miami. He lives in nearby Pembroke Pines with his third wife.

Anderson said he’d love …

Continue reading Kenny Anderson would love to come home »

The ACC during Hewitt’s time

The records of ACC teams in regular-season league play since Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt was hired in 2000-01. Hewitt was fired on Saturday.

School ACC

Duke 133-43 (.756)

North Carolina 114-62 (.648)

Maryland 103-73 (.585)

Boston College 49-47 (.510)*

Virginia Tech 57-55 (.509)*

Wake Forest 88-88 (.500)

Florida State 76-100 (.432)

North Carolina State 76-100 (.432)

Georgia Tech 72-104 (.409)

Virginia 71-105 (.403)

Clemson 70-106 (.398)

Miami 43-69 (.384)*

* Miami and Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004-05 and Boston College in 2005-06. Their conference records do not include their previous performances in the Big East.

Continue reading ACC records during Hewitt’s time »

With Dan Radakovich’s decision to fire Paul Hewitt as Georgia Tech’s basketball coach, who could become the 13th leader in the program’s history?

It’s an interesting question because Radakovich has made some interesting hires since coming to Tech in 2006.

He has taken what could be considered chances in many of the sports, from the non-revenues to football.

He plucked assistants from other schools to lead softball and volleyball. He promoted an assistant to lead the swimming and diving teams.

Even the hire of Paul Johnson as the football coach surprised some. While Johnson was an established coach with a proven history of success at Georgia Southern and Navy, his experiences at Annapolis weren’t what would be considered the usual in college football. Agents and players leaving early or transferring, for example, weren’t things Johnson had to deal with often. But that move, like the others, has worked well.

But, with a $45 million arena set to open in 2012, will Radakovich …

Continue reading Who could be Tech’s next coach? »

Paul Hewitt was fired earlier today after 11 seasons as the Yellow Jackets’ basketball coach. Here are five biggest wins and worst losses during his career in Atlanta:

Five big wins

1. Georgia Tech 77, No. 1 Connecticut 61 (Nov. 26, 2003): The unranked Jackets stunned the Huskies to advance to the championship game of the preseason NIT. It was Tech’s most-recent win over a top-ranked team. They are 0-for-3 since. B.J. Elder and Isma’il Muhammad scored 22 points each for the Jackets.

2. Georgia Tech 67, Oklahoma State 65 (April 3, 2004): Will Bynum’s layup with 1.5 seconds left sent the Yellow Jackets into the NCAA tournament’s national championship game. The Cowboys tied the game at 65 with 26.3 seconds remaining, before Bynum drove down the right side of the line for the game-winner.

3. No. 22 Georgia Tech 102, No. 5 Wake Forest 101 (Jan. 27, 2005): Jarrett Jack hit two free throws with 4.4 seconds left in over to win the game. Bynum had 30 points in the game. Hewitt said …

Continue reading Hewitt’s good wins and bad losses »

A timeline of Paul Hewitt’s career at Georgia Tech. He was fired earlier today after 11 seasons as the Yellow Jackets coach.

April 6, 2000: Hewitt is hired as Georgia Tech’s 12th head coach.

March 15, 2001: Hewitt guides the Yellow Jackets to a 17-13 record and 8-8 finish in the ACC. The season ends with a 66-62 loss to St. Joseph’s in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was Tech’s first appearance in the NCAA’s since 1995-96.

March 8, 2002: Tech is beaten by Wake Forest in the ACC tournament to finish the season 15-16, 7-9 in the ACC.

March 26, 2003: Tech is defeated by Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the NIT tournament to finish the season 16-15, 7-9 in the ACC.

Nov. 26, 2003: Tech defeats top-ranked Connecticut, 77-61, to advance to the preseason NIT championship game.

March 19-April 3 2004: Tech wins five consecutive NCAA tournament games to reach the championship game for the first time in school history. The Yellow Jackets are defeated by Connecticut, 82-73. …

Continue reading A timeline of Hewitt’s career at Tech »