Hewitt is staying: Tech fans, how do you feel? UPDATED
Georgia Tech has now confirmed that Paul Hewitt has turned down St. John’s. Here’s the school’s official statement:
Georgia Tech head basketball coach Paul Hewitt said Thursday afternoon that he will remain at the Institute and is no longer a candidate for the head coaching position at St. John’s University.
Hewitt, 46, just completed his 10th season at the helm of the Yellow Jackets’ program, guiding Tech to a 23-13 overall record. The Jackets advance to the championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Championship for the fifth time, where it defeated Oklahoma State in the first round before being eliminated by Ohio State.
“My family and I have developed deep ties to Georgia Tech and the city of Atlanta,” said Hewitt. “I strongly believe in what Georgia Tech can do for young people, and I am committed to returning the Tech basketball program to the level of success our fans have come to expect. We took a step in that direction this past season, and I fully intend to continue on that path.”
Hewitt, who has record of 177-144 at Georgia Tech, ranks third among active coaches in the ACC in games coached and fourth in career victories. He ranks 18th in career victories all-time. He has taken the Yellow Jackets to six post-season berths, including one NIT appearance, twice to the championship game of the ACC Tournament and the championship of the 2003 Preseason NIT.
“I think what has transpired over the last few days speaks volumes about Paul Hewitt and about Georgia Tech,” Tech director of athletics Dan Radakovich said. “Paul’s credentials as a human being, a family man, a leader and a builder of character are impeccable. All of us at Georgia Tech are committed to assist him in providing an outstanding men’s basketball program.”
If you’re a Tech fan, how do you feel? Relieved that your coach is staying? Disappointed that he’s staying?
My thoughts on what Hewitt staying would mean for him and Tech will be forthcoming, but I’d be obliged to hear yours. Thanks in advance.
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538 comments Add your comment
'Dieux
March 25th, 2010
2:58 pm
Thank God Spring Football starts next week. I hope ol’ Paul Hewitt shows up for the Spring Game so we can let him see how much we appreciate his coming back to bless us with his abilities and bigotry and bumbling coaching style. I can hear his wife now “Honey, now don’t you worry, those boo’s are for you, they’re just booing that horrible Paul Johnson and his football team.”
football fan
March 25th, 2010
2:59 pm
small johnson I agree , I am just saying that real national championships that are not disputed is 2-0 in favor of UGA
GT Man
March 25th, 2010
3:00 pm
Small Johnson, I’m a GT man , but in 1946 UGA was cheated out of a NC, they were the only untied, undefeated team just like GT’s 12-0 52 team, which the writers gave the top choice to Mich. State, that was 9-0, and had to struggle for 5 of those wins.
Lil' Barry Bailout
March 25th, 2010
3:00 pm
Radakovich must not have pushed hard enough. Next year will be like reliving the Duane Morrison glory years.
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
3:00 pm
PETITION TO GET RID OF HEWITT
MUST HAVE 100,000 SIGNATURES
FIGURE I WOULD GET THIS STARTED SINCE IT WILL TAKE 10 YEARS TO GET THE 5 TECH FANS THAT THERE ARE TO SIGN IT 20,000 TIMES.
PLEASE SIGN BELOW.
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BLHA HAHA HA AHA AH AHA AHA HAHAHAHAHA THE JOKE BY THE COKE
GTsupporter
March 25th, 2010
3:01 pm
@ God and Grayhound. Perfect comment. You would think a guy who has made excuses and shortcuts all year (10 years) would definetly make an “excuse to shortcut” and go coach st john’s.
I dont get it..Hewitt cant see he is walking on thin ice…
I cant believe he didnt take this “out” while he had a chance.
Hewitt has GT bball by its “cahones” with a pair of vice grips!!!
waw
March 25th, 2010
3:01 pm
Seems he wanted to go, but his family wanted him to stay. That sounds like dedication to Atlanta, not Tech. Not the kind of enthusiasm I would like to see from the head coach.
'Dieux
March 25th, 2010
3:02 pm
IF Hewitt actually changed (radically) the way he coached and if he would start recruiting real STUDENT-athletes and if he could somehow change his attitude towards the fans and learn to actually assess his own and his team’s performance objectively….IF he could do all those things then I might one scintilla of hope upon his return. But history proves otherwise.
Bama Fans
March 25th, 2010
3:02 pm
You guys are small potatoes- NOBODY makes up more fake national championships than we do. End of story!
VegasGT
March 25th, 2010
3:03 pm
This is very disheartening on many levels. Setting his record aside, this was an opportunity to get out from a contract that absolutely hamstrings the GTAA and GT fans. There is no accountability whatsoever in this contract. Hewitt takes absolutely no risk. GTAA can not afford to fire him for almost any reason, other than cause I would suspect.
I accept the fact that GT is not Duke or UNC and needs to have realistic expectations. I would be happy with a mid-tier coach as long as he has a contract that requires him to earn his payout.
People work harder and put forth a better effort when there are consequences involved.All Hewitt does is make lame excuses. Not once have I heard him say that he needs to do a better job. To do so has no impact on his contract. It’s a matter of ego.
Hewitt has lost any respect I may have had for him. He should voluntarily renegotiate his contract with reasonable measurables and give himself something to work for other than his ego. He sure doesn’t have to work for his paycheck.
Walker, Texas Ranger
March 25th, 2010
3:03 pm
Like I was kicked in the groin on Christmas morning
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
3:04 pm
FOOTBALL FAN
I KNOW
IM JUST SICK OF HEREING ABOUT THE 4 TITLES THAT THEY WANT TO COUNT THAT IF THATS THE CASE
THEN YOU HAVE TO COUNT THE OTHER 3 WE HAVE THAT ARE SHARED
TechProf
March 25th, 2010
3:05 pm
I am not a young man anymore but along the way I have learned that despite all of our best intentions most of us just can’t change who we are. Student’s with a “C” at midterm and throughout the term usually end up with about a “C” on their final examination. And grown men in their 50’s like Paul Hewitt do not suddenly start listening to the advice of others, even those who are wiser than himself, especially when he has been generously rewarded for being exactly who he is. No, Coach Hewitt isn’t going to change, and the Institute is going to continue to suffer because of it.
GT Man
March 25th, 2010
3:05 pm
I have to admire coach K at Duke, he does not go after one and dones, he wants players that he can improve and every year they are in the Championship run, Hewitt will get us some more overly tattooed players, that cant get the ball in and we’ll be sitting at the bottom of the ACC for the next 4 years. Now baseball season is here, Danny Hall will have another top 5 team and choke in the playoffs again.
I mean, c'mon...
March 25th, 2010
3:07 pm
..SJ offered Donavon $3mil, and Hewitt only $1.6m; would YOU take that job with that much money left on the table…..
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
3:07 pm
SEE WHAT I MEAN
NO ONE HAS SIGNED YET
CMON TECHIES WHERE ARE YOU.
JUST REMEMBER HOW LONG IT TOOK FOR CHAN
PLEASE SIGN BELOW IF YOU WANT HEWITT GONE.
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BLHA HAHA HA AHA AH AHA AHA HAHAHAHAHA THE JOKE BY THE COKE
Crap!!!
March 25th, 2010
3:07 pm
Everyone needs a change from time to time—maybe he couldn’t read the writing on the walls. Hell we will fire him next year!
Wisconsin Jackets
March 25th, 2010
3:08 pm
I thought we were catching a break here but it appears we will not. No other school is going to court Hewitt so it looks like we’re stuck with his mediocrity and his $7mil buyout.
the real Old Gold
March 25th, 2010
3:08 pm
Wow… At least I can continue my famous Jackets turnover pool each game… as always.. I have dibs on 15, but the rest of 1-20 are open.
football fan
March 25th, 2010
3:09 pm
so when the statement was released aobut Hewitt staying and his credentials were mentioned were his coaching credentials left out of that statement on purpose ?
what do you think
TomB
March 25th, 2010
3:09 pm
Good one Walker, Texas Ranger! I guess in this case, The LORD GIVETH and the LORD DOESN’T TAKETH AWAY.
Phillyguy
March 25th, 2010
3:09 pm
Watching the disciplined and team-oriented play of teams like N. Iowa, Cornell, Xavier, W. Virginia, and St. Mary’s just reinforces how unprepared Tech is game after game. This should have been a make or break year for the coach with this team’s talent. A good person, just not a good coach.
just me
March 25th, 2010
3:09 pm
Let’s keep the “blog” in perspective. You don’t make up anywhere close to the GT fan base and I doubt seriously whether either Radokovich or Hewitt have ever read your blogs. So, you are just a handful of people venting about a coach as if you have some sort of BB expertise. Like it or not, GT is probably better off retaining Hewitt as opposed to going out and bringing in an unknown quantity. As for the dawgie fans chiming in (as they do on all subjects even if has nothing to do with their school), your program has never been anything but a bottom feeder in a weak conference as it was again next year. Wait until you have a program before you pop off about basketball.
VegasGT
March 25th, 2010
3:10 pm
Hewitt talked to St. Johns because he was interested. There is no other reason other than to see if their offer was better. Obviously, they did not even need to get to that point. What does that tell you about the market value of Hewitt related to the contract he currently enjoys. He can’t get a better deal anywhere else, so he stays and we are stuck with him for life.
Larry Bird's son
March 25th, 2010
3:10 pm
I was hoping to get a shot at being recruited by Tech in a few years…I guess there is no chance of that now.
BamaFan
March 25th, 2010
3:11 pm
I cant believe he decided to stay!!!!!!!! Why couldn’t Mrs. Hewitt agree to move back to NYC!! Does she not know that no one at GT wants him here? Oh well, back to mediocre and losing seasons, the life of a Tech fan.
TechProf
March 25th, 2010
3:11 pm
I am understandably not as concerned about Coach Hewitt’s win-loss record even though I am disappointed that we have not done very well in our own conference. In fact, I find in recent years that I no longer enjoy attending home games so next year I will cancel my season tickets. (Yes, I have to pay for my season tickets, too.) I will resume my tickets when there is a new coach and new spirit of hope for the team. I disapproved of Pres. Clough’s and AD Braine’s contract with Coach Hewitt some years ago, predicting this very outcome. I do not solely blame Coach Hewitt as it is only human nature to rest on one’s laurels when they are guaranteed to come regardless, wrapped in gold ribbons. But the Institute has an obligation to student-athletes that the basketball coach is not fulfilling. I will not be surprised if in the near future we are sued for not fulfilling our end of the scholarship agreement.
GT Fan Jville
March 25th, 2010
3:12 pm
This is bad for GTech. I use to be a s season ticket holder during the Cremins years. That excitement has left the thrillerdome… If the students do not want to attend, that sends a message. Our Football program needed change, now our basketball program needs change…. DRAD will get it right……
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 25th, 2010
3:12 pm
Another Black man not doing a good job, but is still getting to much pay. Sounds like most elected folks in GA. Hewitt go play a BBall game with OBAMA and get the F.. out of Atlanta. All the Slaves ran North during the Civil War but they have run back South faster than we can FORECLOSE on their houses and REPO their cars.
PMC
March 25th, 2010
3:13 pm
Any person would be insane to walk away from a lifetime deal like that for a less than lateral move. He’s got to make some changes and get his guys playing more like a team but he would be crazy to walk out on 7 Million dollars. People shouldn’t be upset with Hewitt over his contract. They should be upset with Dave Braine.
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
3:14 pm
Mark, you can’t hold a candle to the Orlando Sentinel’s Jeremy Fowler. (kiding)
I thought your article yesterday was one of your best.
What was the line in Casa Blanca?
Maybe Tech basketball doesn’t amount to a “hill of beans” in the grand scheme of things.
I know one thing for sure.
None of us today feel anywhere near as bad as Kansas fans will feel for weeks, months, years?
And they paid Self how much to be in misery?
GT2002
March 25th, 2010
3:14 pm
Maybe Drad has found a loophole in the contract that will allow him to fire Hewitt without paying the buyout. He was just hoping St Johns would be dumb enough to pay us the $3.5 million so now he will have to resort to plan B.
Fred Masci
March 25th, 2010
3:15 pm
A bad day for Georgia Tech. We are now stuck with a coach who can recruit but can’t coach or develop his players thanks to the previous AD. I think I will start rooting for Cornell. Now there is a coach who has no scholarships and yet is in the Sweet Sixteen because he can develop the players to play as a team and can coach and make adjustments during the game.
Really a very sad day.
PMC
March 25th, 2010
3:15 pm
Change doesn’t have to mean paying a 7 million dollar buyout either. He has shown in the past he’s capable of turning things around. He can get players in here. He’s just got to get some better guard players and he really likes the job and wants to win at Tech.
JJ
March 25th, 2010
3:15 pm
MB, I know you may not have the power of censorship on this rag, but attacks on a person’s family are not appropriate. Will you write a column and open it to comment next year when the Tech football team gets hammered and coach Johnson is getting these same types of comments? I am curious to see how the “one and done” football team gets treated and I am not even a Tech BB fan.
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
3:16 pm
POAD.
I thought Tech fans had enough sense to leave race out of this argument.
I am wondering if an imposter has taken your name.
RM
March 25th, 2010
3:16 pm
He’s the most under-achieving coach in college BB. It’ll be funny if he gets fired next year after passing on this opportunity!
GT Man
March 25th, 2010
3:16 pm
If anybody wanted to punish GT, former AD Dave Braine did. He hires his old friend Gailey, who set GT football back til PJ rescued it, then hes gives Blewitt a buyout clause, that digs into the athletics funds to deep to try to buy him out—wow r.i.p. Braine
PMC
March 25th, 2010
3:16 pm
If he can get some of these guys to stay around and work on thier games this off season they can absolutely put a great season toegther next year.
GT
March 25th, 2010
3:17 pm
Why did anyone think he was leaving? Not only is he staying but his banana republic cabinet called assistant coaches stay with him. He has got us by the short hairs, the next two years will be torture, and there is not a thing we can do about it but pay this man. They will continue to play blind-man’s bluff with foul shots, and bringing the ball into play will be like trying to smuggle drugs into this country. It is like divorcing you wife and haven’t to still live in the same house with her. She brings her boyfriend home and makes loud love in the bedroom next door while some judge has you paying her alimony. What was the question, how do I feel?
Joe
March 25th, 2010
3:18 pm
The reason why he decided to stay in Atlanta and at Georgia Tech is because he thought about the cost of living in New York compared to Atlanta.
Olik
March 25th, 2010
3:18 pm
Hewitt’s got the cheese touch……
as long as 8-8 in the ACC every year is “good,” then he’s our man. But don’t ask for more. 10 years is a long time in one place. Guess Mrs. Paul said they’re sticking around town. GT missed an opportunity here……
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 25th, 2010
3:18 pm
Hewitt is a JOKE and Braine is the punchline. Ask Kim K if Reggie Bush was worth the price? NO. Just another Blackman selling Crap calling it Rose Food. PAUL leave, leave, leave, leave, leave. Your value to TECH has been used up.
T3
March 25th, 2010
3:18 pm
Time to open up a lemonade stand.
Jesse Stone
March 25th, 2010
3:18 pm
JJ- The GT football team will have a winning conference record more than once in TEN YEARS. The GT football team overachieves, the basketball team does not. The GT football team’s coach takes responsibility for failures; CPH does not. You are comparing “oranges to LEMONS”.
TechProf
March 25th, 2010
3:20 pm
While it is the student-athlete’s primary responsibility to access the education he is being provided, it has long been held as common practice and in legal precedent that the coach and AD, acting as agents of the school, bear some responsibility for encouraging the student-athlete and facilitating his/her access since the demands of their sport may otherwise hinder them. Hence, tutors, direct reports from faculty, counselors, academic advisors, and numerous other methods and personnel are routinely “forced” onto the students. But when an athlete is recruited with the assurance that he will not be held accountable academically and is implicitly or explicitly told he will not be held to the committment of the scholarship contract it violates every principle and justification for an Athletics Association to exist on a university campus.
Go Jackets
March 25th, 2010
3:20 pm
What will be ironic now, is Rad fires Hewitt and he cant coach any where else.
Indigo
March 25th, 2010
3:20 pm
Hewitt; “I strongly believe in what Georgia Tech can do for young people.” Well, what can it do for Derrick Favors now that basketball season is over? Was he required to go to class after he passed the first semester and thus was safe for the rest of the season academically? Compare Dick Bennett at Virginia who suspended Landensberg, his best player, apparently for not fulfilling academic obligations. Would Hewitt have the guts to do that (not that such a move would have gained any fans from those on this blog who want his head for weak basketball performance)? And as for all this talk of Hewitt having such great character, to my way of thinking, his response to the news media criticism was not very classy at all. I think he will regret the day he turned St. John’s down.
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 25th, 2010
3:22 pm
St. Johns must not of had a 10,000K bonus in the contract if he made the NIT.
TechProf
March 25th, 2010
3:22 pm
I apologize for being so long of word and tooth, but it needs to be said. Paul Hewitt may be an outstanding young man, but he does not represent the university well and is a failure as an executive in an academic organization. And, Mr. Radakovich, your pragmatism is admirable, but you could use some of Dr. Rice’s principle as well.