Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire ‘is finalizing deal to become Georgia Tech’s head coach’

Boston Celtics assistant coach Damon Stoudamire is reportedly about to accept a five-year contract to become Georgia Tech’s new head coach, the school announced Monday.

“We are thrilled to have Damon Stoudamire as the head coach of our renowned men’s basketball program,” said Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt. ‘Coach Stoudamire’s success and credibility as a player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels make him ideally suited to lead our program. He will serve as a prominent mentor on and off the field and attract talented student-athletes to The Flats. We couldn’t be happier to welcome Coach Stoudamire to the Georgia Tech family.’

After compiling a 71-77 record from 2016-17 to 2020-21 in Pacific, Stoudamire joined longtime friend Ime Udoka’s staff in Boston last season. However, Udoka was suspended and then fired by the Celtics this season when it was revealed that he was having an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.

In place of the 49-year-old Stoudamire, the Celtics chose 34-year-old Joe Mazzulla as Udoka’s replacement, and have since signed him to a contract extension.

In place of the 49-year-old Stoudamire (left), the Celtics chose 34-year-old Joe Mazzulla to replace Udoka (right), and have since signed him to a contract extension.

Stoudamire grew up in Udoka’s native Portland, and the two became friends as teenagers while the former became a star guard at the University of Arizona.

The Toronto Raptors took Stoudamire with the seventh pick in the 1995 NBA Draft and he rewarded the team by earning Rookie of the Year honors.

Finally, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2005 in exchange for a large amount that included Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent, Alvin Williams, and two first-round picks.

He would go on to play for the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs before retiring in 2008 and taking over as Rice’s director of player development.

Pastner was fired after seven seasons at the school in downtown Atlanta, his fate sealed by a second straight losing season and little sign of progress in a once-national powerhouse program.

The Yellow Jackets capped a 15-18 season Wednesday with an 89-81 loss to Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC Tournament. They finished 12-20 last season.

“We have high expectations at Georgia Tech for all of our athletic programs, and it is imperative that our renowned men’s basketball program achieve a higher level of success,” said athletic director J Batt.

‘Our men’s basketball program is important to our department and to our institution. We will not hesitate to constantly compete for ACC Championships, NCAA Tournament appearances and sustained success.”

The Toronto Raptors took Stoudamire with the seventh pick in the 1995 NBA Draft and he rewarded the team by earning Rookie of the Year honors. Ultimately, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2005 for a large pool that included Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent, Alvin Williams and two first-round picks.

Pastner, 45, didn’t come close to meeting that standard. His record at Georgia Tech was 109-114, including a 53-78 mark in the ACC. He previously coached at Memphis, where he spent seven seasons after taking over for John Calipari.

Pastner’s lone NCAA appearance at Georgia Tech was a one-off. The Yellow Jackets followed up their ACC title with a loss to Loyola in the Round of 16 during the pandemic-marred 2020-21 season.

Georgia Tech hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2010, a steep drop for a program that rose to prominence in the 1980s and ’90s under Bobby Cremins and reached the 2005 national championship under Paul Hewitt as coach.

Anthony Wilkins, who has been on the Georgia Tech staff since 2018, will serve as interim coach as the school searches for a successor to Pastner.

Early speculation has centered on Kennesaw State coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, who guided the Owls to the first NCAA Tournament berth in school history after winning just one game during his debut season at 2019-20.

Abdur-Rahim spent a year as Georgia Tech’s director of player development for former coach Brian Gregory and also worked a year at Georgia with Tom Crean, helping the Bulldogs land first overall NBA draft pick Anthony Edwards. .

Pastner, who came to Georgia Tech from Memphis with a reputation as a stellar recruiter, never quite lived up to that billing in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets were rarely in the mix of the nation’s top high school prospects, and the lack of five-star talent showed on the track record.

Pastner achieved just three records for winning seasons during his tenure at Georgia Tech, which was highlighted by a 17-9 mark and an ACC title run with an experienced group led by Moses Wright and José Alvarado.

Stoudamire, a former NBA star who began coaching in 2008, replaces Josh Pastner (pictured), who was fired two seasons Friday after leading the Yellow Jackets to a stunning title in the Coastal Tournament Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets capped a 15-18 season Wednesday with an 89-81 loss to Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC Tournament. They finished 12-20 last season.

But the Yellow Jackets failed to build on that success, falling sharply over the past two seasons.

After his final defeat, Pastner called to keep his job.

‘I love Georgia technology. I love my job. I have a real passion for it, and I believe in it,’ she said.

But Batt, who has only been on the job since October, decided to make the school’s second high-profile coaching change in the past six months.

Batt was hired after Georgia Tech fired coach Geoff Collins and athletic director Todd Stansbury early in Collins’ fourth season as a football program guide.

Collins posted a dismal 10-28 record before being replaced on an interim basis by Brent Key, who led the Yellow Jackets to a 4-4 mark for the remainder of the 2022 season.

Key was eventually hired as a full-time coach.

Collins was entitled to a buyout of more than $11 million, straining the athletic department’s already fragile finances.

Now, the Yellow Jackets owe Pastner about $2.5 million for the remaining three years of a contract extension he received from Stansbury after the ACC title run.

Pastner was just 31 when he took over at Memphis in 2009 after Calipari left for Kentucky.

The Tigers kept winning, going 130-44 with four NCAA tournament appearances during Pastner’s first five seasons.

But the program dipped its last two years, going 37-29 without making it to the NCAA. After Georgia Tech fired Gregory in 2016, Pastner took the opportunity to rebuild the program.

“Look, I would tell you that when I got the job, they told me when I came in and met with everybody, that it’s going to be… starting from scratch,” Pastner said this week. “And they said you’re going to lose so much in the first three or four years that you’re going to… we’ve got to have someone who’s ultra-positive because you’re going to lose a lot.”

Pastner always stayed positive. But he didn’t earn enough to keep his job.

Javon Franklin #4 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets dunks against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the first half of their game in the second round of the ACC Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum

Georgia Tech slumped last season, going 5-15 in the ACC, and got off to a dismal start in the conference this season, losing 12 of its first 13 league games, including a nine-game losing streak.

Pastner’s team rebounded by the end of the year. The Yellow Jackets have won six of their last eight regular-season games, though that alone was enough for a 6-14 ACC mark.

Then, they defeated Florida State 61-60 in the first round of the conference tournament.

In the end, Pastner couldn’t overcome a significant drop in attendance and a tenure that was marred by NCAA sanctions tied to a former friend who was accused of recruiting violations.

Georgia Tech accepted a postseason ban in 2020, when the season was shut down anyway due to COVID-19, and some of its penalties were overturned on appeal.

“We’ve really finished this year very well,” Pastner said. I wish we started better.