Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball
Encyclopedia
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represents the Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

 Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...

 in NCAA Division I basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

. The team plays its home games in Alexander Memorial Coliseum
Alexander Memorial Coliseum
The Alexander Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the home of the basketball teams of Georgia Tech and hosted the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA from 1968–1972 and again from 1997–1999...

. Under the tenure of Bobby Cremins
Bobby Cremins
Bobby Cremins is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the College of Charleston's men's basketball team, and former head coach at Appalachian State and Georgia Tech.-Early years:...

, Georgia Tech established itself as a national force in basketball. Bobby Cremins led his team to the first ACC tournament victory in school history in 1985 and in 1990 he took Georgia Tech to the school's first Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

 appearance ever. Cremins retired from Georgia Tech in 2000 with the school's best winning percentage as a head coach. Overall, the team has won 1,169 games and lost 1,026 games, a 53% win percentage.

History

Georgia Tech's first recorded official participation in basketball was in 1906, when a small club organized under Coach Chapman. They won two of the three games they played that season. The next time Tech had a basketball team, it was under the famous coach John Heisman
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...

, also Tech's baseball and football coach. Heisman had a winning percentage of .142 that season and improved the team's percentage to .500 in 1912 and 1913.

Since that time, Georgia Tech has forged a solid basketball program on the strength of coaches like John Hyder and Bobby Cremins
Bobby Cremins
Bobby Cremins is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the College of Charleston's men's basketball team, and former head coach at Appalachian State and Georgia Tech.-Early years:...

, and such players as Roger Kaiser
Roger Kaiser
Roger Allen Kaiser is a retired American basketball player and coach. Kaiser was a two-time All-American player at Georgia Tech and won four NAIA national championships as a coach at the University of West Georgia and Life University....

, Rich Yunkus, Mark Price
Mark Price
William Mark Price is a retired American basketball player who played for 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1986 to 1998...

, Scott Petway, Craig "Noodles" Neal
Craig Neal
Craig Duane Neal is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 3rd round of the 1988 NBA Draft.-High school:...

, John Salley
John Salley
John Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....

, Tom Hammonds
Tom Hammonds
Tom Edward Hammonds is a retired American professional basketball player and National Hot Rod Association drag racer. He was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and attended Crestview High School in Crestview, Florida....

, and Matt Harpring
Matt Harpring
Matthew Joseph Harpring is an American former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the NBA. He is currently the color commentator for the Utah Jazz.-College career:...

. Georgia Tech became a charter member of the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 in 1932 (the first season was in 1933) and won the conference title in 1938. Coach Hyder, whose teams won 292 games in twenty-two seasons, put the program on the national map when his 1955 team defeated Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...

's Kentucky
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...

 team, ending the Wildcats' 129-game winning streak at home.

John Hyder

The Yellow Jackets played their first NCAA tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 game in 1960. Coached by Hyder and led by all-American Kaiser, the team defeated Ohio University
Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
The Ohio Bobcats men’s basketball team is an intercollegiate varsity sports program of Ohio University. The team represents the university as a member of the Mid-American Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, playing at the Division 1 level...

 before losing in the second round to the eventual champion, Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball
The Lucas Sapp men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes won their only National Championship in 1960 and have made a total of 21 NCAA Tournament appearances...

. Hyder continued to have strong teams in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1964, Georgia Tech's final season in the Southeastern Conference, the team went undefeated at home and was the conference runner-up. In 1971 the Yellow Jackets, led by Yunkus, reached the finals of the National Invitation Tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...

 but lost to the University of North Carolina
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...

.

Georgia Tech became a charter member of the Metro Conference
Metro Conference
The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because all of its charter members were in urban metropolitan areas in, or at least on the fringes of, the Southern United States...

 in 1975 (the first season started in 1976), and then became the eighth member of the ACC in 1978 (starting play in 1979). As of the 2007-08 season, the Yellow Jackets have won three ACC Tournament
ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
The ACC Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference . The tournament has been held every year since 1954, one year after the conference's creation. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season...

 championships and two regular season conference titles. Through 2007-08, Georgia Tech has received fifteen berths in the NCAA tournament, and seven of its teams have made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Bobby Cremins

The 1985
1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1985 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. This was the first year the field was expanded to 64 teams, from 53 in the previous year's tournament. It began...

 team, led by head coach Bobby Cremins and players Mark Price
Mark Price
William Mark Price is a retired American basketball player who played for 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1986 to 1998...

, Scott Petway, Craig Neal
Craig Neal
Craig Duane Neal is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 3rd round of the 1988 NBA Draft.-High school:...

, Bruce Dalrymple, and John Salley
John Salley
John Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....

, won the school's first ACC championship and advanced to the final eight in the NCAA tournament. In the 1990 tournament
1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 1990, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in Denver, Colorado...

, the trio of Kenny Anderson
Kenny Anderson
Kenneth "Kenny" Anderson is a retired American basketball player. After a college career at Georgia Institute of Technology, he played point guard professionally from 1991 to 2006, mostly in the National Basketball Association....

, Dennis Scott
Dennis Scott (basketball)
Dennis Eugene Scott is an American former professional basketball player. A 6' 8" small forward from Georgia Tech, and the 1989–1990 ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Scott was selected by the Orlando Magic with the fourth pick of the 1990 NBA Draft after being the leading scorer on a...

, & Brian Oliver
Brian Oliver
Brian Darnell Oliver is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'4" and 210 lb shooting guard out of Georgia Tech, he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA in the 2nd round of the 1990 Draft...

 (nicknamed "Lethal Weapon 3
Lethal Weapon 3
Lethal Weapon 3 is a 1992 American action film directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo and Stuart Wilson. It is a sequel to Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2, and it is part of the Lethal Weapon film series.The movie is set in 1992, six years after...

") carried the Yellow Jackets all the way to the Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

, where they lost to eventual champion UNLV
UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball
The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are a NCAA Division I men's basketball team who play at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada. Their most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament was in 2011 when they received an at–large bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, earning an 8-seed in...

 in the national semi-finals. In 1992, Cremins led an inexperienced Tech team to the Sweet 16
1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...

, thanks in no small part to James Forrest's buzzer-beating game-winning 3-pointer in the second round against USC. The following year, the Yellow Jackets won the ACC Tournament
ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
The ACC Men's Basketball Tournament is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Atlantic Coast Conference . The tournament has been held every year since 1954, one year after the conference's creation. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season...

.

Georgia Tech's nine consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament from the mid-1980s and the early 1990s accounted for the nation's fourth-longest active streak before it ended in 1994. In 1996, the team won the ACC regular-season championship and returned to the tournament behind future NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury
Stephon Marbury
Stephon Xavier Marbury is an American professional basketball player.The , point guard was selected out of the Georgia Institute of Technology by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Minnesota Timberwolves.He was an NBA...

. Cremins's nineteen-year tenure (1981–2000) stands as the team's most successful era. Cremins is Georgia Tech's all-time winningest coach and is third among all ACC coaches. Upon his retirement after the 1999-2000 season, his teams had won 354 games and lost 237 for a .599 winning percentage (Cremins would later come out of retirement to coach at the College of Charleston
College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball
The College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Southern Conference. Home games are played at Carolina First Arena, located on College of Charleston's campus in Charleston, South Carolina, United States.-History:1920-21 was the...

). The floor at Alexander Memorial Coliseum
Alexander Memorial Coliseum
The Alexander Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the home of the basketball teams of Georgia Tech and hosted the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA from 1968–1972 and again from 1997–1999...

 is named "Cremins Court" in his honor.

Paul Hewitt

In 2000 head coach Paul Hewitt
Paul Hewitt
-External links:**...

 was hired away from Siena College
Siena Saints men's basketball
The Siena Saints men's basketball team represents Siena College in Loudonville, New York, United States. The Division I program competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Saints are coached by Mitch Buonaguro who just completed his first season as head coach at Siena after serving as...

 and immediately helped to revitalize what had become a stagnant program in Cremins's final years. Georgia Tech experienced a Cinderella season
Cinderella (sports)
In American and Canadian sports, a Cinderella or "Cinderella Story" refers to a team or player who advances much further in a tournament or career than originally anticipated. Cinderellas tend to gain much media and fan attention as they move closer to the championship game at the end of the...

 in 2003-2004: winning the Preseason NIT
NIT Season Tip-Off
The NIT Season Tip-Off is an annual college basketball tournament that takes place in November of each year, around the beginning of the season. The first two rounds are held at campus sites and the semifinals and the finals are held at Madison Square Garden. The tournament began in 1985 as the...

, ending Duke
Duke Blue Devils men's basketball
The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I...

's 41-game winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium
Cameron Indoor Stadium
Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the West Campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It is home to the Duke Blue Devils men's and women's basketball teams, the women's volleyball team, and the men's wrestling team....

, making it to the school's Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

 and first national championship game, in which they lost by nine points to UConn
Connecticut Huskies men's basketball
The Connecticut Huskies is the name of the men's college basketball team representing the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut, USA. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big East Conference...

. Notable players sent to the NBA under Hewitt include Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh
Christopher Wesson Bosh is an American professional basketball player who plays power forward for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association ....

, Jarrett Jack
Jarrett Jack
Jarrett Matthew Jack is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA. At 6' 3" tall and weighing 197 lbs , he primarily plays at the guard position...

, Mario West
Mario West
Mario Marceé West is an American professional basketball player who plays for Tezenis Verona. He has also played with Atlanta Hawks, New Jersey Nets, and the NBA Development League's Maine Red Claws...

, Luke Schenscher
Luke Schenscher
Luke Dean Schenscher is an Australian professional basketball player for the Townsville Crocodiles in the Australasian National Basketball League.-School/College career:...

, Thaddeus Young
Thaddeus Young
Thaddeus Charles Young is an American professional basketball player. Young is a small forward for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. Prior to his professional career, he attended Georgia Tech, where he studied management. He is tall and weighs...

, Javaris Crittenton
Javaris Crittenton
Javaris Cortez Crittenton is an American professional basketball player who has most recently played for the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League. He was previously the starting point guard for the Georgia Tech men's basketball team....

, Will Bynum
Will Bynum
William "Will" Bynum is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA. He plays the point guard position.-Early life and college career:...

 and Anthony Morrow
Anthony Morrow
Anthony Jarrad Morrow , nicknamed A-Mo, is an American professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association...

. In back-to-back years (2008 & 2009), Hewitt also successfully recruited national top-10 high school prospects in Iman Shumpert
Iman Shumpert
Iman Asante Shumpert was a junior at Georgia Tech and played guard for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team. He was selected by the New York Knicks as the 17th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.-High school career:...

 and Derrick Favors
Derrick Favors
Derrick Bernard Favors is an American basketball player for the Utah Jazz. He is a power forward who played for Georgia Tech. On June 24, 2010, he was drafted 3rd overall by the New Jersey Nets of the NBA....

.

But in three out of four seasons from 2007 to 2011, Hewitt's team posted losing records. For the 2010-11 season, attendance and general fan interest had diminished to the point that Tech failed to sell out a single home game in Alexander Memorial Coliseum
Alexander Memorial Coliseum
The Alexander Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the home of the basketball teams of Georgia Tech and hosted the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA from 1968–1972 and again from 1997–1999...

. Georgia Tech finished the season 13-18 and were eliminated in the first round of the ACC Tournament. On March 12, 2011, Paul Hewitt was dismissed as the head coach of the Georgia Tech after eleven seasons. Brian Gregory was appointed as his successor, Georgia Tech's thirteenth men's basketball coach, on March 28, 2011.

Coaches

Since the beginning of the Georgia Tech basketball program, it has had 13 head coaches. John Heisman and William Alexander were also head coaches for Georgia Tech's football and baseball teams.
  • Chapman
  • John Heisman
    John Heisman
    John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...

  • William Alexander
  • Joe Bean
    Joe Bean
    Joseph William Bean was a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Giants in 1902.-External links:...

  • Harold Hansen
    Harold Hansen
    Harold Hansen was a Canadian soccer player who earned two caps for the national team in 1968.In 1968, he spent one season with the Atlanta Chiefs of the North American Soccer League. In 1969, he was part of the British Columbia U-23 team which won the Canadian Soccer Association Challenge Cup...

  • Roy Mundorff
  • Dwight Keith
  • Roy McArthur
  • John Hyder
  • Dwane Morrison
  • Bobby Cremins
    Bobby Cremins
    Bobby Cremins is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the College of Charleston's men's basketball team, and former head coach at Appalachian State and Georgia Tech.-Early years:...

  • Paul Hewitt
    Paul Hewitt
    -External links:**...

  • Brian Gregory

Players


Many famous and talented players have played with the Yellow Jackets. Dennis Scott
Dennis Scott (basketball)
Dennis Eugene Scott is an American former professional basketball player. A 6' 8" small forward from Georgia Tech, and the 1989–1990 ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Scott was selected by the Orlando Magic with the fourth pick of the 1990 NBA Draft after being the leading scorer on a...

 was the 1990 National Player of the Year and the 1990 ACC Player of the Year, Jarrett Jack
Jarrett Jack
Jarrett Matthew Jack is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA. At 6' 3" tall and weighing 197 lbs , he primarily plays at the guard position...

 was the 2005 Basketball Times All-South player, and Mark Price
Mark Price
William Mark Price is a retired American basketball player who played for 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1986 to 1998...

 was the 1985 ACC Player of the Year.

The team has retired six numbers: Matt Harpring
Matt Harpring
Matthew Joseph Harpring is an American former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the NBA. He is currently the color commentator for the Utah Jazz.-College career:...

 (15), Tom Hammonds
Tom Hammonds
Tom Edward Hammonds is a retired American professional basketball player and National Hot Rod Association drag racer. He was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and attended Crestview High School in Crestview, Florida....

 (20), John Salley
John Salley
John Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....

 (22), Mark Price
Mark Price
William Mark Price is a retired American basketball player who played for 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1986 to 1998...

 (25), Rich Yunkus (40), and Roger Kaiser
Roger Kaiser
Roger Allen Kaiser is a retired American basketball player and coach. Kaiser was a two-time All-American player at Georgia Tech and won four NAIA national championships as a coach at the University of West Georgia and Life University....

 (21).

Stadium

The Alexander Memorial Coliseum (also nicknamed "The Thrillerdome") is an indoor arena located in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. It is the home of the Georgia Tech basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 teams and hosted the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

 of the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 from 1968–1972 and again from 1997–1999. Tech's women's volleyball team occasionally uses the facility as well, primarily for NCAA tournament games and other matches that draw crowds that would overflow the O'Keefe Gymnasium.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK