Georgia Tech names Damon Stoudemire as men’s basketball coach

Boston Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire has been named Georgia Tech’s new head coach. According to sources, both the parties have agreed on a five-year contract.

He brings a mix of college and NBA coaching experience along with a strong playing profile, a mix Tech officials hope can revive the relevance of a program that has faded in recent years.

Stoudamire proved to be a solid head coach at Pacific, a tenure that included a 23–10 season in 2019–20 when he earned the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year award. He went 32–19 in his final two years and 71–77 overall in the Pacific, before leaving last season to join Ime Udoka on the Celtics’ staff.

Stoudemire has also served as an assistant coach in college at Rice, Memphis (twice) and Arizona, giving him over a decade of college coaching experience.

Stoudemire replaced Josh Pastner, who had gone to just one NCAA tournament in his seven seasons at Georgia Tech. Pastner went 109-114 in 2021 with his only NCAA appearance since winning the ACC tournament.

Georgia Tech has not reached the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons since 2004 and 2005, indicating a lack of continued success. Stoudamire’s challenge will be to revitalize Atlanta and the area’s thriving recruiting scene to make Georgia Tech a destination again.

Stoudamire emerged as a vital member of the Celtics staff in the wake of Udoka’s departure earlier this season. He has been a key assistant to first-year coach Joe Mazzulla as the Celtics posted the second-best record in the Eastern Conference (47–21) and the team’s staff earned the right to work the NBA All-Star Game. . Mazzulla’s performance this season led to the removal of his interim tag before the All-Star break.

Selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 1995 draft, Stoudamire was named Rookie of the Year and played 13 seasons in the NBA. He averaged 13.4 points with the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies and Spurs.

Stoudamire is the second high-profile hire for Jay Batt since the first-year athletic director arrived in October. Batt promoted Brent Key from his interim position to head football coach and sources told ESPN that the school hopes to follow the blueprint of success at Tech that Batt followed as the Tide entered the NCAA Tournament’s top overall seed this year. Executed Nate Oates in Alabama in the making.

Batt has a background in fundraising, and is expected to make a strong NIL push to help shore up and strengthen Tech’s roster to support Stoudemire.