Georgia Tech fires coach Damon Stoudamire after three seasons
With a calamitous season now in the books, the Damon Stoudamire era at Georgia Tech is over after only three seasons, the school announced Sunday.
Tech finished its regular season Saturday with its 12th consecutive loss, a 79-76 defeat at Clemson. Tech finished 12-20 overall and 2-16 in the ACC. The loss secured a stand-alone last-place finish in the 18-team ACC, which means the Jackets won’t participate in the 15-team ACC Tournament.
The dismissal is the first major personnel decision made by athletic director Ryan Alpert, hired this past June to succeed J Batt. It was Batt who hired Stoudamire in March 2023 from an assistant coaching position with the Boston Celtics before Batt took the AD job at Michigan State, also this past June.
Greg Gary was named interim head coach, as Alpert is set to launch a national search for a successor.
“On behalf of Georgia Tech, I want to thank Damon for his commitment to the Institute, our men’s basketball program and, most importantly, our student-athletes,” Alpert said in a team statement. “He is highly respected and admired throughout the Georgia Tech community and has been a strong representative of the Institute. We wish him the very best.”
Stoudamire finished with a record of 42-55 in his three seasons, including 19-39 in ACC play.
It was the team’s play this season that sealed his fate. After reaching the NIT last year — Tech’s first postseason appearance since going to the NCAA Tournament after winning the ACC Tournament in 2021 under former coach Josh Pastner — the Jackets harbored hopes of achieving more this season.
“I just feel like we have the pieces,” Stoudamire said before the season.
Four-star prospect Mouhamed Sylla, tabbed a potential NBA draft pick, looked like he could pair with returning post player Baye Ndongo. But Sylla was not impactful and missed much of the ACC season with an injury. The Jackets struggled to beat Maryland Eastern Shore in the season opener, setting the stage for an entirely underwhelming season.
Tech often appeared disjointed on offense and lacked energy. In league games going into the weekend, the Jackets were last in the ACC in turnover percentage and 2-point field-goal percentage, per KenPom.
Stoudamire seemed to recognize the challenges facing his team but was not able to change its course.
After the Jackets’ 76-65 loss to Cal on Wednesday in the final home game of the season, Stoudamire addressed the depths the season had reached.
“It’s a humbling position to be in if you’ve never been in this position,” Stoudamire said. “My journey is on Google. I’ve been through a lot and, man, I can tell you don’t nothing compare to this, what I feel right now as the coach of Georgia Tech.
“I haven’t experienced this before. It makes you understand now, ‘This is what it really looks like.’ Because this is the bottom.”
The 12-game losing streak is the program’s longest since the 1980-81 team lost 13 in a row and was 0-14 in ACC play. Arguably even more egregious was that Tech was rarely competitive in the games, losing by an average margin of 13.1 points in conference play. A case could be made that, in finishing in last place in the 18-team ACC, this team is Tech’s worst since the 1980-81 team.
“Georgia Tech men’s basketball has a proud history and is an important part of our athletics department and community,” Alpert said in the statement. “We are committed to identifying an excellent basketball coach that will build a championship-level program, and fulfill our missions of academic excellence and preparing our student-athletes for life beyond basketball. Georgia Tech’s commitment to men’s basketball is unwavering, and we will invest the resources necessary to compete for championships at the highest levels.”
Alpert now faces the challenge that his three predecessors were unable to do — hire a coach (and provide him with the necessary support) who can create a successful program. Since Paul Hewitt took Tech to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the Jackets have been to the tournament one time, in 2021. In that same time, there have been 82 NCAA appearances by the other ACC schools.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
