When Georgia Tech plays Duke — like it does Saturday at Philips Arena — or North Carolina, former Yellow Jackets often show up en masse. What new coach Brian Gregory is building toward is more of the same throughout the season, and offseason.
To him, one mark of a strong program is how often former players come around. That’s an important part of the rebuilding project he has begun at Tech. His cell phone records would back him up.
“He called me after he accepted the job and we talked for a while,” former Tech standout Matt Harpring said recently. “He’s called me a couple times. What a difference. It’s nice, and he’s asked me to come down to practice.”
A full schedule of broadcasting for the Utah Jazz and four children 6 years old and younger make it hard for Harpring to get to campus much, but before the NBA lockout ended, he joined James Forrest, Duane Ferrell and Drew Barry at a Tech meet-and-greet at Stats Restaurant in November.
Those efforts work both ways, for the benefit of the program and the players who have left it. Harpring said he was envious of the way some of his former NBA teammates felt about going back to their colleges.
“Everyone had stories about their colleges — when they go back and how they get treated, and how it was at Duke or Carolina,” Harpring said. “I never had those same stories. It just wasn’t that way at Georgia Tech. So I’m hoping that it will be that way. You want to build that tradition because Georgia Tech will be around a lot longer than any single player will be.”
Former players such as Jarrett Jack, Iman Shumpert and Derrick Favors spent time at Tech working out over the summer. Gregory wants to make that a regular part of the fabric, all year round.
“Guys need to feel welcome, coming by practice, stopping by our offices and football games and stuff like that,” Gregory said. “... There are some earmarks you have to get to to have a great program. Having those former players embrace what you’re doing is part of it.”
It’s a culture he experienced as an assistant coach at Michigan State. Knowing the influences of head coaches there such as Jud Heathcote and Tom Izzo, one of the first calls he made was to Bobby Cremins. The godfather of Tech basketball offered Gregory not only his enthusiastic support, but a list of cellphone numbers.
“He’s been unbelievable since I got the job,” Gregory said. “There are very few coaches that when they leave a place actually want that place to still be successful. There’s an ego involved in coaching. They may say it, but secretly they’re watching the ticker hoping the team loses, or that they never achieve the same level of success that they did under them. Coach Cremins is not one of those guys.”
Cremins, now coaching at College of Charleston, is still close to many of his former players at Tech. He knocked on Harpring’s door in Atlanta unannounced on a recent recruiting trip. When the Yellow Jackets played in the Charleston Classic in November, Cremins sat behind the Tech bench.
He watched Tech play Northwestern on TV and enjoyed hearing Barry broadcast the game for ESPNU. His son Bobby Cremins III went to that game at Philips Arena.
“I love to see the Dennis Scotts and the Brian Olivers — I love to see those kids go to games,” Cremins said. “... I got my hands full in Charleston, but I always follow Georgia Tech.”
As for Gregory, Cremins said: “He seems tireless. He’s got tremendous energy. I think the biggest thing is to give Brian Gregory plenty of time. He knows how to coach. This year is going to be a tough year for him.”
Gregory knows without a true home court this season, attracting fans and former players presents a challenge. But it’s one he feels is well worth the extra effort he continues to make.
“There’s no great program in this country that doesn’t embrace its tradition and its past, that doesn’t have the support of its tradition and past,” Gregory said.
Forrest, Dennis Scott and Jon Barry showed up Tuesday night at Philips Arena to watch Tech play Alabama. Forrest, like many former Tech players, is retired from the game now and living in the Atlanta area.
“Anything that I can try to do and come back and support them I’m going to make sure I do my part,” said Forrest, who played for 11 years in Europe. “... We’re supporting Coach Gregory all the way. Hope the program gets back to where it was.”
He’s encouraged fellow former players to do the same.
“It’s good for the fans,” Drew Barry said. “It’s also good for the players. It’s also good for recruiting. As a former player you always want to try to get back and do what you can to help the program, and in the past we haven’t been around as much.”
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