Former Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory spoke graciously about his tenure as the Yellow Jackets' coach for the past five years. He also took issue with Athletic Director Mike Bobinski's uncertainty about Gregory's dependence on transfers and the outlook for the future of the program under his watch.
“My response to that would we probably agree to disagree,” Gregory said in an interview with the AJC on Friday evening.
Gregory pointed to the team’s success this season, finishing 21-15 overall and 8-10 in the ACC, both high-water marks for the team in his tenure. It was Tech’s second 20-win season in the past nine years and fifth in the past 20. Further, only four teams in that span had performed better in ACC play.
He was characteristically optimistic about what Tech might have achieved next season with a roster that will lose five seniors who provided 62 percent of the minutes and 76 percent of the points, comparing it with projections for this season’s team at this time a year ago.
A year ago, “if someone would have said, ‘Next year’s team is going to have the third most wins of any Georgia Tech team in the last 20 years,’ I’m not sure anybody would have agreed with that,” he said. “We have a great class coming in and we’ve already proven that during the spring recruiting, we can bring in some high-quality impact players. We’ve proven that over the last couple of years.”
While a seemingly risky strategy, Gregory did bring in a steady flow of transfers who have played one or two seasons and been valuable contributors — Robert Sampson, Demarco Cox, Charles Mitchell, Nick Jacobs, James White and Adam Smith. He saw it as a creative way to compete at a school with recruiting challenges. He even saw the transfer market improving for Tech in the offseason ahead.
“And so now you can sell that you can win in this league and you can be successful,” he said. Further, “we’ve given opportunities to guys that have one or two years to play that have had the best years of their careers (at Tech).”
He noted further that Louisville’s two leading scorers were graduate transfers and that Pittsburgh had two starters who were graduate transfers.
“It’s not like we’re the only team in the league doing that,” he said. “We’re trying to keep up with the Dukes and the Carolinas.”
Gregory spoke proudly of the work that he led to restore the team’s academic record. Shortly after he arrived in March 2011, the NCAA penalized Tech with the loss of a scholarship for the second time in the previous three seasons because of poor academic performance. Under Gregory’s watch, every player who has reached his senior season with the team has graduated. Several other former players have returned to earn degrees. The team scored its highest-ever Academic Progress Rate score last May.
“To be the coach at an institution with this prestige on the academic side of things was a tremendous honor for me, and I am extremely proud of the achievements that we’ve made in this program over the last five years, both on the court and off the court,” he said.
He did not leave out the team’s winning 21 games and reaching the NIT quarterfinals.
“And then when you have your first recruiting class end their career with the third most wins in the last 20 years, there is a great sense of accomplishment,” he said. “I wish this program and the returning players all the very best. I want them to be successful. It’s important to me. I really enjoyed my time here and me some great people, and disappointed that it’s the end, but that’s part of the business.”
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