The future of Georgia Tech's men's basketball program will be shaped within the next few days.
Will it be rebuilt, just like Alexander Memorial Coliseum? Or will it stay the course with coach Paul Hewitt at the helm?
According to the terms of the contract Hewitt signed in 2004, he must be notified 30 days before April 15 if the Georgia Tech Athletic Association plans to terminate his contract. If athletic director Dan Radakovich makes that decision, Tech owes Hewitt $7.2 million. Hewitt said he expects to return after losing to Virginia Tech 59-43 in the first round of the ACC tournament on Thursday in Greensboro. However, he qualified it with a "but, you know ..."
If Radakovich were to fire him after March 16, which would be the 30-day deadline, Tech would owe Hewitt an additional $1.375 million. Hewitt’s contract, negotiated and signed by former athletic director Dave Braine, includes a six-year deal with an automatic rollover and the extraordinarily large buyout figure. Radakovich hasn't been available for interviews this week. He spent most of Friday in Greensboro attending meetings at the tournament. He and Hewitt may meet this weekend.
The next few days are critical.
Radakovich has said throughout the season that no decision has been made regarding Hewitt's future. Like Tech's other coaches, Hewitt will be evaluated after the season. Radakovich said many factors will be considered, including the team's lagging attendance at home this season. A new arena, the $45 million McCamish Pavilion, will open in 2012.
If Hewitt is terminated without cause (the team's record isn't considered cause), he must be paid in monthly installments over the remaining term until the buyout amount is met. Tech's athletics department isn't flush with cash. It posted a profit of $138,000 in the 2010 fiscal year. It also is still paying former football coach Chan Gailey, who was fired in 2007. The last payment to Gailey will be made in January.
Gailey's situation with the fans at Tech in his last season is similar to Hewitt's. Some like him. Many seem to dislike him.
Those who don't like Hewitt point to his conference record of 72-104, which includes one winning season. Overall, Hewitt is 190-162 (.540) at Tech, with an appearance in the 2004 national championship game. However, other than Duke, North Carolina or Maryland, most of the ACC's teams have similar won-loss records. Hewitt has won neither the conference's regular-season title nor the tournament title, though the Jackets have played for it twice, including last year.
Even last year's second-round appearance in the NCAA tournament, the fifth time Hewitt led the team to the event, hasn't seemed satisfactory. Fans showed their displeasure this season by not attending home games. Tech's average home attendance of 6,095 was third lowest in the conference and the school's lowest in at least 12 years.
Hewitt's tenure has been an anomaly in the ACC. Though it prides itself on its history and heritage, nine schools have changed coaches at least once. Only Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and Gary Williams at Maryland have been at their schools longer than Hewitt has been at Tech.
Miami's Frank Haith (.384, seven seasons) and N.C. State's Sidney Lowe (.312, five seasons) have lower winning percentages in ACC games than Hewitt among current coaches who have been in the league for at least five seasons. Like Hewitt, they are on the hot seat.
Just four current coaches are better than .500 in ACC games during that same span and two -- Krzyzewski, North Carolina's Roy Williams -- are in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The third, Gary Williams, likely will join them. The fourth, Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg, is two games better than .500.
It's a dog-eat-dog conference unless you are one of the "Big Three," and even Maryland fans are grumbling about Williams, who has won a national championship.
The pressure can be so great that even coaches with better winning percentages than Hewitt's have either left for other jobs, including Oliver Purnell, who left Clemson for DePaul after winning 46.2 percent of his conference games. Other schools haven't been as patient. Virginia canned Dave Leitao (42.2). Miami fired Perry Clark (40.6). Even Wake Forest fired Dino Gaudio and he won 56.2 percent of his ACC games. The Deacons went 1-15 this season.
When Hewitt was being courted by St. John's last year, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas warned Tech fans that things might not get better with a successor. He pointed to Herb Sendek at N.C. State, who won 45 percent of his conference games. N.C. State's fans wanted more, but the program hasn't come close to matching his success.
***
The ACC during Hewitt's time
The records of ACC teams in regular-season league play since Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt was hired in 2000-01.
School ACC
Duke 133-43 (.756)
North Carolina 114-62 (.648)
Maryland 103-73 (.585)
Boston College 49-47 (.510)*
Virginia Tech 57-55 (.509)*
Wake Forest 88-88 (.500)
Florida State 76-100 (.432)
North Carolina State 76-100 (.432)
Georgia Tech 72-104 (.409)
Virginia 71-105 (.403)
Clemson 70-106 (.398)
Miami 43-69 (.384)*
* Miami and Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004-05 and Boston College in 2005-06. Their conference records do not include their previous performances in the Big East.
About the Author
