Former men’s basketball coach Josh Pastner’s top assistant has not been retained by new coach Damon Stoudamire. Anthony Wilkins, Pastner’s associate head coach, posted a message on social media Wednesday afternoon indicating that he is no longer on the staff.
“I’m forever grateful for this opportunity – I wore these colors with pride and taught our young men our history and our way and our fight,” Wilkins wrote. “I’m a product of the truest Atlanta and will always bleed Gold. Thank you to everyone who gave a hand in our efforts. I have loved and will miss our good times here.”
Wilkins, who is from Atlanta and attended Therrell High for two years before moving to Ohio, served on the Yellow Jackets staff for the final five of Pastner’s seven-year tenure, earning a promotion from assistant coach to associate head coach last June.
He was widely credited for his central role in developing Jackets stars Jose Alvarado, Moses Wright, Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher, among others. He led what he called “finishing school” – the instruction of skills to become better at scoring around the basket – that was instrumental in the Jackets winning the 2021 ACC title.
With Wilkins’ help, Alvarado’s two-point field-goal percentage in ACC games improved from 46% as a freshman – the season before Wilkins was hired – to 61% as a senior when he was named second-team All-ACC and scored 15.2 points per game. Devoe improved from 41% on two-point field-goal attempts as a freshman to 54% as a senior.
“That man is a mentor, a big brother, an uncle – everything to me in that category because he had the patience and didn’t care what it was,” Alvarado told the AJC this week. “He wanted you to be the best version of yourself at all times and was willing to take that next step with you every single time. To have him in my life is a blessing. To have him still in my life is a blessing.”
Alvarado said that Wilkins motivated him by asking him if he thought other players elsewhere were complaining about working hard or didn’t want to train. Another way that Wilkins helped Alvarado develop was by pushing him to improve his conditioning, which in turn enabled him to do more skill work. When Wilkins joined Tech’s staff, Alvarado said his game jumped a level.
“It became more solid, it became more disciplined because I was always in shape with him,” he said.
“(Wilkins) helped me a lot off the pick and roll, just being sound using my feet,” Devoe said in 2019 as a sophomore. “Absorbing contact, using guys, just making great reads. He’s definitely helped me a lot.”
The personal interest and care that he took in players was also clear. Guard Kyle Sturdivant, for instance, said that Wilkins had helped him the most of anyone on the staff in helping him cope with the unexpected death of his father.
“I think just realizing I can’t really control what happened to my dad, but I can control what I do for the rest of my life, how I honor him,” Sturdivant said.
In an interview in the beginning of March, Wilkins said the roles of a coach blend into many different areas.
“My aspiration in all of this is helping young men just grow and nurturing that growth,” he said. “A lot of times in your attempt in doing that, I grow so much more from it and our relationships are so strong.”
Stoudamire, hired March 13, has not made any changes official.
“I’ve got a great pool to search and see,” Stoudamire said on the day of his introductory news conference. “I have a motto. I have a motto because in this business, I’m more about getting it right than being fast. I usually do fast noes and slow yeses.”
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