Eighteen years ago, Karl Hobbs led his George Washington team into the NCAA Tournament against Georgia Tech in Nashville, Tennessee. The 12th-seeded Colonials trailed by only five going into halftime before fading over the final 20 minutes in a 12-point loss.
Hobbs then was in his fourth of 10 seasons at George Washington, one of his many stops in a long coaching career that now includes being an assistant at Georgia Tech. The veteran coach joined Damon Stoudamire’s staff in May, sensing a chance to bring the Yellow Jackets the same success he has experienced in more than 40 years as a player and coach.
“I think it’s an opportunity to write a new, great chapter and just sort of change the narrative a little bit. That’s what excites me,” Hobbs said. “A new challenge, an opportunity to go to a level and to chase trying to get to a Final Four and win a national championship. The thing that I’m excited about is coach Stoudamire’s vision and how he wants to create the right atmosphere, the right environment to make those things happen.”
Hobbs came to Atlanta after seven years at Rutgers. He didn’t necessarily have a strong, personal relationship with Stoudamire before arriving in Atlanta, but always had gravitated toward Tech’s first-year coach in years past during recruiting showcases in which both Hobbs and Stoudamire were present.
Hobbs said as he began to converse more with Stoudamire about the opportunity at Tech, he found the two had similar values, similar backgrounds and held honesty, improving the lives of young people and the love of basketball at a high importance. That all intrigued Hobbs further about becoming a Jacket.
Since beginning his coaching career at Boston University in 1987, after a standout career as a point guard at Connecticut, the Massachusetts native and former Atlantic 10 coach of the year has coached more than a dozen NBA players, including Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton and Caron Butler. Hobbs knows in time the current players on Tech’s roster will come to him for tales of how those notable names made it to the NBA.
“I’ve been through so many different situations that it always allows me to share some of my experiences,” he said. “It allows me to share stories in terms of basketball and talk about some of the great players that I’ve had the opportunity to have coached. And also talk about some of those experiences in terms of what it takes to see all those hopes and dreams become a reality. To talk about the sacrifices, talk about being accountable, talk about having shared responsibilities and having a clear understanding of respect and trust and care.”
Hobbs, 61, is the elder statesmen on a staff that includes fellow assistants Terry Parker and Pershin Williams. That trio, along with Stoudamire, have had a busy offseason recruiting and running individual workouts ahead of the start of Stoudamire’s debut season in November.
Hobbs said he knows his role off the court will be as pivotal as his duties on the court moving forward.
“I think more so for me it’s expressing to them, from a coaching standpoint, I’m here to serve them and I’m here to be a mentor to them. I’m here to guide them,” he said. “I’m here to teach and help them become the best possible player, person and student that they can possibly be.”
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