Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Men's Basketball
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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represents the
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
Yellow Jackets Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera '' Vespula'' and '' Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of th ...
in
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. The team plays its home games in
McCamish Pavilion Hank McCamish Pavilion, nicknamed The Thrillerdome and originally known as Alexander Memorial Coliseum, is an indoor arena located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of the Georgia Tech Yellow ...
on the school's
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
campus and is currently coached by
Josh Pastner Joshua Paul Pastner (born September 26, 1977) is an American college basketball coach, and the current head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Pastner was a player on the 1997 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball national championship team, ...
. Cremins led his team to the first ACC tournament victory in school history in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
and in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
he took Georgia Tech to the school's first Final Four appearance ever. Cremins retired from Georgia Tech in 2000 with the school's best winning percentage as a head coach. The Yellow Jackets returned to the Final Four in 2004 under
Paul Hewitt Paul Harrington Hewitt (born May 4, 1963) is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and George Mason University. He grew up in Westbury, New York. In 2021, he was named ...
and lost in the national title game, losing to
UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...
. Overall, the team has won 1,352 games and lost 1,226 games, a .524 win percentage.


History

Georgia Tech's first recorded official participation in basketball was in 1906, when a small club organized under Coach Chapman. They won two of the three games they played that season. The next time Tech had a basketball team, it was under the famous coach
John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...
, also Tech's baseball and football coach. Heisman had a winning percentage of .142 that season and improved the team's percentage to .500 in 1912 and 1913. Since that time, Georgia Tech has forged a solid basketball program on the strength of coaches like John Hyder and
Bobby Cremins Robert Joseph Cremins Jr. (born July 4, 1947) is an American retired college basketball coach. He served as a head coach at Appalachian State, Georgia Tech, and, most recently, the College of Charleston. Early years Cremins attended All Hallows H ...
, and such players as
Roger Kaiser Roger Allen Kaiser (born February 23, 1939) is an American retired basketball player and coach. Kaiser was a two-time All-American player at Georgia Tech and won four NAIA national championships as a coach at West Georgia College (now the Univer ...
,
Rich Yunkus Richard A. Yunkus (born November 13, 1949) is an American former basketball player, best known for his All-American college career at Georgia Tech. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, to a family of Lithuanian descent, Yunkus was a star player at Benton H ...
,
Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1 ...
, Craig "Noodles" Neal,
John Salley John Thomas Salley (born May 16, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (since joined by Robert Horry, Danny Green ...
,
Tom Hammonds Tom Edward Hammonds (born March 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player and National Hot Rod Association drag racer. He was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and attended Crestview High School in Crestview, Florida. Ha ...
, and
Matt Harpring Matthew Joseph Harpring (born May 31, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was formerly paired with play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack as the colo ...
. Georgia Tech became a charter member of the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
in 1932 (the first season was in 1933) and won the conference title in 1938. Coach Hyder, whose teams won 292 games in 22 seasons, put the program on the national map when his 1955 team defeated
Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...
's
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
team, ending the Wildcats' 129-game winning streak at home.


John Hyder

The Yellow Jackets played their first NCAA tournament game in 1960. Coached by Hyder and led by all-American Kaiser, the team defeated
Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...
before losing in the second round to the eventual champion,
Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
. Hyder continued to have strong teams in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1964, Georgia Tech's final season in the Southeastern Conference, the team went undefeated at home and was the conference runner-up. In 1971 the Yellow Jackets, led by Yunkus, reached the finals of the
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
but lost to the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
. Georgia Tech became a charter member of the Metro Conference in 1975 (the first season started in 1976), and then became the eighth member of the ACC in 1978 (starting play in 1979). As of the 2020–2021 season, the Yellow Jackets have won four ACC tournament championships and been the ACC's top seed twice. Through 2021, Georgia Tech has received 17 berths in the NCAA tournament, and seven of its teams have made it to the Sweet Sixteen.


Bobby Cremins

The
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
team, led by head coach
Bobby Cremins Robert Joseph Cremins Jr. (born July 4, 1947) is an American retired college basketball coach. He served as a head coach at Appalachian State, Georgia Tech, and, most recently, the College of Charleston. Early years Cremins attended All Hallows H ...
and players
Mark Price William Mark Price (born February 15, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers. As a player, he played for 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), from 1 ...
,
Duane Ferrell Duane Ferrell (born February 28, 1965) is an American retired professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors. He played college bask ...
, Yvon Joseph,
Craig Neal Craig Duane Neal (born February 16, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is currently the associate head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). He was selected by the Portland Tr ...
,
Bruce Dalrymple Henry Van "Bruce" Dalrymple (born April 21, 1964) is an American former basketball player best known for his college career at Georgia Tech. He was a second round pick in the 1987 NBA draft. Dalrymple was born in Manhattan, but attended prep scho ...
, and
John Salley John Thomas Salley (born May 16, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player, talk show host, and actor. He was the first player in NBA history to win championships with three franchises (since joined by Robert Horry, Danny Green ...
, won the school's first ACC championship and advanced to the final eight in the NCAA tournament. In the 1990 tournament, the trio of Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott, & Brian Oliver (nicknamed "
Lethal Weapon 3 ''Lethal Weapon 3'' is a 1992 American buddy cop action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen. The sequel to '' Lethal Weapon 2'' (1989), it is the third installment in the ''Lethal Weapon'' film ser ...
") carried the
Yellow Jackets Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera '' Vespula'' and '' Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of th ...
all the way to the Final Four, where they lost to eventual champion
UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...
in the national semi-finals. In 1992, Cremins led an inexperienced Tech team to the Sweet 16, thanks in no small part to James Forrest's buzzer-beating game-winning 3-pointer in the second round against
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
. The following year, the Yellow Jackets won the ACC tournament. Georgia Tech's nine consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament from the mid-1980s and the early 1990s accounted for the nation's fourth-longest active streak before it ended in 1994. In 1996, the team finished first in the ACC's regular season and returned to the tournament behind future
NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...
Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. After his freshman year with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was selected as th ...
. Cremins's 19-year tenure (1981–2000) stands as the team's most successful era. Cremins is Georgia Tech's all-time winningest coach and is third among all ACC coaches. Upon his retirement after the 1999–2000 season, his teams had won 354 games and lost 237 for a .599 winning percentage (Cremins would later come out of retirement to coach at the
College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...
). The floor at
Alexander Memorial Coliseum Hank McCamish Pavilion, nicknamed The Thrillerdome and originally known as Alexander Memorial Coliseum, is an indoor arena located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of the Georgia Tech Yellow ...
is named "Cremins Court" in his honor.


Paul Hewitt

In 2000, head coach
Paul Hewitt Paul Harrington Hewitt (born May 4, 1963) is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and George Mason University. He grew up in Westbury, New York. In 2021, he was named ...
was hired away from
Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. St ...
and immediately helped to revitalize the Yellow Jacket program. In his first season, Georgia Tech beat UCLA, Kentucky and five ACC rivals that were ranked en route to an NCAA tournament appearance. Georgia Tech experienced a Cinderella season in 2003–2004: winning the
Preseason NIT The NIT Season Tip-Off is an annual college basketball tournament that takes place in November of each year, toward the beginning of the season. The first two rounds are held at campus sites, while the semifinals and the finals are held during the ...
, ending
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
's 41-game winning streak at
Cameron Indoor Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke men's ...
, making it to the school's second Final Four and first national championship game, in which they lost by nine points to
UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...
. Notable players sent to the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
under Hewitt include
Chris Bosh Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft. Bos ...
,
Jarrett Jack Jarrett Matthew Jack (born October 28, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended four high schools in No ...
,
Mario West Mario Marceé West (born June 19, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently the Director of Off the Court for the NBPA. He previously played in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets. High school and ...
,
Luke Schenscher Luke Dean Schenscher (born 31 December 1982) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball for Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball, Georgia Tech before having stints in the National B ...
,
Thaddeus Young Thaddeus Charles Young Sr. (born June 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Georgia Tech, before being drafted 12th overall i ...
,
Will Bynum William Bynum (born January 4, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Arizona and Georgia Tech before going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft. He was the 2007 Israeli Basketbal ...
and
Anthony Morrow Anthony Jarrad Morrow (born September 27, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who is an executive for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Georgia Tech. He ...
. In back-to-back years (2008 & 2009), Hewitt also successfully recruited national top-10 high school prospects in
Iman Shumpert Iman Asante Shumpert ( ; born June 26, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shumpert was selected by the New York Knicks with the 17th overall pic ...
and
Derrick Favors Derrick Bernard Favors (born July 15, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Favors played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for one season before being selected by the New Jersey N ...
. During the 2009–2010 season, the Yellow Jackets played for the ACC tournament championship game as well as earning Hewitt's fifth NCAA tournament appearance at Tech. They advanced to the round of 32, losing to The Ohio State University. Georgia Tech then finished the 2010–11 season 13–18. On March 12, 2011, Paul Hewitt was dismissed as the head coach of the Georgia Tech after 11 seasons.
Brian Gregory Brian Francis Gregory (born December 15, 1966) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head men's basketball coach at South Florida Bulls men's basketball, South Florida. He was previously serving as a consultant to Tom ...
was appointed as his successor, Georgia Tech's 13th men's basketball coach, on March 28, 2011.


Brian Gregory

Brian Gregory Brian Francis Gregory (born December 15, 1966) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head men's basketball coach at South Florida Bulls men's basketball, South Florida. He was previously serving as a consultant to Tom ...
, who led
Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
to 97 victories over his last four seasons there and worked under
Tom Izzo Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spart ...
at
Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
when the Spartans won the 2000 NCAA Championship, was named Georgia Tech's head men's basketball coach on March 28, 2011. In their first season with Gregory at the helm, Georgia Tech finished 11–20 and 11th in the ACC while playing without a true home court while
McCamish Pavilion Hank McCamish Pavilion, nicknamed The Thrillerdome and originally known as Alexander Memorial Coliseum, is an indoor arena located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of the Georgia Tech Yellow ...
was under construction. Gregory only had two seasons with overall winning records and no seasons of winning records in ACC play. On March 25, 2016, after five disappointing seasons and no trips to the NCAA Tournament, Georgia Tech fired Brian Gregory. He was 76–86 overall and 27–61 in ACC play.


Josh Pastner

Josh Pastner was hired by the school on April 8, 2016. Pastner's deal is worth $11 million over six years. Pastner was 167–73 with four NCAA tournament bids in seven years as the head coach of
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
. Pastner took Tech to the NIT finals in his first season, and was that season's ACC Coach of The Year. After that season Tech was hit with NCAA violations, although most punishments would later be dropped. Because of this, Tech struggled for the next few seasons. However, Pastner ultimately led the team to their first ACC title since 1993, as well as their first NCAA tournament berth since 2010, as the Yellow Jackets defeated
Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
to win the 2021 ACC Championship. They would end up losing to Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It is Tech's latest postseason appearance.


Postseason


NCAA tournament results

The Yellow Jackets have appeared in the NCAA tournament 17 times. Their combined record is 23–17.


NIT results

The Yellow Jackets have appeared in the
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
(NIT) nine times. Their combined record is 13–9.


Coaches

Since the beginning of the Georgia Tech basketball program, it has had 14 head coaches. John Heisman and William Alexander were also head coaches for Georgia Tech's football and baseball teams.


Players

Many famous and talented players have played with the Yellow Jackets. Dennis Scott was the 1990 National Player of the Year and the 1990 ACC Player of the Year,
Jarrett Jack Jarrett Matthew Jack (born October 28, 1983) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended four high schools in No ...
was the 2005 Basketball Times All-South player. A notable fictitious player for the Yellow Jackets is eternal Tech student
George P. Burdell George P. Burdell is a fictitious student officially enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1927 as a practical joke. Since then, he has supposedly received all undergraduate degrees offered by Georgia Tech, served in the military, gotten married, and serv ...
, who is officially listed in team media guides as having earned three letters (1956–58).


Retired numbers


All-Americans


All-time leaders


Points


Rebounds


Assists


Steals


Blocks


Arena

The Hank McCamish Pavilion, rebuilt and renamed from Alexander Memorial Coliseum (also nicknamed "The Thrillerdome") in 2012, is an
indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
located on Tech's
Midtown Atlanta Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown, is a high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used by the city, residents, and local business ...
campus. It is the home of the Georgia Tech
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
teams and hosted the
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
from 1968–1972 and again from 1997–1999. Tech's women's volleyball team occasionally uses the facility as well, primarily for NCAA tournament games and other matches that draw crowds that would overflow the O'Keefe Gymnasium. During the 2011–12 season, the Yellow Jackets split their home schedule between
Philips Arena State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey Leag ...
and the Arena at Gwinnett Center in suburban
Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
while McCamish Pavilion was under reconstruction.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Men's Basketball