Georgetown Head Coach Candidate: Tommy Amaker

With John Thompson III on his way out of Georgetown - something I’m not sure I ever expected to write - it’s now time to look forward to who the next coach of Georgetown will be. One name associated with this search is Tommy Amaker, the current Head Coach of Harvard.

A DC native, Amaker played point guard at Duke under Coach K. He stayed on as a graduate assistant when his playing days were over, and became a reliable assistant coach under Coach K for 8 years. His pedigree earned him a head coaching job at Seton Hall, where he took the Pirates to the NIT three out of four years. In the remaining year, he took a talented team to the Sweet 16.

After Seton Hall, Amaker went to Michigan to help revitalize an embattled program that was facing major sanctions. In six years at Michigan, Amaker helped stabilize the program. He took the team to the NIT three of the six years, winning the NIT once. But he never made the NCAA Tournament, which comprises one of the biggest criticisms against him.

Amaker has been at Harvard for a full decade and has shown in the process he can recruit well - maybe a little too well, as he’s been accused of minor recruiting violations in the past. Amaker took an 8-22 team in his first year - 2007 - 2008 - to the NCAA Tournament five consecutive years (2010 - 2015). Harvard has dipped in the last couple years, mostly because of a university-wide cheating scandal that sidelined a few of the Crimson’s top players.

On the surface, there are some similarities between Amaker and John Thompson III. Amaker comes from an Ivy background and is known as a better recruiter than tactician. He also has ties to the DC area. Finally, Amaker’s agent, David Falk, is close with the Thompsons and represents many top Georgetown players and coaches - including the Thompsons themselves.

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