Amaker's All Over The Map

Former Michigan coach discusses new job at Harvard

May 2, 2007

By Steve Brauntuch

CSTV.com

	Steve Brauntuch Steve Brauntuch is a researcher for CSTV and contributor to CSTV.com. E-mail here!

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From the ACC to the Big East to the Big Ten... to the Ivy League. That's the map on Tommy Amaker's basketball career. The former Duke standout point guard took Seton Hall to the Sweet 16 in just his third season on the bench. He parlayed that job into one at Michigan, where he was expected to bring that program back to its early-1990s glory days. But after six tumultuous seasons, one NIT title and no NCAA Tournament appearances, Amaker was fired in March.

Now, Amaker has left the high-profile, fast-paced life of major conference basketball for Cambridge, Mass., where he inherits a Harvard program that has never won an Ivy League title. Amaker admits he has never even attended an Ivy League conference game. So why take the Harvard job? Amaker spoke about his decision, his adjustments and his tenure in Ann Arbor.

SB: Why did you decide to take the Harvard head coaching job?

TA: Well, I think it starts with the name Harvard. First of all, it's considered, if not the biggest, one of the biggest brands in all of higher education. And it's such an honor to have been asked to be a coach and a teacher in this environment, this community and on this campus. I was fired at Michigan, and I think when you've been fired and you're out of a job, you're probably interested in anybody who's interested in you. And so obviously they were interested in filling their coaching position, and I think they probably talked to a number of people. But as discussions kind of developed a little bit further down the road with myself and the individuals here at Harvard, I think we started to realize that it could be a mutual interest and hopefully a very good fit.

SB: How much of an adjustment do you think there will be for you moving from Big Ten basketball to Ivy League basketball this season?

TA: Well, you know, basketball is basketball, and coaching and teaching is coaching and teaching. And I'm looking forward to working with the kids we have here and the kids we're going to have in the future. So certainly there will be some differences, of course. Big Ten basketball is considered the absolute highest level there is in college basketball, with other comparable kinds of conferences. But there's also been some pretty darn good teams coming from the Ivy League, and Ivy League tradition has always been pretty strong in terms of the kind of caliber of ball clubs and some of the players over the years that have developed and have produced in this conference.

SB: You've always been looked at as one of the best recruiters in college basketball. But with the stricter regulations on recruiting at an Ivy League school, how do you think that will impact your ability to recruit players?

TA: Well, I've never thought of myself, to be very honest, as a good recruiter. I've thought of myself as a good teacher but a not-so-good recruiter, to be very honest. But it's not for me to analyze that. So I like to think that we'll be able to attract the kids who have the credentials to be in the Ivy League but more specifically the credentials to attend Harvard. And I think we're starting to find that there are some pretty strong kids in that category. There are kids who are darn good basketball players who hopefully we'll have a chance to attract and get in front of and present what the vision will be for us in the future here at Harvard.

SB: Do you plan on making some changes to the offensive schemes you ran at Michigan to fit the more traditional, slower, half-court-based Ivy League game?

TA: We'll wait to see. I'm waiting to find out what's best for our personnel, and as we work with our guys and certainly practice, that will give us a much clearer perspective on what is possible and what we should do. But we're going to stay flexible and do what's best for the kids here right now and their abilities and how we can kind of maximize those things and kind of accentuate their strengths. So if that means some of the similar things, we'll do it. If we have to be flexible enough to make some changes, we'll do that as well.

SB: Harvard hasn't made the NCAA Tournament in more than 60 years. How long do you think it will take for you to turn this program into a perennial Ivy League contender?

TA: I don't know. That's obvious that it hasn't been too favorable for us in the past in that regard. But there have been some close moments, you know, for Harvard basketball, but it didn't materialize where we could push it over the top. You know, Frank McLaughlin had some pretty darn good teams during his years and did a tremendous job. Frank Sullivan, who was the previous coach here that I'm coming after, was a terrific coach and has done some terrific things. So you've had some other moments that things didn't necessarily come all together. And there've been some unfortunate circumstances that I think could possibly derail those moments. We're hopeful that we can get a little lucky, work hard and maybe things will line up in our favor one day that we could possibly, as you mentioned, become a contender and eventually, hopefully, become a champion.

SB: Do you think you got a fair shake at Michigan?

TA: You know, I'm proud and grateful of my time at Michigan. And I know how our business works, and it's not an easy profession or easy business. And yet it's incredibly rewarding to have a chance to have represented Michigan and to have been a part of that community was a wonderful experience that I'll always be grateful for and I'll always look back on as a very positive one. And I think they will look at it as well as a positive moment, a positive tenure that we were able to put our program back in a healthy manner with some terrific kids. So I think that I was grateful for the chance to be there, the chance to lead it, to coach, to teach there, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do that now here at Harvard.

SB: You didn't make the NCAA Tournament in your six seasons at Michigan. What do you think were the key factors that prevented you from getting over that hump and into the tournament?

TA: Well, I think a lot. If you talk to any coach, it's not an easy road, especially given some of the hurdles that we had to overcome. And it's probably not fair to say six years when we weren't even eligible for one year, and the year that we weren't eligible to participate was probably the year we would have made it. So you can argue a lot of different things just depending on which way you want to look at it, but I think to be fair about it and be clear, to have it down there the way it should be written, we were able to have three 20-plus win seasons, one NIT championship, and the one year that we were ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, we finished tied for third place in the Big Ten. I'm not sure if any team has ever finished that high in the league and not made the NCAA Tournament.

SB: What's the most important thing you learned from Mike Krzyzewski that has helped you in your coaching career?

TA: Well, you learn a lot being with him. You wish you could kind of emulate it to the `T' like he does, but not many people have ever done that in the history of college basketball. I just think he's a tremendous communicator. I'm hopeful that as time goes on, if I could ever get close to the level that he's able to do that, I would be very, very lucky.

SB: You coached in both the Big East and the Big Ten. What differences did you see between those two leagues in your time coaching there?

TA: They're not much different. There's a different geographical region, so there are some differences that come with that in itself. You know, just parts of the country sometimes are viewed differently. But the basketball, the level, the coaching, the kinds of programs that you're seeing day in and day out, the fan support, the incredible facilities and environments and all of the things that come with those high level, high major conferences, whether it's the Big East, the Big Ten, the ACC, the SEC, the Pac-10, the Big 12... I'm sure there are others, but they're all very comparable, and I think the biggest thing is probably the geographical location of those conferences. And there are some things that generally come with the differences in those parts of the country. But the conferences and the schools, they're top level.

SB: How much of a culture shock do you think there's going to be for you going from a Big Ten environment to an Ivy League environment for basketball?

TA: Well, things are going to be the same between the lines and the configuration of the court, and that's what we're concerned with. You're teachers and you're a coach. It's not so much about who's in the stands or if the game is televised. I know there are going to be some differences and things that I've been a part of. And I've been very fortunate to be part of some of those kinds of environments over my years as a player and as a coach. But I enjoy working with young kids. I enjoy representing a great school, and I'm hopeful that we'll be competitive and have some fun doing it. And it doesn't matter to me if that's in that kind of limelight or not. I've never been the kind of person who's interested in those kinds of things anyway, so those things aren't necessarily what move me. What moves me is having the chance to possibly be part of something special and maybe represent a great institution, which I've been fortunate enough to do in the past, whether it's been Seton Hall, Michigan or Duke, and I'm looking forward to that challenge and opportunity here.

SB: Now that you're coaching at Harvard, how many red turtlenecks do you plan to purchase for your wardrobe?

TA: Well, I'm trying to find some crimson ties. So maybe I'll have a certain kind of tie, I don't know. I'll see what I can find, and hopefully I won't have to spend a lot of money looking for it.