Tommy Amaker
Tommy Amaker (born June 6, 1965)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Harvard Crimson
Current conference: Ivy League
Seton Hall record: 68-55 (.553)
Michigan record: 108-84 (.563)
Harvard record: 292-179 (.620)
Overall record: 468-318 (.595)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 5 (2000, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 1 (2000)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 1 (2004)
- NIT Appearances: 9 (1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2018, 2019)
- CIT Appearances: 1 (2010)
- Ivy League Regular Season Champion: 7 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)
- Ivy League Tournament Champion: 0
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2007-present | Harvard |
| 2001-2007 | Michigan |
| 1997-2001 | Seton Hall |
| 1995-1997 | Duke (assoc. HC) |
| 1989-1995 | Duke (asst) |
| 1988-1989 | Duke (grad. asst) |
Tommy Amaker Facts
- Harold Tommy Amaker, Jr.
- Born June 6, 1965
- Hometown: Falls Church, Virginia
- Alma Mater: Duke University (BA, 1987)
- Attended W.T. Woodson HS in Fairfax; was named a McDonald’s All-American and Parade All-American as a senior in 1983
- Played for four seasons at Duke under Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski
- Named team captain as a senior at Duke, following a run to the NCAA National Championship game in 1986
- Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 3rd round of the 1987 NBA Draft (55th overall), but was cut before the season
- Inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013
- Spent nine years on Krzyzewski‘s coaching staff as a graduate assistant, assistant coach and then as associate head coach
- The Blue Devils went to the NCAA Tournament every year that Amaker was on staff, including five trips to the Final Four, two runner-up finishes and two NCAA National Championship titles
- Was frequently considered for head coaching positions, including Alabama, Northwestern, Tennessee and USC
- Left Duke in 1997 to become the head coach at Seton Hall
- Went to three NITs and one NCAA Tournament (Sweet Sixteen in 2000) during his four years
- Hired in 2001 to be the head coach at Michigan, a position he held for six seasons
- Was tasked with repairing the reputation of a program that had been decimated and discredited by scandal
- Went to three NITs, winning the tournament in 2004 and finishing as runner-up in 2006, but never took the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament
- Fired in March 2007 after finishing in a tie for 7th in the Big Ten
- Became the head coach at Harvard a month later, taking over a team that had never won the Ivy League
- After a CIT in year three, the Crimson won a share of the 2011 Ivy League title and got a trip to the NCAA Tournament
- Won or shared the next four Ivy League titles, earning return trips to the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons
- Also won shares of the 2018 & 2019 titles, though now the Ivy League Tournament determines who goes to the NCAA Tournament
Tommy Amaker Coaching Tree
- Brian Adams (Agua Caliente Clippers)
- Kenny Blakeney (Howard)
- Chris Collins (Northwestern)
- Fred Hill (Rutgers)
- Shaheen Holloway (Seton Hall, Saint Peter’s)
- Kerry Keating (Santa Clara)
- Tim O’Toole (Fairfield)
- Dave Pilipovich (Air Force)
- Charles Ramsey (Eastern Michigan)
- Levell Sanders (Binghamton)
- Will Wade (McNeese, LSU, VCU, Chattanooga)