Tommy Amaker

Tommy Amaker
Medal record
Men's basketball
Competitor for United States
FIBA World Championship
Gold 1986 Spain USA

Harold Tommy Amaker (born June 6, 1965) is the current head coach of the Harvard University men's basketball team. He has also served as head basketball coach for the University of Michigan men's basketball team and at Seton Hall University. He played point guard and later served as an assistant coach at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski. As an All-American player, he set numerous records and earned many recognitions. As an NCAA Division I college basketball coach, he took Seton Hall to the post season in each of his four seasons as their coach, helped Michigan win the National Invitation Tournament the year after a probationary ban from postseason play, and had the winningest seasons in school history in the third, fourth, and fifth season with Harvard.

As a player, he set most of the assists records and many steals records for Duke Blue Devils men's basketball. He also set the Atlantic Coast Conference single-season games played and games started records. His 40 games played and started for the 1985–86 team remained as tied but not broken conference records through the 2010–11 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season. His assists records were broken by subsequent Duke point guards Bobby Hurley and Steve Wojciechowski. He also held the Duke career steals record for fourteen years. In addition to single-season games records, he holds the record for career consecutive starts. Among his numerous accolades, he was the first winner of the NABC Defensive Player of the Year for his defense, and he was a third team All-American.

As a coach, he took Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball to postseason tournaments (NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament – 2000 and National Invitation Tournament – 1998, 1999, and 2001) in each of his four seasons as their coach. He dealt with the turmoil and self-imposed sanctions of the University of Michigan basketball scandal in his first years with Michigan, where he eventually won the 2004 National Invitation Tournament with the 2003-04 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team and finished as the runner-up with Michigan in the 2006 National Invitation Tournament. Previously, he served 9 seasons as an assistant coach for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball under Krzyzewski. His first four season, were the part a 5-year streak of final four appearances by Duke (including back-to-back national championships).

In his tenure as Harvard men's basketball coach, he was the first coach to lead the Crimson to victory over a ranked opponent with the 2008–09 team. He also coached the 2009–10 Harvard Crimson men's basketball team into the postseason (2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament) in his third year there, which included the highest single-season victory total (21) in school history. The 2010–11 team became the first Harvard men's basketball team to clinch a share of the Ivy League championship and surpassed the prior season win total (23). The 2011–12 team became the first in school history to appear in the AP and Coaches Polls and, for the third year in a row, established a new school record for wins (26).

Read more about Tommy Amaker:  Youth, College Career, Personal, Head Coaching Record

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