Damon Stoudamire overcome by emotion as he takes over at Georgia Tech Edey, Jackson-Davis, Wilson headline AP All-America Team Temple ousts coach Aaron McKie after 4 seasons Michigan State women’s hoops coach Suzy Merchant steps down South Carolina women cap wire-to-wire No. 1 run in AP Top 25 Alabama, Houston top final AP Top 25 ahead of March Madness

ATLANTA – Damon Stoudamire managed to say one word – “Wow!” before he was overwhelmed with emotion.

The longtime NBA quarterback is thrilled to be back in college play by leading the men’s basketball program, which he believes could once again become a national powerhouse.

Again, Staudamire is not the first coach at Georgia Tech to express such optimism.

Staudamire was officially named as the Yellow Vests coach, ending a whirlwind search that took just three days after Josh Pastner was fired after another losing season.

“It has been a long journey for me,” Staudamir said, holding back tears. “I’m incredibly excited to be here.”

Staudamire’s only previous experience as a head coach came at Pacific, a West Coast conference school, where he compiled a 71–77 record in his five years in office. He never made it to the postseason, but was selected as the league’s Coach of the Year in 2020.

Staudamire has been an assistant to the Boston Celtics since 2021, working with a team that made it to the NBA Finals last year and is a top contender for the championship this season.

He could not pass up the chance to become a coach at Georgia Tech, despite the fact that the “yellow vests” did not play a big role on the national scene for almost two decades.

Staudamir promised to change the trajectory.

“This is a program rich in tradition, the goal of which is to return to winning championships,” he said. “We’re going to inspire the community, the student body, and just point things in the right direction.”

Pastner said much of the same when he arrived in 2016, calling Georgia Tech a sleeping giant even as it faced massive rebuilding work.

He spoke confidently about attracting top talent to the Atlantic Coast Conference School in downtown Atlanta, saying the urban setting would be very inviting, especially since many of the nation’s top prospects come out of Georgia Tech’s own backyard.

Seven years later, Pastner was out of a job after only managing one NCAA Tournament appearance — the only thing he did in 2021 after a surprise ACC Championship run — without attracting much interest from five-star recruits.

Pastner’s predecessor, Brian Gregory, only lasted five memorable seasons before being dropped. Even Paul Hewitt, who led the Yellow Vests to the national championship game in 2004, saw the program fade.

Georgia Tech only managed two winning seasons and two NCAA appearances in Hewitt’s last six seasons, which led to him being fired in 2011.

In total, over the past 18 seasons, the Yellow Vests have managed only three NCAA appearances and won the Big Dance. Even more staggering is that they only had two ACC winning records during that time, both published by Pastner.

This is a far cry from the powerful program created by Bobby Kremins in the 1980s and 90s.

Staudamir said that he was well acquainted with this team as a child. He stole the names of top Cremins players, including Mark Price, Bruce Dalrymple, Dwayne Ferrell, Tom Hammond, Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson, Brian Oliver, James Forrest and Malcolm McKee.

Accompanied by Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera and Athletic Director J. Butt, Stoudamire confidently said, “Given the shared vision we have, I don’t think there’s anything we can do.”

The new coach lacked specifics. He was vague about how it’s a heavily analytics-driven program, plans to boost recruitment both in Georgia and across the country, and could become a much bigger player in the NIL market with all the options available in the metro. Atlanta.

Staudamir emphasized that he was not going to recreate the program created by Kremins, but said that he could take from the former coach’s textbook. These teams have long been known for having some of the best point guards in the country, from Price to Anderson to Stephon Marbury.

“I feel like defensemen are winning championships,” said Staudamire, 49, a defenseman who starred in Arizona and went on to a 13-year NBA career. “Good guards will bring you many games.”

For Georgia Institute of Technology, Staudamire’s hiring ended a six-month period of huge change in an athletic program that has struggled in two of its biggest sports.

Football coach Jeff Collins and athletic director Todd Stansbury were fired early last season. Butt replaced Stansbury and ended up leaving interim football coach Brent Key as the final replacement.

Then, shortly after Pastner’s team finished the season 15–18, including a 6–12 mark in the ACC, Batt decided to make another major change in coach.

“At the end of the day, the people we surround ourselves with is the most important part of our job,” Batt said. “I have complete confidence in both of these hires that we have hired in my short time here and I am really confident in our future.”

Staudamire was asked if he was hesitant to leave the Celtics, especially with the playoffs and another championship just around the corner.

“When Boston wins the championship,” he said confidently, “I will still get my ring. We already talked about this. I’ll take my ring.”

Then he plans to win a few more at Georgia Tech.

Purdue’s Zach Adey and Indiana’s Trace Jackson-Davis gave the Big Ten Conference a third straight year with multiple Associated Press All-America first team picks, while Kansas had a second consecutive first team player in Jalen Wilson.

At 7’4″ and weighing 305 pounds, Edie appeared on all 58 ballots as the first choice of the top 25 AP voters as the only unanimous choice.

The Boilermakers’ Edie and Hoosiers’ Jackson-Davies were selected one year after the Big Ten had three first team selections. And that’s given the league a seven in the last three seasons; no other league has more than three.

The Big Ten have had at least one first team player for five consecutive years and eight of the last nine.

Houston’s Marcus Sasser and Alabama’s Brandon Miller joined Edie and Wilson on the first team, representing each of the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seeds.

Edei was in the center of attention of the country all year round. The Big Ten Player of the Year ranks sixth in the nation in scoring (22.3), second in rebounding (12.8) and first in double-doubles (26).

“Everyone says, ‘You go to him so much,'” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after winning the Big Ten Tournament over Penn State. “If they call it the rules, they foul him every time he has the ball. So why don’t we give it to him and just try to get that bonus early and steal the points?

“Obviously he can do some hard post-ups, he can get under the rim and he gets offensive rebounds when you take him out.”

Jackson-Davis, a fourth-year hitter with a 6–9 record, became the first Indiana player to be selected to the first team since Victor Oladipo in 2013. He is averaging 20.8 points and 10.9 rebounds while rushing with assists (4.1 assists compared to 1.9 last year). .

“I probably pushed him harder than any other player on this team, and I know there were days when he walked out of here thinking, ‘Hey, is this guy really in my corner, judging by the way he putting pressure on me?” Coach Mike Woodson said. “But in the end, he got better as a player.

“You know, we benefited from this with our football club, in terms of how we played as a team. And he was the driving force behind it.”

Wilson, a 6-8 fourth-year hitter, returned to the starting lineup after last year’s NCAA title run. He excelled in the extended role, winning the Big 12 Player of the Year and nearly doubling his average (20.1 from 11.1) to 8.4 rebounds.

It was the fourth time in seven seasons the Jayhawks had been selected to the first team, returning to National Player of the Year Frank Mason III in 2017.

“He’s an elite athlete,” Iowa State Coach T.J. Oetzelberger said after losing to the Jayhawks in the Big 12 tournament. “He approaches the glass. He makes cuts. He complicates. He does so many things.”

Sasser, a 6-2 senior, was a starter for the Cougars’ Final Four team two years ago and has become the star of yet another title threat this year. He averages 17.1 points, becoming the first player to be selected to the program’s first team since Hakim Olajuwon in 1984, during the Phi Slama Jama era.

Miller, a 6-9 year old freshman, was a McDonald’s All-American who immediately became a star en route to being named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year. He is averaging 19.6 points and 8.3 rebounds for first place overall in the tournament.

Miller was implicated in a murder case that overshadowed the success of Crimson Tide, leading to capital murder charges against former Alabama player Darius Miles and another man who shot 23-year-old Jamea Harris in January. A police investigator testified last month that Miles texted Miller asking him to bring the gun to him that night, although Miller was not charged with any charges.

SECOND TEAM

UCLA Pac-12 Player of the Year Jaime Jacques Jr. led the most votes on a second team that included Oscar Chibwe of Kentucky, the AP National Player of the Year last season.

Drew Timm of Gonzaga was selected to the second team for the third year in a row, while Azuolas Tubelis of Arizona and Jalen Pickett of Pennsylvania completed the second quintet.

THIRD TEAM

The rise of Kansas State saw the Wildcats gain third-team selections in Markkis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson, their first AP All-Americans since Jacob Pullen in 2011.

Big Eastern Player of the Year Tyler Kolek of Marquette, Chris Murray of Iowa and Armando Bacot of North Carolina rounded out the third team.

HONORABLE MENTION

National scoring leader Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis, who averaged 28.2 points and was three points behind Pistol’s career-high Pete Maravich, was the most voted player among non-All-America teams.

Players received honorary status if they appeared on multiple voters’ ballots. This…