stephon marbury (left), travis best (center) and kenny...

276 • Georgia Tech Basketball 2003-04

Tech Heritage

UCLA and Georgetown are knownfor their big men. Add Duke andIndiana’s defense, Kentucky and

North Carolina’s overall excellence andyou have some of the game’s most endur-ing positional traditions, not to mentiontalent pools.

Georgia Tech’s legacy to the collegebasketball world has been at the point,where seven former standouts went on toply their trade as NBA professionals.

It began as serendipity in 1982, whena little-known kid from Enid, Oklahomadecided to give the Atlantic CoastConference’s newest entry a try. Whatstarted with Mark Price has producedseven players who have garnered NBA cre-dentials during the last decade, includingthree of Tech’s ACC-record 10 rookie of theyear award winners.

MARK PRICE (1983-86) is perhapsthe most revered name in Georgia Techbasketball annals. He set the standard forTech point guards, amassing more than2,000 points, 500 assists and a Tech

record 240 steals. He burst onto the scenein 1983 and became the first freshman tolead the venerable ACC in scoring. Moreimportantly, he led the Tech program tonational prominence, including the 1985ACC title and NCAA Final Eight.

Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, hewas traded to Cleveland, where he becamea favorite of former Cleveland and Atlantacoach Lenny Wilkens, plus a four-timeNBA All-Star and a member of DreamTeam II in 1994. Among Price’s many sta-tistical accomplishments is the top careerfree throw percentage in NBA history. Hefinished his career as Cleveland’s all-timeleader in assists and three-point fieldgoals, and the Cavaliers honored him byretiring his jersey in 1999.

CRAIG NEAL (1987-88) was as outgo-ing as Price was subdued, but the two weregreat friends. Known as “Noodles,’’ for hisangular physique, Neal set the school as-sist record of 659 and notched an ACC-record 303 during his senior season, amark that still stands today. His 19 assists

in a game against Duke also still stands asthe Georgia Tech record.

Neal was drafted by Portland andplayed parts of three seasons with the TrailBlazers, Miami and Denver, also loggingtime in the Continental Basketball Asso-ciation. He was an assistant coach for theToronto Raptors last season.

BRIAN OLIVER (1989) isn’t officiallyincluded in Tech’s point guard listings, butthe popular shooter and member of Tech’s“Lethal Weapon 3” trio was the bridgebetween the departure of Neal and arrivalof Kenny Anderson. His versatility, tough-ness and leadership were his greatest as-sets.

An Atlanta native and second-roundNBA draftee, Oliver is now playing pro-fessionally in Italy after a brief NBA ca-reer that included a stint with the AtlantaHawks in 1997-98 as well as stops in Phila-delphia and Washington and a tour in theCBA.

FROM MARK PRICE TO STEPHON MARBURY, GEORGIA TECH’SPOINT GUARD LEGACY HAS BEEN EVIDENT IN THE NBA.

BY DENISE N. MALOOF

MAKING A POINTMAKING A POINTMAKING A POINTStephon Marbury (left), Travis Best (center) and Kenny Anderson have a combined

27 years experience in the NBA.

www.Ramblinwreck.com • 277

Point Guards Through the YearsPlayer At Tech Drafted Professional TeamMark Price 1983-86 2nd/25th Played 12 yrs for CLE, WSH, GS, ORLCraig Neal 1987-88 3rd/71st Played 3 seasons with POR, MIA, DENBrian Oliver 1987-90 2nd/32nd Last with Atlanta Hawks, 1998; now overseasKenny Anderson 1990-91 1st/2nd 12-year NBA vet, w/ New Orleans in 2003Travis Best 1992-95 1st/22nd 8-year NBA vet, now with MiamiDrew Barry 1993-96 2nd/57th played parts of 3 seasons in NBAStephon Marbury 1996 1st/4th 7-year NBA vet, now with PhoenixTony Akins 1999-02 n/a Playing overseas

enviable task of succeeding Anderson, buthe lived up to it. He led Tech to a Sweet 16berth as a freshman and scored 2,057 ca-reer points in four seasons, including 258three pointers. He also broke Neal’s careerassist record with 692, played excellentdefense and was a three-time all-ACCchoice.

A first-round selection by Indiana in1995, Best blossomed in the Pacers’backcourt, helping the team reach the2000 NBA Finals, and now plays for theMiami Heat.

DREW BARRY (1993-96) is anotherguard not officially listed in Tech’s pointlegacy, but, like Oliver, he functioned quitecapably as a second point guard. Playing

KENNY ANDERSON (1990-91) is oneof those athletes whose first name is suffi-cient identification. Tech fans know himsimply as, “Kenny,’’ the New York school-boy wonder who led Tech, along with Le-thal Weapon 3 mates Oliver and DennisScott, to the 1990 ACC title and Tech’s soleFinal Four berth. A left-handed passer,Anderson was almost automatic as the1990 ACC rookie of the year and hismatch-ups against then-fellow freshmanand Duke point guard Bobby Hurley madefor Tech seasonal highlights.

Drafted by the New Jersey Nets aftertwo seasons, Anderson was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and has played 12 seasons.

TRAVIS BEST (1992-95) had the un-

along side the more heralded Travis Bestand Stephon Marbury, it was Barry wholed the lead the league in assists for threestraight seasons, only the third ACC playerever to do so. And it is Barry who is Tech’scareer assists leader with 724.

The second Barry to play for Tech fol-lowing shooting guard Jon, Drew Barrywas Seattle’s second-round pick in the1996 draft and has played for the Super-sonics, Golden State Warrios and AtlantaHawks in the NBA.

STEPHON MARBURY (1996) was aone-year wonder, helping lead Tech to itsfirst outright ACC regular-season title in1996 and on to the NCAA Sweet 16. He ledTech in scoring with 18.9 points per gameand won ACC Rookie of the Year and first-team all-conference honors. A Brooklynnative, he opted to turn pro after his fresh-man season and was the fourth pick in the1996 draft. He is now playing for the Phoe-nix Suns.

“I thought there’d never be a morepublicized guy than Kenny,’’ saidMarbury’s coach, Bobby Cremins.“Stephon was the most explosive of all ofthem. He’d get up and dunk the hell out ofthe ball. Wasn’t quite the ballhanderKenny was. Wasn’t quite the shooter Markwas, but he was tall, explosive, and themost physical.”

ALL-STAR Mark Price (right)has had his jersey retired byboth Georgia Tech and theCleveland Cavaliers. CRAIGNEAL, who still holds the ACCsingle-season assist record, hasbeen a scout and assistant coachin the NBA.


Tech Heritage

#15 Matt HarpringRetired Feb. 25, 1998• First-team all-American in 1998• One of only two Tech players to earn first-

team all-ACC honors three times• Came within eight points of breaking the

Tech career scoring record, finishingsecond with 2,225 points

• Also ranks second in career rebounds andamong Tech’s all-time leaders in virtuallyevery statistical category

• Two-time Academic All-American

#20 Tom HammondsRetired March 1, 1989• Third-team all-American in 1989• Three-time all-ACC selection, including

first-team honors in 1988 and 1989• ACC Rookie of the Year in 1986• Became the third player in Tech history to

score 2,000 points and still ranks fifth incareer scoring and rebounding

• Helped Tech to four straight NCAATournament appearances

#21 Roger KaiserRetired Feb. 27, 1961• Georgia Tech’s first all-American (1960)

and one of only two consensus all-Americans (1961) in school history

• SEC Player of the Year in 1961• Led Tech to its first NCAA Tournament• Finished with Tech career records for

points and scoring average

#22 John SalleyRetired March 2, 1986• Second-team all-American in 1986• Two-time all-ACC selection• Finished with the Tech career record for

blocked shots• Along with Mark Price, helped the Jackets

rise to national prominence

RETIRED JERSEYSRETIRED JERSEYSRETIRED JERSEYS

ENDURING SYMBOLS

OF EXCELLENCE

ENDURING SYMBOLS

OF EXCELLENCE

Tech Heritage


#25 Mark PriceRetired March 2, 1986• Three-time all-American, including first-team

honors in 1985• Tech’s first all-ACC first-team honoree and one of

only two Jackets to be all-ACC three straightyears

• ACC Rookie of the Year in 1983, when he led theleague in scoring

• Finished his career as Tech’s second-leadingscorer and leader in assists and steals

#40 Rich YunkusRetired in 1971• Tech’s all-time leading scorer with 2,232 points

in just three seasons• Second-team all-America in 1971 and a third-

team selection in 1970• Averaged a school-record 30.1 points per game as

a junior• Three-time Academic All-American

Al CiraldoVoice of the Jackets• Georgia Tech radio announcer for 43 years• Called play-by-play for 1,030 basketball games

from 1954-93• Banner was raised on Feb. 14, 1998, three

months after his death at the age of 76

Bobby CreminsHead Coach 1981-2000• National Coach of the Year - 1985, 1990• ACC Coach of the Year - 1983, 1985, 1996• Led Tech to three ACC titles (1985, 1990, 1993)

and one NCAA Final Four• Coaching record at Georgia Tech - 354-237• Banner was raised and the Alexander Memorial

Coliseum court was named inhis honor on March 8, 2003


Tech Heritage

19831983 19841984

1993199319881988 19901990

19861986

19851985

19961996 20022002 20032003

TECH'S STRING OFP•E•A•R•L•S



Georgia Tech is home to 10ACC “Rookie of the Year” award winners


From Price to Bosh,Tech's Rookie Tradition Is Unmatched

Georgia Tech and the Atlantic Coast Conference “Rookieof the Year” award seem to go together as easily as pea-nut butter and jelly. The rookie award has certainly found

a home in Atlanta. A Yellow Jacket freshman has won the award10 times in the last 20 years.

The dominance began with an unprecedented streak of fourstraight ACC rookie winners with Mark Price in 1983, BruceDalrymple in 1984, Duane Ferrell in 1985, and Tom Hammondsin 1986.

The all-America guard Price started the string in 1983, be-coming the first freshman to lead the ACC in scoring with a 20.3average. He bested NC State’s Ernie Myers and Duke’s JohnnyDawkins for the award.

One year later Dalrymple’s all-around excellence made himTech’s second winner. Dalrymple averaged 13.6 points and 6.9rebounds to edge UNC’s Kenny Smith, Duke’s Tommy Amakerand Maryland’s Keith Gatlin.

Ferrell emerged as a high-flying small forward whose spec-tacular play kept Tech’s streak alive in 1985. He averaged doublefigures throughout the season, but his average dropped to 9.1 af-ter a knee injury in the ACC Tournament limited his play downthe stretch. Ferrell outdistanced Maryland’s Derrick Lewis for thehonor.

Hammonds burst onto the ACC scene in 1986 with the poiseand presence of a veteran. The power forward ranked among theACC leaders in field goal percentage while averaging 12.2 pointsand 6.4 rebounds per game. He won over a talented rookie class,including North Carolina’s Jeff Lebo and Duke’s Danny Ferry.

After UNC’s J.R. Reid broke the streak in 1987, Dennis Scottrevived the tradition in 1988. Scott made a profound impact onTech’s fortunes when he led all ACC freshmen in scoring at 15.5points and ranked 12th overall. He was also the ACC’s most pro-lific three-point shooter. Scott’s competition included Maryland’sBrian Williams and NC State’s Chris Corchiani.

Then Kenny Anderson dominated in 1990, not only captur-ing the ACC, but National “Freshman of the Year” honors as well.He set a standard that may never be broken by winning the ACC“Rookie of the Week” award 10 times. On Tech’s Final Four team,Anderson averaged 20.6 points, 8.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds ashe became just the second freshman in league history to makethe all-ACC first-team.

Swingman Martice Moore added his name to the list withsolid campaign in 1993 that helped Tech win an ACC title. Moore,who edged Maryland’s Johnny Rhodes and Exree Hipp, averaged10.5 points and 4.6 rebounds.

As Anderson had six years earlier, Stephon Marbury arrivedat Tech as a highly-publicized and immensely talented point guardfrom New York City. And like Anderson, Marbury garnered first-team all-ACC honors along with the Rookie of the Year award,for which he outdistanced another freshman all-conference se-lection, UNC’s Antawn Jamison. Marbury averaged 18.7 points agame and helped Tech capture its first outright ACC regular sea-son title.

The award has returned to Tech the last two years with EdNelson and Chris Bosh capturing the honor. Nelson, a 6-8 for-ward, won in a close competition in 2002, establishing post pres-ence on a small Tech squad against taller opponents nearly allseason long, ranking 10th in the ACC with 6.8 rebounds per game.Bosh dominated the league's freshmen in 2003, leading the ACCoverall in field goal percentage (56.0) and blocked shots (2.16)while ranking eighth in scoring (15.6) and second in rebounding(9.0).

Mark Price • 1983“Price probably means more to Georgia Tech than any other freshman in the country.We scouted Tech once and then played them in the Meadowlands. He had a hand inalmost 85 percent of their scoring plays. That means he is either getting the steal orrebound to start the break, making the pass to set up the score or putting in the clutchshot.”— Pat Kennedy, Iona Head Coach

Bruce Dalrymple • 1984“Bruce Dalrymple has been extremely important to our success this season. Ihonestly don’t think any other freshman in the conference has meant as much to theirballclub as Bruce has to ours. He scores. He rebounds. He plays excellent defenseand he handles the basketball extremely well. And he plays the game with greatintensity and a great attitude.”— Bobby Cremins, Georgia Tech Head Coach

Duane Ferrell • 1985“Ferrell, one of the most highly sought players in the country last year, has had the upsand downs of any freshman. But his scoring average is in double figures, and he hasshown enough silk in his moves to the basket to leave people gasping at times.”— John Feinstein, Washington Post

Tom Hammonds • 1986“Freshmen aren’t supposed to be this good, this polished. This essential. Even atGeorgia Tech, where the Atlantic Coast Conference “Rookie of the Year” award hasbecome a permanent fixture, freshmen aren’t supposed to be so at home in the worldof big time college basketball. But Tom Hammonds, Tech’s prize catch, has taken tocollege ball like it was another pickup game in somebody’s backyard back home inCrestview, Fla.”— Chuck Thompson, Macon Telegraph-News

Dennis Scott • 1988“First of all, he’s not aware he’s a freshman. Second of all, he’s not aware of wherethe three-point line is. He plays so cool. Beyond the fact that he can shoot from theplanet Pluto and not blink an eye, he seems to have great court awareness and hedoesn’t appear to be selfish.”— Dale Brown, LSU Head Coach

Kenny Anderson • 1990“He was the player for this tournament, and this March, and five years from now, whenhe is as big as any star in the NBA, it will be important that the country first took agood look at him when he was a freshman. When he was 18. There has not beenanyone like him in college basketball since Magic and Bird. He is better than IsiahThomas. Michael Jordan, miracle that he has become, was just not this kind ofpresence. Not this young.”— Mike Lupica, The National

Martice Moore • 1993“Martice has helped us. He’s a good athlete. I know he’s been a little inconsistent attimes, but he’s meant a lot to our team. I really felt he was one of the keys to our ACCchampionship.”— Bobby Cremins, Georgia Tech Head Coach

Stephon Marbury • 1996“What makes him so special as a point guard is his unique scoring ability. He has astrong body and he works hard on the defensive end . . . He wants the ball late ingames. He’s not afraid to take the tough shot.”— Dick Vitale, ESPN

Ed Nelson • 2002"He's gone from a guy who in high school could just get the ball and bully his way tothe basket to understanding how important it is to screen and set his men up to getgood post position."- Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech Head Coach

Chris Bosh • 2003"We had to gang-guard him. I think the best way to defend him, and we don't havethis, is to have a veteran big guy who's a physical player. We had to trap him and dosome different things to keep him off-balance."- Skip Prosser, Wake Forest Head Coach


Tech HeritageAfter all thecelebrating

was over,and this

trio’s placein Tech

history wasdetermined,

KennyAnderson,

Dennis Scottand Brian

Olivercertainlycould be

called . . .

A CLASSIC COMBINATIONG eorgia Tech coach Bobby

Cremins is talking about chem-istry. Not the kind found in the

laboratory, but on the hardwood.“You can’t really discuss it,” he said.

“You can’t really dissect it. I’ve had teamswith bad chemistry. Last year, we didn’thave it. It comes from the players.”

Cremins, creator of the chemistry thatbrought Tech and its “Lethal Weapon 3”to the Final Four, can only marvel at whatinadvertently was wrought.

“I had no idea that Kenny would fitin as well as he has,” he said. “How could Iknow that?”

“Kenny” is, of course, Kenny Ander-son, the splendid point guard who cameout of Rego Park, N.Y., a working-classneighborhood in the borough of Queens,to become the trigger man for Tech’s of-fense. Anderson joined Brian Oliver, a se-nior, and a revitalized Dennis Scott, a jun-ior, for a blitzkrieg of the ACC and the

gether and we did.”Pulling together, Tech assembled its

late-season run and capped it by defeat-ing North Carolina, Duke and Virginia inthe ACC Tournament to win the champi-onship. Then came the four-game sweepof the NCAA Southeast Regional, givingthe Yellow Jackets a 28-6 record, the bestever for a Tech team.

During the season, “Lethal Weapon3” was Tech’s offense, averaging 78 per-cent of its points.

Anderson, Scott and Oliver each av-eraged more than 20 points a game, acombined 69.6 points. It was the first timein the 36-year history of the ACC that threeplayers on one team averaged 20 or moreper game.

In defeating Minnesota 93-91 for theRegional championship in New Orleans,“Lethal Weapon 3” reached its apex. WithScott scoring 40 points, Anderson 30 andOliver 19, the three accounted for 89 of

NCAA Tournament.After a mid-season stumble in which

they lost three straight ACC games and ef-fectively took themselves out of competi-tion for the regular-season title, the Yel-low Jackets recovered and won 16 of 18games to put them in the Final Four, thefirst ever in Tech history. It was during themiddle of the slump, a 91-90 loss toClemson, that a television graphic for thefirst time dubbed the Tech trio “LethalWeapon 3.” The name stuck. Cremins andthe Tech players now refer to “LethalWeapon 3” as if it were a separate entity.

They also refer to the slump as a timewhen their chemistry was tested, butproved solid.

“Before, if we had gone through threelosses, there would have been peoplepointing fingers, saying so-and-so wasn’tdoing his job and stuff like that,” Scottsaid. “That didn’t happen. Nobody blamedanyone else. We knew we had to pull to-

Lethal Weapon3

Lethal Weapon3

Lethal Weapon3


Tech’s 93 points and took 52 of 56 shots.All season critics wondered when

Tech’s three-on-five game was going torun out of steam. It never did, until “Le-thal Weapon 3” and its supporting castmet Nevada-Las Vegas for a spot in thenational championship game, a scenariofew would have believed possible for Techwhen the season began.

And those who wondered before theseason about the possible clash of egos onthe Tech team would never have envi-sioned the unlikely chorus which rang outover Bourbon Street that week. The daybefore the Regional final, Cremins ran intohis players in the French Quarter. Theywere on stage at a joint called “The Cat’sMeow” offering delighted patrons theirversion of “Born to Be Wild.”

Oliver’s last year was ‘fun’

Brian Oliver smiles as he remembershow Cremins, who thought this

would be a rebuilding year from the teamwhich went 20-12 in 1989, came to him atthe beginning of the season and told himhe wanted this year to be different fromOliver’s other three at Tech.

“He told me he wanted to make thisyear fun,” Oliver said. “He said he didn’twant it to be stressful. He didn’t want prac-tice to be a job.”

Oliver, who was elected team captainand seemed the eye of the emotional stormthat is Tech basketball, spoke calmly, butswiftly. He talked of his frustrations witha stress fracture in his left ankle whichslowed his game; about a team which hesaid had matured through adversity.

“It’s very frustrating for me to havethis injury,” Oliver said. “I mean, this isthe time when we are going for all theapples.”

In Oliver, a 6-4 off-guard who has thebulk at 211 pounds and the heart to playeffectively inside, Tech found a talentedcatalyst largely devoid of ego. Oliver, whoplayed point guard before Anderson’s ar-rival, was less flashy than either Scott orAnderson. He was solid, sometimes spec-tacular; the glue binding three years ofdistinct, sometimes seemingly conflictingtalents.

“In the beginning of the season, Briancarried the team on his shoulders,” saidJohnny McNeil, the senior center. “Thereis great chemistry on this team, but a lotof it is because of the leadership shown byBrian, and later Dennis. We trust eachother and that helps a lot.”

Oliver’s injury, sustained in Decem-

ber and aggravated continually through-out the year, cut into his rebounding,hobbled his usually tenacious defense andtook some offensive pop out of “LethalWeapon 3.”

Against Minnesota, although Oliverscored 19, his shots often clanged off thefront of the rim, a sign he was not gettinghis usual elevation. But he went fearlesslyinside, drawing fouls and hitting nine-of-12 from the free throw line.

“We need Brian,” Cremins said timeand time again. And there is no questionTech needed Oliver as much for his sta-bility and knowledge, his calm assuranceon the court, as anything.

But there were times when Oliver, forall his bravery, could not be there.

“I forget,” Cremins said. “In the Min-nesota game, there was a point when hisman went right by him and I got on him.”

Oliver, who played in constant pain––“I just try to block it out of my head”––responded, “Coach, I’m doing all I can.”

Cremins never doubted that, but hehad forgotten about the ankle. “I just shutup,” Cremins said.

Cremins painted a picture of a Techteam which rarely ran the court as wellsince Oliver’s injury early in the season.The picture, which Cremins recalled al-most as a dream, has Anderson leading thebreak with Scott on the right and Oliveron the left.

In Cremins’s version, the picture iscompleted by Anderson feeding to Scott,who pulls up and takes a three-point shot,while Oliver moves into position to re-bound a rare miss.

“That’s when Georgia Tech is at itsbest,” he said. “What this injury has takenaway from us most is Brian’s rebounding.He is a great, great rebounding guard.

Oliver used one word to describe hisinjury: “frustrating.” He was not the typeto make excuses, addressing his injury inclinical tones.

“Yeah, I’ve been slowed,” he said. “Butwe still have great talent on this team. Andwe know what to do.”

At a news conference after the Min-nesota win, Oliver, who is usually seriousin such atmosphere, reached over andrubbed Cremins’ mop of white hair in anaffectionate, playful manner. The gestureunleashed laughter and playful banterfrom Scott and Anderson, who shared thestage.

For a moment, they were more likebrothers than coach and players.

“Coach is a lot looser and we feel

that,” Oliver said. “He trusts us and wetrust him. That’s where it all flows from.”

Anderson arrived in Atlanta riding awave of hype as high as Stone Mountain.He had been all-everything in high school,a can’t miss prospect who was expected tostep into the tough ACC and be a startingpoint guard.

That he did it and directed the Jack-ets to Denver may have amazed everyonebut Anderson.

“Kenny is a bit of an introvert,”Cremins said, joking.

So introverted that he suggested earlyin the season he was the “only pure pointguard” in the ACC, bringing down thewrath of the fans of Hurley, Virginia’sJohn Crotty and North Carolina State’sChris Corchiani.

“When we played North CarolinaState the first time, Corchiani tried to takeKenny’s head off,” Cremins said. “ButKenny didn’t back off.”

Anderson said his words were misin-terpreted or he said he never made theremark, depending on who was talking tohim. That is similar to his remembranceof the controversial shot at the buzzeragainst Michigan State during the regionalsemifinal game. The shot put the Jacketsinto overtime, where they won 81-80.

About the shot, Anderson had said atdifferent times: “I’m pretty sure I got itoff,” “I definitely got it off,” and “I waswithin a tenth of a second either way.”

He’s quiet, but he listens

But such was Anderson’s personalitythat the discrepancies could be at-

tributed to youthful enthusiasm ratherthan calculating guile. After all, becauseof his talent on the court, talent so greatthat no less a player than former Louis-ville star Darrell Griffith said, “He can playin the NBA right now,” people forgetAnderson was 19 years old.

Scott, his roommate, called Anderson“Hermit” because he spent so much timesleeping.

“When he got here, he was real quiet,”Scott said.

But Anderson listened, whichCremins liked.

“He listens to what I tell him,” he said.“He came in here with a lot of buildup, buthe never let that stand in the way of himlearning the game.”

Other players, used to freshmen be-ing freshmen, kept an eye on Anderson.

“I’m glad he has ended up beinghere,” McNeil said. “I mean, I’m a senior


Tech Heritage

and he’s a freshman, but I depend on hima lot.”

One thing McNeil and freshman for-ward Malcolm Mackey depend on Ander-son for is to get the ball in any other waythan rebounding. Although Anderson av-eraged 20.6 points, he handed out 285assists, second best in a single season inACC history. He also had 79 steals, a Techrecord.

The hints were that Anderson was dif-ferent away from the media limelight thanin it. He seemed increasingly comfortablewith media attention and he was a goodinterview, irreverent and funny. But someof that stems from Anderson’s New YorkCity roots, from growing up on play-grounds where it is often necessary to beable to talk a good game as well as playone.

Scott, who played off Anderson as ifthey had been together for years insteadof months, expressed quiet admiration forhis roommate.

“He’s not like a lot of those New Yorkguards you see who put it behind theirbacks and between their legs and never goanywhere,” he said.

Adding discipline to talent

Dennis Scott’s voice was quiet andsoft, much softer than his muscular

6-8, 229-pound body.For Scott, it was a time of glory. He

was a basketball junkie. Unlike many ath-

letes who admit to only being interestedin playing the game, Scott had studiedbasketball.

After winning the regional, he talkedabout being a kid and watching Griffithlead Louisville to the Final Four. He talkedabout going to the playground and pre-tending to be Griffith hitting the winningshot at the buzzer.

“And now to get a chance to actuallydo that,” he marvelled.

Cremins’ voice took on a solemn tonewhen he talked about Scott.

“The maturity of Dennis Scott hasbeen incredible,” he said. “He’s been a win-ner, a fighter.”

Before the season, Scott was a playerwith great talent and little discipline. Heaveraged 15.5 points his freshman yearand 20.3 as a sophomore, but seemed toplay passively.

“A year or two ago, Dennis would notlook to go inside,” said Cremins. “Dennisliked to stand around outside and watch.”

But Scott came to school this seasonweighing 30 pounds less than the 259 heplayed at the year before. In the off-sea-son, he had literally remolded himself andin doing so had made himself into theplayer his potential had always promised.

With Oliver ailing, the re-made Scottaveraged 6.6 rebounds, second highest onthe team. He averaged 27.7 points pergame.

And then there were those games.In the regional final against Minne-

sota, Tech’s biggest win ever, Scott played40 minutes, scoring a point a minute.

“There’s no question we look to Den-nis Scott,” Cremins said.

For the drive to the Final Four, theteam looked to Scott more than ever andScott responded. Following the MichiganState game, Scott walked to the blackboardin the Tech dressing room, wrote “3 More”and drew a circle around it. Three morewins to a national championship.

“Before, Dennis would have neverdone that,” Cremins said.

After the Minnesota win, Scott etched“2 More” on the board.

“Dennis is not selfish,” Cremins said.“He’s not thinking about himself and theNBA. Since Brian has been hurt, he’s re-ally done a lot.”

Scott was obviously having fun in hisdream-come-true season.

“I asked Dennis at the first of the sea-son to place his game second to the goalsof the team,” Cremins said.

Strange as it may seem for someonewho set the ACC single-season scoringmark with 970 points, Scott played as ifteam goals were primary.

“How can you be upset with someonewho wins games for the team,” saidMcNeil when asked about Scott’s scoringprowess, about the 25-footers he launchedwithout hesitation.

Reprinted from theAtlanta Journal-Constitution, April 2, 1990

KENNY ANDERSON (left) hit perhaps the most famousshot in Tech history against Michigan State. BRIANOLIVER (center), the elder statesman of the trio, won theEverett Case Award as the MVP of the ACC Tournament.DENNIS SCOTT (right) was at his greatest in the NCAAtourney, scoring 30.6 points per game.


E ight Is Enough” had been the titleof a television show. In 1984-85,it was the motto of Georgia Tech’s

basketball team.“Eight” was the number of healthy

basketball players the Yellow Jackets hadavailable to try to win their first AtlanticCoast Conference championship.“Enough” meant they could, and they did.

Furman Bisher, sports editor of theAtlanta Journal, had another name for it— “The Thin Gold Line.” Mark Price, JohnSalley, Bruce Dalrymple, Yvon Joseph,Scott Petway, Antoine Ford, Jack Mansell,John Martinson. All of them played.

By the end of the ACC Tournamentin Atlanta, there were an equal number of“coaches” on the Tech bench as reserves.Sitting in street clothes were forwardDuane Ferrell, who sprained a knee in thefirst round of the tournament, and guardCraig Neal, who sat out most of the sea-son with a bad wrist.

Still, despite the fact that Salley, Priceand Dalrymple had to play 39 to 40 min-utes a game, Tech played three extremelyemotional basketball games and emergedwith the ACC championship.

Throughout the year, Price andDalrymple had been iron men at theguards, and Salley the same at power for-ward. Ferrell and Petway had shared thesmall forward spot, and Joseph had givenTech all it needed at center. Ford had comeoff the bench to give some solid help be-hind Joseph, and Mansell and Martinsonprovided valuable minutes as well. So theYellow Jackets were in excellentcondition for the task ahead.

Maybe it shouldn’t havebeen such a surprise, for they hadalready captured a share of theregular-season crown, tyingNorth Carolina and N.C. Statewith 9-5 conference records, andbeen awarded the top seed in thetournament.

Price had given Tech morethan just points. His poise and ef-fectiveness at point guard en-abled all five starters to averagein double figures. Dalrymple,listed as a guard, still found time

to mix it up underneath, providing a triplethreat with scoring, rebounding and pass-ing. Joseph gave Tech muscle underneath,while Salley became an intimidating shot-blocking force and was Tech’s best per-centage shooter from the field.

Ferrell, who became the third of fourstraight ACC “Rookies of the Year,” wasan instant starter and filled a vital role withhis offensive ability, while Petway comple-mented the entire lineup with hisballhandling, passing and defense. Hisrole became much more important whenFerrell went to the sidelines.

After beating Virginia, 55-48, in theopening round, with Joseph and Salleyboth in foul trouble and Ferrell on thebench down the stretch, Cremins never lethis squad ease up.

“I was scared to death about the fouls,but I told them to keep up the pressure,”Cremins told Atlanta Constitution colum-nist Jesse Outlar. “We couldn’t let up, be-cause we won on defense. We didn’t domuch on offense, but we played with tre-mendous guts. We gutted it out.”

Eight men helped Georgia Tech be-come the life of the party in the Omni. Thenew kids on the ACC block. With the sameaggressive style, the Thin Gold Lineknocked off Duke in the semifinals, 75-64.

Bisher wrote, “Nevertheless, herewere these upstarts in the league, tread-ing on the precious ground of the TarHeels, the Blue Devils and the Wolfpack.Who the hell did they think they were?

“Then, when the score had become

Eight players were enough to earn Tech its firstACC Championship and a trip to the “Elite Eight.”

75-64, Georgia Tech was near the mostexulting moment since it pumped up abasketball. The Thin Gold Line had pre-vailed. Was this to be believed? GeorgiaTech in the one game that decides who isthe champion of the high, mighty andhaughty ACC?”

It was true, but to accomplish the feat,Tech had to meet and beat North Caro-lina for the third time in a season. No teamhad done that since N.C. State rolled overthe Tar Heels on the way to a nationalchampionship in 1974. Against Duke,Salley had fouled out, Joseph had finishedthe game with four and Price andDalrymple three each. Against the biggerTar Heels of coach Dean Smith, eight play-ers would not be enough.

But only one Jacket earned as manyas four fouls in the final, and Tech accom-plished the dream, downing Carolina, 57-54, in the final. The Thin Gold Line hadprevailed again after trailing the Tar Heelsthroughout, emerging with under aminute remaining in the game to win.

Price won the tournament’sMost Valuable Player award, butwith only eight players available,who’s arguing? All of them couldhave won a piece of the award inCremins’ mind.

Fortunately for the Jackets,Ferrell returned for the NCAATournament, and the Thin GoldLine went all the way to the Fi-nal Eight before bowing to even-tual champion Georgetown.Twenty-seven wins, eight lossesand a No. 6 ranking in the finalpolls. A golden season to remem-ber.

Thin Gold LineThin Gold LineThin Gold Line


Tech Heritage

They knew there would be troubleas soon as the team van topped thehill at Alexander Memorial Coli-

seum. A crowd that had been fermentingthere for hours surged toward the vehicle.It was late March the night Georgia Techhad flown so hard into the face ofbasketball’s aristocracy and won the ACCTournament.

Here the student body had come tolaud the champions. And now inside thevan, the players’ mood turned grim.

“Everybody was jumping on the van,chasing behind us when we got over to thecoliseum,” said John Salley. “We’re all in-side scared to death. I remember that.They’re jumping on the top. You don’tknow if they’re drunk or what.”

Mark Price had sensed the dangerand slipped away in another car with hisparents. The irony of the moment was lostin the darkened streets. After three yearsof torment, worrying if success would evercome to the emaciated little program onTechwood Drive, here were Salley andPrice, frightened by the arrival of thatprosperity. In this van surrounded byyowling students, the circle had comecomplete.

Or had it?Mark Price and John Salley, the two

players who have ridden shotgun duringTech’s return to grace, have maybe onemonth left as college players. Where be-fore they had wondered if their time wouldever come, now they wonder if that timehas come too fast. The ACC Tournamentthis weekend is a silent warning to the twoseniors that the dance is almost done.

“There’s only one thing left I want to

do,” said Price, who was named to the all-ACC team for the third straight year. “I re-ally think by winning the ACC last year(1985), we’ve really accomplished every-thing else. Obviously making first-teamall-America would be nice. But I’d ratherwin a national championship.”

From Oklahomato the Big Apple

If anything that profound came out ofBobby Cremins’ mouth five years ago

when he was recruiting Salley out ofBrooklyn or Price out of Oklahoma, theTech coach would have been laughed outof their homes. In his first full year of re-cruiting, he was looking for a scoringguard and a big man. What he couldn’tknow—what college basketball never sus-pected—was that he’d found the founda-tion of a national contender.

“I’ve got to give those two the creditfor starting the program,” Cremins said.“The way they’ve handled themselves,what they’ve done for me and the program,they are two very, very, very specialpeople.”

Salley, in fact, felt something the samefor Price the first time they met in 1982, iffor a different reason. He rushed intoPrice’s room upon arriving at Tech in themiddle of the night, woke him up to intro-duce himself and nearly dropped fromshock when a little Caucasian with droopyeyes sat up in his bed. Salley had expected,well, expected something else. LikeMichael Jordan maybe.

“This little white dude’s shootin’ it 25times a game?” said Salley.

“My first two years here, especiallythe first one when we were having such atough time, there was never a doubt in mymind that we were going to be good, youknow, by the end of my career,” said Price.“I don’t know why I felt that way but Iknew we had more players coming in. Idon’t know. I guess I’m a positive thinker.”

But if these were the worst of times,in some ways they were also the best. Withlessened expectations, Cremins was easieron his freshmen. Tech went 0-7 on the

road within the conference and no oneflinched. This was the year of the infamousthree-point basket in the ACC, the ring just18 feet away from the basket. For Price,that was a layup.

“I’d just catch the ball,” he said, “andlook down to see where the line was. I hada lot of fun my freshman year. ‘Course, Ididn’t know what I was doing.”

Price led the league in scoring with20.3 a game and spawned a defensivestrategy heretofore unseen in the ACC, ifanywhere else. Late in close games, oppos-ing guards would play Price from behind,forcing him away from the three-pointline, giving up the unobstructed 15-footerfor its lessened point value. It was all novelfor Salley as well. In his first meeting withRalph Sampson, the Virginia centerblocked eight of his shots. Enraged, Salleyclipped him on the chin with an elbow onthe way up with a hook shot. Sampsonshook his head and blocked that one, too.

“We went to the ACC Tournamentand beat Maryland,” said Salley. “And wewere garbage.”

But then it’s not easy, being garbage.

Evolution of a Point Guard

We didn’t have a Christmas tourna-ment to go to that year so we had

two-a-days for two weeks straight,” Salleysaid. “It was scrimmage and practice. I wasin Burger King every day, and it got so Icouldn’t get enough sleep. All we did was

PRICE AND SALLEY arrived at aprogram that had won just four ACCgames in three years. Their senioryear, they were national coverboys(along with junior Bruce Dalrymple)and ranked No. 1.

"I’ve got to give thosetwo credit for startingthe program. They aretwo very, very, veryspecial people.”

BOBBY CREMINS

THE START OF SOMETHING GOODTHE START OF SOMETHING GOODPrice-Salley tandem will always remain“first in Jackets’ hearts”BY THOMAS STINSON


practice and sleep. Didn’thave any cars, so we’d walkback to the dorms, sit downand it seems just an hourand a half later it was timeto go get taped again. It wasthe most disgusting thingI’ve ever gone through.”

Said Price, “My tough-est year was my sophomoreyear, when I was beingtransformed into a pointguard. There were a lot offrustrations that came withthat. When you’ve played acertain way your whole lifeand all of a sudden you’ve gotblinders put on you, it’s ahard thing to have to handle. It was atough year, but I guess the Lord was look-ing out for me because I made all-confer-ence and I didn’t even have a good year.”

He ended the season being pulledfrom an NIT game at Virginia Tech, wherehe’d scored just 13 points while Tech lostby three. Long before the team had fin-ished showering, he was changed and sit-ting alone in the bus outside, looking intothe night.

Bruce Dalrymple had arrived andthen Duane Ferrell. But by then the Salley-Price alliance had come to symbolize Tech

season). “But John has donea lot. He’s recruited theseother guys, he’s accepted alot of stuff I’ve thrown athim, he’s started every gamesince I’ve been here.

“Offensively, Price hasmade me look like a greatcoach because he puts theball in the basket. But what Ireally admire about Mark ishe could be averaging 30points for another coach buthe’s listened to me and he’sbecome our leader. I reallyadmire his sacrifice becausethe little guy likes to shoot.”

They’ve provided acomfort zone these four years for Tech fol-lowers who have come to expect that even23 feet away from the hoop, just one littlesloppy pick means a Price basket. Rightnow, Salley is producing some of the bestbasketball of his life.

Both Price and Salley have beennominated for the Wooden Award, Techthe only school to have two candidates.And there’s a whole postseason, where theYellow Jackets were galvanized last year.Possibly, they have nine games left, threein the ACC, six in the NCAA.

But then the coach remembers thatwith two losses, John Salley and MarkPrice will be done at Georgia Tech.

“Yeah, that scares me,” Cremins said.“It scares me to death.”

Reprinted from theAtlanta Journal-Constitution, Mar. 5, 1986.

basketball. Dissimilar not only in back-ground but manner, close when it countedbut distant just the same. As a rule, yoururban black master-rappers don’t hangfull time with Oklahoman gospel singers.

“Our friendship?” asked Salley. “Ourfriendship is that we both made the samecommitment to come here when no oneelse would. We both had the same ideaswe were going to make something of our-selves, and it has worked.”

“John and I are friends, but we’re twodifferent people,” Price said. “We’ve al-ways liked each other, but when we leavethe floor we don’t see each other much.That’s fine with me and that’s fine withhim. Sometimes it’s good to get away fromyour teammates. You spend half your lifewith them.”

More Than Statistics

As far as player development, Price’sgame underwent extensive work with

virtually no drop-off in performance. Ashe was his freshman year, Price remains asound little guard with ICBM shootingrange who has a strong chance to play pro-fessionally. Conversely, after seasonsfraught with inconsistency, Salley mayhave just found himself within the lastmonth, even though the NBA types havebeen raving over him for more than a year.

“John, statistically, is no Mark Price,”said Cremins. Indeed, while both playershad their number retired, Price set 10school records, Salley set one (blockedshots) and tied another (most fouls in a

BUILDING BLOCKSSalley (left) grew from 6-9, 175 poundsinto a 7-0, 231-pound force around thebasket. Price evolved from a sharp-shooter into a true point guard.


Tech Heritage

Roger Kaiser was exactly what themovie “Hoosiers” was about. Hewas an Indiana native with a crew

cut, Chuck Taylor high tops and a jumpshot that made the net cords dance fromany spot on the floor.

“It makes me shudder to think whata helluva shooter that Roger Kaiser is,”said Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp afterhis Wildcats, who escaped with an 89-79victory on national television. “He’s mur-der.”

Kaiser almost single-handedly mur-dered the ’Cats that day at Memorial Coli-seum. With blood streaming from a cutover his eye, he poured in a career-best 38points, the most points any individual hadever scored against mighty Kentucky.

A year earlier, Kaiser had delivered

the killing blow in Tech’s 62-60 upset ofthe Wildcats before a packed house atAlexander Memorial Coliseum.

With the score tied at 60-60, Kaisercalmly dribbled away most of the final 31seconds before he made his move. Thenhe darted to his left and let fly with a twist-ing one-hander from about 15 feet, overthe outstretched arms of Kentucky’s BillLickert and into the basket as the buzzersounded.

To add insult to injury, Kaiser per-formed his heroics with a fractured thumbon his shooting hand.

“Everyone in the place knew that Kai-ser was going to shoot,” lamented Rupp.“But what could we do about it. Our boyhad him covered, but he got it off. It was adifference of one second and two points.”

Newspaper accounts speculatedthat, “Perhaps never in the historyof the big bowl on The Flats hasone man done so much to win a

game as did Kaiser in this tense struggle.”Mississippi State head coach Babe

McCarthy echoed Rupp’s praise.“That Roger Kaiser is one of the great-

est player I’ve seen and I’m doggone happyI don’t have to see him again,” saidMcCarthy after Kaiser scored over half ofTech’s points in a 62-61 overtime loss tothe Bulldogs. “I’ve already seen too muchof that boy.”

A native of Dale, Ind., Kaiser learnedhow to shoot a basketball by aiming for ahoop that was nailed to the barn behindhis house. Later, a full court was built and,according to Kaiser, it was always occu-pied. His high school girl friend, whom helater married, wanted him to go to schoolat Indiana, but he chose Tech.

Kaiser became Tech’s first all-America as a junior in 1960, when he ledthe Jackets to their first NCAA Tourna-ment appearance this year and a berth inthe Sweet 16. A year later he earned con-sensus all-America honors in 1960-61 andwas named the Southeastern Conference“Player of the Year.”

Kaiser was also an all-conference per-former in baseball, and no less an author-ity on Rambling Wreck sports heroes thanlegendary football coach Bobby Doddcalled him “the greatest all-around athletein Georgia Tech history.”

But it was definitely his basketballskills that made Georgia Governor ErnestVandiver proclaim Feb. 27, 1961 to be“Roger Kaiser Day” in Georgia.

When Kaiser completed his three-year career he held the career records forpoints scored, scoring average, field goalsmade, free throws made and free throwsattempted. He also held several single-sea-son marks, and his career free throw ac-curacy rate of 85.8 percent still stands asthe Tech record.

Kaiser went on to become a coachinglegend in the state of Georgia, retiring in2000 at the age of 62 after an ultra-suc-cessful career highlighted by four NAIAnational titles at West Georgia (1974) andLife University (1997, 1999 and 2000).Including a stint at Decatur High, his 34-year coaching record is 754-260 (.743).

DAY TO REMEMBERTech’s all-America is honored at

Alexander Memorial Coliseum onRoger Kaiser Day.

Indiana native Roger Kaiser comes Southand becomes one of Tech’s all-time greats.

HOOSIER HEROHOOSIER HEROHOOSIER HERO


The big man on campus in 1970 roseto unmatched heights when RichYunkus scorched both Furman and

North Carolina for 47 points to set Geor-gia Tech’s single- game record and makehistory.

Nicknamed the Benton Bomber afterhis hometown in Illinois, the 6-9-1/2Yunkus’ first scoring spree nearly beatFurman single-handedly while the secondcapped a glorious weekend in which Techupset fifth-ranked NC State and then sev-enth-ranked North Carolina.

“He is the best big man I’ve ever hadat Georgia Tech without a doubt,” said hiscoach Whack Hyder. “He is in a class allby himself.”

Yunkus’ 47-point efforts comprisejust a fraction of the 2,232 points he scoredas Tech, which still stands as the schoolrecord. He earned all-America honorstwice and finished sixth in the nation inscoring as a junior at 30.1 points per game.

A newspaper headline captured oneof those games simply, “Yunkus’ 47, Tech’s41 Nix Hapless Furman’s 61.” With 10minutes to play, Yunkus was actually lead-ing the Paladins by himself 41-35 whenHyder sat him on the bench. He returnedfor another three minutes but couldn’tquite defend his lead.

Furman’s head coach Frank Selvy,who had once scored 100 points in a game,said, “He was just fantastic.”

Hyder said, “I’ve never seen a playershoot any better than he did tonight. Ac-tually our plan wasn’t to look for Rich butto try and open things up from the out-side. But he was moving so well that hewas open consistently, and we were ableto hit him.”

Yunkus erased two records with his47 points, including the Alexander Memo-rial Coliseum mark of 40 by Pres Judy in1967 against Florida State and his ownschool record of 41 that he had set againstTulane in 1969. Yunkus described it as justone of those nights.

“It seems that once a year I just goout there and feel like I did tonight,” hesaid. “Since junior high, I’ve had just onegame a year where I can hit 40.”

In 1970, that feeling actually occurredfive times. He also netted 41 points againstDave Cowens and Florida State as Semi-

"THE BEST BIG MAN ...... I’ve ever had at Georgia Techwithout a doubt,” said his coach,Whack Hyder. Yunkus’ single-gamerecord of 47 points lasted over twodecades before it was broken byKenny Anderson. His career mark of2,232 points still stands.

nole assistant coach Bill Clendinen said,“He has to be the best-shooting big manin college basketball. Only man I’ve seenwho even comes near him is Kentucky’sDan Issel.”

Yunkus also hit for 40 points againstGeorgia and Georgia State that year, buthis most memorable performance came inthe North-South Doubleheader in Char-lotte, N.C. Tech had been a substitute teamfor South Carolina and faced a pair of At-lantic Coast Conference heavyweights.

Yunkus scored 27 points and grabbed20 rebounds in the Jackets’ surprising winover fifth-ranked NC State in the openinggame. The next night, Yunkus put on ashow against the Tar Heels with his schoolrecord-tying 47 points.

He sparked Tech to a 53-45 halftimelead with 27 points en route to the 104-95victory. The Rambling Wreck’s sweep isstill considered one of the great momentsin the school’s basketball history.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a game likethis against a team as good as North Caro-lina,” Yunkus said. “I was scoring morefrom inside tonight than I did againstState, but that was because North Caro-lina played me differently. They wereguarding me very closely, which made itbetter to drive, while State played furtherback and made me shoot outside.”

Yunkus’ specialty was a soft left-handed jump shot. “He has the best touchfor a man his size I’ve ever seen,” Techassistant coach Dwane Morrison said. “Idon’t think he can take a bad shot.”

A three-time Academic All-America,he chose Tech because of its academicreputation. As one of the nation’s top prepseniors, he got a personal letter from BillBradley urging him to go to Princeton, aletter from Bob Cousy encouraging him toattend Boston College, and a phone callprior to an NBA playoff game from JohnHavlicek praising the merits of Ohio State.

Yunkus’ soft touch carried over toother areas. He built model cars as a childand then built a “T” bucket, a 1932 “T”roadster pickup from scratch when he wasin college. He also built a scale model ofhis home from balsa wood and about2,500 straight pins.

Just about the same number of pointshe scored at Tech.

BENTON BOMBERBENTON BOMBERBENTON BOMBERGeorgia Tech’s big man on campuswas in a class all by himself.


Tech Heritage

Largemouth bass in the local pondsaround Atlanta breathed a sigh ofrelief during basketball season

when Tom Hammonds played at GeorgiaTech.

He was so busy on the court, becom-ing the third player in Tech history to scoremore than 2,000 points in a career andthe second to play on three Yellow Jacketteams that won 20 games or more.

“I really miss it,” he said during hissenior year. “Not just the fishing, but be-ing out there on the lake by myself.”

Hammonds, a 6-9 all-America for-

ward from Crestview, Fla., instead reeledin rebounds and baskets. He wound up hiscareer with 2,081 points and 885 re-bounds, both of which rank fourth in Techhistory. He is second only to Rich Yunkusin field goals made (853) and shot 56.6percent from the field in his career.

Said Louisville coach Denny Crumfollowing a Tech win over the Cardinals in1989 in which Hammonds scored 19, “Youcan’t stop a great player like him unlessyou want to double team, and you’re will-ing to give up something else. Ourgameplan was to control him so hewouldn’t go crazy and get 30 or 40 points.”

Hammonds did go crazy a few timesduring his senior year, scoring 30 or morein three consecutive games, including a ca-reer-best 40 against Georgia State.

Many times, the strong play ofHammonds, a forward who at times hadto play center, resulted in opponentsdouble-teaming him or employing trickdefenses. Though he would become frus-trated, it helped him learn an importantlesson.

“The junk defenses would cause meproblems,” said Hammonds. “I’ve got tokeep a great attitude when I see junk de-fenses and keep working hard.”

Keeping a great attitude was neverdifficult for Hammonds, a mild-man-nered, soft-spoken individual who pre-ferred to keep his ferocious intensity con-fined to the basketball court.

He is generally credited for changingthe way pre-game introductions weremade in ACC basketball games. Up untilhis senior year, players were introducedonto the court alternately from each side,with players from each side greeting oneanother at mid-court. With Tech playingDuke in a crucial game, Hammonds

slapped Danny Ferry’s hand so hard thatthe practice was discontinued.

A product of his upbringing—his step-father a career Air Force sergeant, hismother also a disciplinarian—Hammondshad developed a deep sense of self-convic-tion. Six years of weight training broughtit out even further.

While he attracted a great deal of me-dia attention for his accomplishments, henever changed his outlook or his priori-ties.

“I think I’ve handled it pretty well,”he said during his senior year. “I knowwhere I came from and where I want togo.”

Just as important to Hammondswhile he was at Tech were his studies andhis other hobbies, which included his redpickup truck, attending tractor pulls andbass fishing. Those pursuits and his en-gaging smile made him extremely popu-lar with Tech’s student body, which pre-sented him with the “H” from the TechTower on the night of his final home gameat Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

They had lined up the night before thegame for tickets, and he wanted to buypizza for them.

“It was kinda nice,” Hammonds said“One guy had a couch and a TV with aVCR. We sat back for a while and watcheda Robert Townsend special.”

His convictions also served him wellin class. Noted for always sitting in thefront of the classroom, Hammonds gradu-ated in four years with his degree in man-agement.

As many Tech players have done, hefound work in the NBA with several teamsand played in the league for 13 years be-fore he retired after the 2001-02 season.Now there is plenty of time to fish.

SLAM DUNKAs quiet and unassuming as he wasoff the court, Hammonds was fierceand determined on the court.

HOOK, LINE &SINKERHOOK, LINE &SINKERHOOK, LINE &SINKERWhen he wasn’t reeling inlargemouth bass on asecluded pond, TomHammonds was landing bigpoints and rebounds for Tech.


He scored 2,225 points and pulleddown 997 rebounds, grabbed 176steals and handed out 289 as-

sists. He played 4,472 minutes in a Geor-gia Tech uniform, but Matt Harpring’scareer was best characterized in the fewminutes after he left the court in the wan-ing seconds of the Yellow Jackets’ Atlan-tic Coast Conference Tournament loss toMaryland.

With just over a minute left inMaryland’s 83-65 victory, Tech headcoach Bobby Cremins called his senior all-American to the bench.

Harpring had not had one of his bet-ter games against the Terrapins, butgradually the crowd rose in appreciationas he made his exit from his final ACCTournament game. The cheering began inthe Tech section, but in a rare display ofnon-partisanship, the applause spread toevery corner of the 24,000-seat Greens-boro Coliseum as fans wearing every shadeof Carolina blue, NC State red andClemson orange joined in.

The cheering continued as a dejectedHarpring took his seat on the bench, notrealizing what was happening. Then,coaxed by Cremins and his teammates,Harpring stood and waved to the crowd.

“It didn’t sink in at first because I wasstill pretty emotional about the loss,”Harpring said after the game. “But it wasa huge honor and compliment. When Ilook back on it tomorrow or the next day,after I forget the game, I’ll say, ‘Wow, thatwas great.’”

“Unbelievable,” agreed Cremins. “I’vebeen in this league a long time, and it’s oneof the nicest gestures and best compli-ments I’ve seen."

Maryland head coach Gary Williamsechoed the sentiments of the crowd, say-ing “you can only go but so far in terms ofhard work, and Harpring is right there. Atthe end of a game, he never leaves any-thing on the floor.”

Afterward, an appreciative Harpring

said, “I don’t know why they did it. I guessthey see something in me that they like. Ithink I’d appreciate my work ethic andthat I always give 100 percent, and if I’mnot shooting well, I’ll try to help my teamin other ways.

“It was a great farewell, almost likehaving my jersey retired.”

Such accolades never would havebeen predicted for Harpring when he ar-rived at Georgia Tech in 1995.

The 6-8, 225-pounder was betterknown for his football skills at Atlanta’sMarist School, receiving scholarship offersto play quarterback for several schools,including Northwestern and Wisconsin.He was lightly recruited in basketball un-til very late in his senior season, improv-ing his stock and gaining the notice ofCremins as he led his high school team tothe state title.

From the time he stepped onto thecourt at Alexander Memorial Coliseum,Harpring exceeded expectations, averag-ing 12.1 points and 6.2 rebounds a gamewhile finishing a close second for the 1995ACC Rookie of the Year award.

But that was only a glimpse of whatwas to come, because as a sophomore,Harpring blossomed into one of thenation’s top players as he helped Techreach the NCAA Sweet 16. On a team thatfeatured sensational point guard StephonMarbury, it was Harpring who was themost consistent force with his all-aroundskills, averaging 18.6 points and 8.1 re-bounds a game while leading the team inthree-point shooting.

Harpring’s junior year wasn’t as suc-cessful as his sophomore campaign as theundermanned Jackets limped to a 9-18record. Through the frustration of Tech’sfirst losing season since 1983, Harpringremained the ultimate warrior, and de-spite constant double-teams, he produced19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds a game.

Many encouraged him to enter theNBA following that difficult season, but

Harpring opted to stay the course.“When I came to college, I never

dreamed that I would have the chance tobe a first-round draft pick,” said Harpring,a two-time Academic All-American. “Icame to Georgia Tech to get my degree andto prepare for a career after basketball.

“I love college basketball, and I didn’twant to leave after a season like that. Itwas important to me to come back andhelp get Tech basketball back where it be-longs.”

The result was an outstanding seniorseason in which he earned numerous all-America awards, including first-team hon-ors from Basketball America magazine aswell as hoops guru Dick Vitale. While av-eraging 21.6 points and 9.4 rebounds agame, he joined Mark Price as the onlyYellow Jackets to receive first-team all-ACC honors three times. After earning hisdegree in June of 1998, the Orlando Magicmade him the 15th pick of the first roundin the NBA draft.

He finished second in Tech history inboth scoring and rebounding, comingwithin eight points of Rich Yunkus’ schoolrecord of 2,232 career points. In addition,he finished among Tech’s career leadersin virtually every statistical category, fromassists to steals to blocked shots and ofcourse, minutes played.

Even before that ACC Tournamentsalute, the Georgia Tech family paid trib-ute to Harpring, the consummate student-athlete, by retiring his No. 15 jersey priorto his final home game against Duke.

More importantly, Harpring helpedTech enjoy a winning season with a 19-14mark and trip to the National InvitationTournament, in which the Jackets ad-vanced to the quarterfinals.

“I can’t say enough about what MattHarpring meant to Georgia Tech,” saidCremins. “I’m really proud of him for com-ing back for his senior season, and I’mhappy that he could go out on a winningnote.”

HARPRINGHARPRINGH a r p i n g o n

HARPRINGHis work ethic, determination and all-out hustleoften evoked this sentiment from Bobby Cremins.


Tech Heritage

ONE OFA KINDONE OFA KINDONE OFA KINDUNDER BOBBY CREMINS, GEORGIA TECH WENT FROM

DOORMAT TO PERENNIAL CONTENDER, A FORCE TO BE

RECKONED WITH IN A TRADITION-RICH CONFERENCE.BY BARRY JACOBS

Bobby Cremins is one of a kind, as acoach and a person. And because ofwho he is, as much as what he did,

Georgia Tech commands a prominent placein college basketball.

“We rely so much in recruiting on thetradition, on the success he’s had in thepast,” says Paul Hewitt, his successor ascoach of the Yellow Jackets. “He built theGeorgia Tech tradition.”

Cremins inherited a program that,while estimable under coach John “Whack”Hyder, made a single NCAA appearanceprior to the young coach’s arrival for the1981-82 season. Cremins came to a schoolthat, in its first two years of competition inthe Atlantic Coast Conference in 1980 and1981, notched a cumulative 12-41 record, 1-29 in league competition. Some Tech fansattended games wearing paper bags overtheir heads. A section of 2,000 seats atAlexander Memorial Coliseum often satempty, purchased by fans at other schoolsso they could qualify for ACC Tournamenttickets.

By the time Cremins stepped aside fol-lowing the 2000 season, Tech had made 10NCAA appearances, including nine straightfrom 1985 through 1993, and enjoyed a fear-some homecourt advantage at theThrillerdome. The 1990 squad reached theFinal Four for the first and only time inschool history. The Jackets tied for firstplace in the ACC in ’85 and finished aloneatop the standings in 1996. They won a trioof ACC titles — in 1985, 1990 and 1993 —and posted 13 consecutive winning seasonsand 15 in Cremins’ 19 years on the job.

The program produced the ACCplayer of the year in ’90 in Dennis Scott,eight rookies of the year in the 14 seasonsfrom 1983 through 1996, 13 first team All-ACC selections, and a dozen first-roundNBA draft choices.

In short, under Cremins’ guidanceGeorgia Tech went from doormat to pe-rennial contender, a force to be reckonedwith in a tradition-rich conference. Per-haps no one in the 50-year history of ACCbasketball ranks as a greater programbuilder.

“Bobby was a very good coach,”Homer Rice, the retired Tech athletics di-rector who hired Cremins, says. “He wasa heck of a recruiter and one of the finestpersons I ever worked with. He was alwaysupbeat. He was a fighter.”

Yet Cremins fought without rancor.He could be as animated and competitiveas any of his coaching colleagues, leapingand gesturing along the sidelines through-out a game, trademark grey hair floppingwildly, but could go years without earn-ing a technical foul.

Cremins could be painfully honest,particularly about his own shortcomingsor those of his team. Following one par-ticularly decisive road defeat, Cremins ac-tually apologized. “It’s a great league andI was embarrassed for the league,” he said.“I was embarrassed for Georgia Tech. I

“He is my all-time favorite coachin any sport. He is unpretentious,passionate, honest and caring. Hewill tell you what he thinks, andhe usually tells you in plainwords full of fun and commonsense.”

Dave Kindred, The Sporting News

“Bobby Cremins is a genuine star.He is truly one of the greatcoaches in ACC history andcertainly one of the most well-liked. He put Georgia Tech on themap and helped raise the level ofplay in the ACC to make it thepremier basketball conference inthe country.”

Duke Head CoachMike Krzyzewski

“Not only did he build theprogram to a place ofrespectability and power, he did itquickly and without any hint ofimpropriety. Everything he did,he did with honor and dignity andwith great class.”

South Carolina Head CoachDave Odom

“The guy is genuine and likable.I’ve never met another coach whodidn’t like Bobby. In a professionlike this, there are not many guysyou can say that about.”

Former ACC CommissionerGene Corrigan


ADMIRATION FOR CREMINS was always evident in the Techstudent body with the annual Bobby Cremins Look-Alike Day.

was embarrassed for all myfriends.”

He could be stunninglymindless of appearance, aswhen he conducted a mediateleconference from the com-fort of a bathtub, the acousticsgiving him away. He could beuncommonly casual, invitingmovie stars and others into hislocker room to chat immedi-ately prior to a game.

Other coaches sagely re-vealed their technical expertise.Cremins, almost devoid of pre-tense, made little effort to im-press listeners with his grasp ofX’s and O’s. Sometimes he forgot thenames of opposing players, or whetherthey were even in the game at key junc-tures.

Still, he was three times voted theACC coach of the year (1983, 1985, 1996),a total exceeded only by two Hall of Famecoaches, North Carolina’s Dean Smith andDuke’s Mike Krzyzewski.

Cremins brought his infectious grinand easily mimicked Bronx accent to At-lanta a year after Krzyzewski arrived atDuke and Jim Valvano landed at N.C.State.

“Everybody thought I was crazy,” hesays of his decision to leave a successfulperch at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C,for a foundering program in a powerleague, “but I felt like the ACC was just agreat conference. Tech was a great aca-

demic school, sometimes too hard. Andthen of course the city of Atlanta, Atlantais a big-time city. I thought the job had alot of things to offer.”

So he became one of what he calls “theyoung guns” who soon transformed thebalance of power in the ACC.

“To me, Tech became my Americandream,” Cremins says. “Coaching at Geor-gia Tech was me living the Americandream. It was also a personal dream forme to coach in the league I played in.Coaching at Georgia Tech also fulfilledthat.”

Cremins had played guard at SouthCarolina, finishing in 1970, a year beforethe Gamecocks left the ACC. “I owe every-thing to Frank McGuire,” Cremins says ofhis coach. “He gave me my start, he gaveme my opportunity.”

South Carolina washeavily favored to win the 1970ACC title and advance to the Fi-nal Four. McGuire, whocoached an undefeated UNCteam to the 1957 NCAA cham-pionship, called the ’70 USCsquad his best ever. But theGamecocks were stopped in theACC Tournament final, de-feated in overtime by N.C. Stateafter the ball was stolen fromCremins. Only one team fromeach league was invited to theNCAAs back then; South Caro-lina went nowhere.

“Not winning an ACCchampionship my senior year almost ru-ined my life,” Cremins recalls. “Unfortu-nately, I still have nightmares about that.Not as bad as it used to be.”

So when he built Tech’s program tocompetitive status, going from cellar totitle in four years, Cremins felt both satis-faction and relief. “That meant we had ar-rived,” he says of the 1985 ACC Tourna-ment championship. “Everbody said wecouldn’t beat North Carolina the thirdtime (that season). It was right there inAtlanta. To me personally, one of the rea-sons I wanted to coach in the ACC was towin an ACC championship ring that I lostas a player...

“In ’85, when that game was over, thatwas the championship I lost. I’ll always re-member thinking about that. It took a lotcontinued next page


Tech Heritage

of pain away for me.”Tech’s transformation began with the

arrival of a pair of key recruits, Brooklynbig man John Salley and Oklahoma guardMark Price, who in 1983, aided by a short,experimental 3-pointer, became the firstand only freshman to pace the ACC inscoring. “There were not a lot of expecta-tions,” Cremins remembers, “so anythingwe did was a positive. Obviously, gettingMark Price and John Salley, that’s whatstarted it all. Those two guys put us on themap.”

The good times rolled with refresh-ing warmth, producing dais scenes at post-game press conferences where playersdraped arms around their coach’s shoul-ders and teased him with little compunc-tion. “It’s more like an older brother-younger brother relationship,” Salley saidin 1985. “He’s more than a coach.”

The parade of exceptional playerscontinued unabated — Bruce Dalrymple,Duane Ferrell, Tom Hammonds, BrianOliver, Dennis Scott — as Cremins con-jured talented groups of prep stars andgave them the freedom to learn and growon the court.

The arrival of New York playmakerKenny Anderson, perhaps the nation’s topprospect, put the finishing touches on a1989-90 squad that advanced to the Final

Four.“Kenny Anderson, we knew once he

arrived on campus he was special,”Cremins says. “Dennis had some weightproblems the first two years, and he lostsome weight and he was a different player.And Oliver was the heart and soul. Youcould just tell that those three guys on thecourt were really something. It was almostlike you didn’t have to coach.”

The trio, dubbed “Lethal Weapon 3,”accounted for 79 percent of Tech’s scor-ing and became the first trio of 20-pointscorers on one ACC team. Big men JohnnyMcNeil and Malcolm Mackey and reserveguard Karl Brown got the bulk of the play-ing time in a supportive role.

The Jackets finished 28-7, the mostvictories by a Tech squad. Scott led theACC in scoring with a 27.7-point average,highest in 15 years. Anderson was the 1990Rookie of the Year and the second fresh-man ever voted first-team all-ACC. Oliverwas the MVP of the ACC Tournament.

“They’re fun to watch play, unless youhave to be on the other sideline,” saidVirginia’s Terry Holland. Cremins and theYellow Jackets visibly enjoyed the ride. “Ijust wish we could bottle it and save it,”Oliver said of the experience.

The Jackets led UNLV, the eventualchamps, by seven at halftime, but fell, 90-

81 in the national semifinals. “I remem-ber after the game I said, ‘OK, we learneda lot,” Cremins says. “‘We’ll get back nextyear.’”

But Scott left a year early to enter thepro draft following the 1990 season. “Thatwas a shocker,” Cremins says. “Thosethings weren’t happening too often dur-ing that time...It was something weweren’t real prepared for, and we did slip.”

Other talented players kept coming,even as Anderson left in ’91 following hissophomore season. A group keyed by for-ward James Forrest and point guardTravis Best surprised everyone by winningthe 1993 ACC title. Mackey, ’93 Rookie ofthe Year Martice Moore, and Drew Barrywere the other major components of thesquad.

There were distractions, however.South Carolina was courting Cremins toreturn as its head coach. He vacillated formonths. Tech got bounced in its NCAAopener by Southern University, coachedby Ben Jobe, a former Cremins assistant.Shortly afterward Cremins announced hewas going to his alma mater. Almost asquickly, he said he couldn’t bear to aban-don folks at Georgia Tech and did anabout-face.

“The South Carolina thing, that per-sonally knocked me out for a good three

Bobby Cremins DayGeorgia Tech celebrated Bobby Cremins Dayon March 8, 2003, by dedicating theAlexander Memorial Coliseum court in hisname. Many former players, including MarkPrice (opposite page with current headcoach Paul Hewitt), Tom Hammonds, JonBabul and Shaun Fein (below), participatedin the ceremony.


to four months,” Cremins says. “That wasthe worst period of my life. That was mymid-life crisis.”

Tech’s run of nine straight NCAA bidsended in 1994. Another blow landed in1995 when, despite a .500 record and fifth-place in a league that saw a four-way tiefor first, the Jackets were snubbed by theNCAA Tournament selection committee.

Then, in a move that surprisedCremins, premier guard prospect StephonMarbury committed to Georgia Tech.Once Marbury meshed in the backcourtwith Drew Barry, they led a squad withsophomore forwards Matt Harpring andMike Maddox and junior center EddieElisma to a first-place ACC finish and aberth in the 1996 ACC Tournament final.“We just got on a roll that was really, re-ally fun,” Cremins says.

The ’96 Jackets returned to theNCAAs for what proved the last time un-der Cremins, as again an early departurefor the NBA, this time by Marbury after asingle season, proved debilitating.

Untimely injury, another early depar-ture by Dion Glover, and recruitingstumbles took their toll. “I said to myselfone time, if we ever don’t go to the BigDance four straight years, then I need totake a hard look at what I’m doing,”Cremins says.

So, with a handful of games remain-ing in the 2000 season, he announced hisretirement as Georgia Tech coach effectiveat year’s end. A one-point loss in the ACCTournament play-in game, accompaniedby a standing ovation from the apprecia-tive crowd, concluded a tenure that pro-duced a 354-237 record, more victories atan ACC post than anyone except Smithand Krzyzewski.

“I think in my 28 years as a headcoach, I have never met a more honorableopponent or great guy than BobbyCremins,” Krzyzewski, a fierce rival, says.“I love him and adore him. Look, I’m aboutto cry. He made me cry a lot.”

Cremins, intent on leaving Tech “theright way,” as he put it, moved to HiltonHead Island in South Carolina and kepthis distance from Georgia Tech basketball.“When I left Tech, I wanted to cut all ties.I wanted Paul Hewitt to have his own pro-gram and get out of his way.”

Removed from the limelight, Creminsspent more time with wife Carolyn, con-tinued his avid reading, became a golfingregular, considered a few coaching offers,and stayed close to the game by gettinginvolved in television broadcasting. “I domiss the action sometimes,” he admits.This season he did color commentary onACC and Southern Conference games for

Fox Sports South, as well as a pair of stu-dio shows, and a few broadcasts forJefferson-Pilot.

“We have a life of leisure and luxury,”Cremins says from his home. “We have agreat life. I live on the Intracoastal Water-way. It’s just a beautiful place. My wife andI are very happy here.”

Meanwhile, almost as soon as Hewittwas hired Georgia Tech athletics directorDave Braine broached the idea of honor-ing Cremins. “The fact of the matter is, it’sthe right thing to do,” says Hewitt, whothoroughly endorses the idea of namingthe court at Alexander after his predeces-sor. “I guess it’s a way for us to say thanksfor all the things he did at Georgia Tech.”

Cremins may have kept his distance,but Hewitt finds the former coach is al-ways available and supportive whenneeded. “I can’t tell you how much of ahelp he’s been,” Hewitt says. “That’s thetype of person he is.”

That personal generosity, plus goodstaffs, a penchant for attracting outstand-ing players, and a gift of leadership helpedGeorgia Tech build the national profile itenjoys today.

Barry Jacobs has covered ACC basketballsince 1976 and is the author of “GoldenGlory: The First 50 Years of the ACC.”


Tech Heritage

David and Goliath of the collegiatebasketball world squared offtwice during the 1955 season.

David walked away without a scratch.Within a 23-day period, mild-man-

nered Georgia Tech stunned the nation’stop-ranked team Kentucky by ending theWildcats’ 129-game home winning streakin Lexington and then proving it was nofluke with a commanding victory at home.

“This was probably the greatest up-set victory by any Georgia Tech team inany sport that I can remember,” saidBobby Dodd after Tech’s initial shocker.

Atlanta newspaperman FurmanBisher wrote, “I say it was the most incred-ible event in basketball since Dr. JamesNaismith discovered the peach basket.”

These epic upsets came from a 1955squad that finished the season with a 12-13 record. The Jackets had lost 67-66 toSewanee one game prior to venturing toLexington, the home of Baron AdolphRupp. The Wildcats had not found them-selves on the short end of a SoutheasternConference game in 16 years and wereriding a 32-game winning streak.

Only five Tech players stepped onKentucky’s court that January night withLenny Cohen and Dick Lenholt at the for-wards, Bill Cohen (no relation) at center,and Bob Kimmel and Joe Helms at guard.Helms and Lenny Cohen were junior col-lege imports while the remaining threewere holdovers from a 2-22 squad dubbed“les miserables” the previous year.

Coach John “Whack” Hyder knewbetter. “The boys said before the game theywere going to win, and they just wouldn’tbe beat,” he noted.

A sluggish Kentucky team appearedto be in serious trouble throughout thecontest. Tech trailed early 16-11 before a15-0 outburst gave the Jackets a 26-23halftime advantage. Tech pulled ahead 38-30 in the second half before turning cold.Kentucky rallied and its faithful were cer-tain the Wildcats would pull it out.

With 14 seconds left, Kentucky helda three-point lead, but missed a pair of freethrows. Kimmel was fouled in thescramble for the rebound and hit his char-ity tosses to pull Tech within 58-57 with1:12 left.

Kentucky captain Billy Evans at-tempted to run out the clock, but Kimmeltied him up in the frontcourt and Helmssnatched the ball away. He faked as if driv-ing and then let fly a one-handed, 12-footer that netted the winning points with11 seconds left. Two shots missed inKentucky’s last gasp.

“When I saw Joe take off with thatball, I knew we had it made,” Hyder said.“He’d been firing them in for us all nightand as hot as he was I knew he wouldn’tmiss.”

Helms, who scored a game-high 23points, said, “I didn’t think about a thing.It was all like a dream.”

“It’s certainly the happiest moment ofmy basketball career,” Hyder said. “CoachRupp boosted his stock with me when hecame over after the game, shook handsand told me that we deserved to win. Iknow it was a tough one for him to lose,but he didn’t have a single squawk.”

Fans gathering at Municipal Airportin Atlanta gave the Jackets the “most en-thusiastic reception since MacArthur’s.”The students sang their rendition of theRambling Wreck fight song, and two po-lice cars escorted Tech back to town.

“We’ll never live it down,” Rupp said.Hold that thought, Adolph. For Tech’s

second triumph over Kentucky could onlybe described as the Jackets’ greatest up-

set since their first.Kentucky wanted badly to avenge

their only loss of the season while Tech hadmanaged only a 5-10 record. Rupp evenbrought a special TV crew to televise therematch. But they witnessed history in-stead as Tech became the first team to beatRupp twice in the same season.

Again using only five players withGary Phillips subbing for the injuredLenny Cohen, Tech led the game fromstart to finish. The Wildcats missed everyfree throw attempt in the first half. Mean-while, Tech took care of business on theboards and Helms and Kimmel combinedfor 44 points.

The Jackets led by 14 points with sixminutes remaining as Kimmel’s dribblingput the ball in a deep freeze. When the fi-nal 65-59 score flashed, assistant athleticdirector Tonto Coleman suggested thatTech keep that scoreboard turned on per-manently and buy a new one.

“I don’t know what to say,” remarkedHyder, who received the game ball. “Thekids played a whale of a ballgame. We hadthem from the start.”

Rupp said, “That just goes to showyou what a team can do when it makes upits mind to win a ballgame. They beat usthe same way they did last time—withgood backboard play and on the foul line.”

And so David slew Goliath. Twice.

From theAssociatedPress ...

LEXINGTON,Ky., Jan. 8,1955—A jump shot in the last 11 secondsby little Joe Helms (right) gave GeorgiaTech a 59-58 upset over KentuckySaturday night and stopped the nation’sNo. 1 collegiate basketball power after32 straight victories.

ATLANTA, Ga., Jan. 31, 1955—Georgia Tech, tiny outpost inthe basketball world, successfully stormed Kentucky’s proudcitadel Monday night for the second time in less than amonth. The score was 65-59.

THE SLAYINGOF GOLIATHTHE SLAYINGOF GOLIATH


G eorgia Tech once traveled the“Road to San Francisco” in 1960in its only NCAA Tournament ap-

pearance prior to the streak of ninestraight trips reeled off by the BobbyCremins-coached Yellow Jackets from1985-93.

Fueled by guard Roger Kaiser and for-ward Dave Denton, known as the “South’sbest one-two punch,” Georgia Tech dem-onstrated a valiant effort en route to a 22-6 finish that year and runner-up honorsin the Southeastern Conference.

The Jackets’ starting five featuredKaiser, who averaged a team-high 22.5points per game, and Bobby Dews in thebackcourt, Denton and Wayne Richardsat the forwards and Jim Riley at center.

“I am sure this is the best defensiveteam I have ever coached at Georgia Tech,”said John “Whack” Hyder, as his Jacketssurrendered only 58.9 points per game.

Entering the NCAA Tournament,Hyder had guided Tech to a No. 8 nationalranking in the United Press poll and a No.13 slot in the Associated Press poll priorto the national tourney. The Jackets re-ceived a first-round bye although Hyderdownplayed his squad’s chances sayingthey were in “over their heads.”

Ohio University upset Notre Dame inthe first round to draw Tech in its nextgame. The Bobcats appeared to be a sleep-ing giant when they jumped out to a 19-6lead over Tech at the 10:26 mark in the

first half.Behind center Howard Jolliff, who

had 16 points and 15 rebounds in the firsthalf, Ohio maintained a 33-23 halftime ad-vantage. The Bobcats refused to fold andheld a 12-point margin with 13 minutes leftin the game.

But Tech applied the screws with itsfull-court pressure defense, taking the leadat 49-48 after a pair of free throws by Kai-ser with 4:55 left. The all-America Kaiserproceeded to score 16 of Tech’s final 23points, including several critical freethrows, as Tech slipped by Ohio, 57-54.

Seemingly bewildered in the first half,Tech warmed up and wore out the Bob-cats down the stretch as Kaiser finishedwith 25 points and Denton collected 15points and 11 rebounds. As the Jacketsadvanced to the NCAA Final Eight, the“Road to San Francisco” got a lot steeper.

Ohio State, certainly one of thenation’s premier teams with future NBAstars Jerry Lucas (New York Knicks) andJohn Havlicek (Boston Celtics), had com-piled a 22-3 record and a No. 2 nationalranking. The game at Freedom Hall inLouisville, Ky., would be a contrast instyles between the Buckeyes’ whirlwindpace and the deliberate, possession pat-tern of the Jackets.

OSU head coach Fred Taylor singledout Kaiser as a “really great shot andDenton as a fine all-around player” inpreparation for the matchup.

Although the physically overmatchedJackets lost 86-69 to Ohio State, whicheventually won the national championshipdefeating California, the newspaper accu-rately described the grit and effort ofHyder’s 1959-60 team.

“A Georgia Tech team of incalculablecourage refused to recognize its own hu-man limitations here Saturday night inmeeting the greatest offensive machine inthe nation head-on, and emerged beaten,but unbowed.”

The game stayed tight the first fewmoments before the 6-8 Lucas gave OSUa lead it would never relinquish. The Buck-eyes led 41-35 at halftime, and threatenedto runaway in the second half. But Techstayed within striking distance at 66-56with 8:53 left before Ohio State flexed itsbiceps.

True to form, Kaiser led the Jacketswith 27 points while Denton chipped in15. A balanced Buckeye scoring attack fea-tured Lucas with 25, Joe Roberts with 19and Havlicek with 15.

“They just had too much manpowerfor us,” Hyder said. “They wore us downin the second half.”

But that 1960 team blazed a trail notto be forgotten. While the memory ofTech’s coveted Final Four appearance in1990 remains fresh, the performance ofKaiser, Denton and the rest of Hyder’stroops should not be overlooked in Tech’sfirst NCAA appearance.

COACHED BY WHACKHYDER, the Jackets’ startingfive featured Dave Denton(above), Roger Kaiser, BobbyDews, Wayne Richards, JimRiley. Sharp-shooting RogerKaiser (right) and the grittyDave Denton were known asthe “South’s best one-twopunch.”

THE ROADTO SANFRANCISCO

THE ROADTO SANFRANCISCO

THE ROADTO SANFRANCISCOKaiser, DentonTake Tech To ItsFirst NCAATournament In1960


Tech Heritage

J ohn “Whack” Hyder recalls aconversation back in 1955 withThe Baron, Kentucky’s legendary

basketball coach Adolph Rupp, who wasin town to face the Yellow Jackets on theGeorgia Tech campus.

“Coach Rupp asked me if I wouldmeet and talk with him after practicehere,” related Hyder, referring to tinyHeisman Gym, where the Jackets playedtheir home games. “I said yes.”

“When I showed up, he was sur-rounded by his team. He asked me twoquestions.”

What’s your aim in basketball?What do you expect to accomplish in

a gym like this?Hyder said, “I told him my first aim

was for our kids to lead a good moral life.Next I wanted them to graduate. Andthird, when it came time, I wanted themto concentrate on basketball.”

“You can’t do that,” replied Rupp.“Boys aren’t that way any more.”

That same season, Hyder, the man offolksy, homespun philosophy, pulled twostunning upsets of number one rankedKentucky, thus starting Hyder’s reputa-tion as a giant killer. Hyder lost to thefabled Rupp and his Kentucky team 16times in his coaching career. That was nodisgrace. Hyder won nine times. That wasan unheard-of feat.

Born July 10, 1912 in Lula, Ga., Hyderwas one of the best all-around athletes inGeorgia Tech history, lettering in basket-ball, baseball, cross country and track. He

also earned a freshman letter in foot-ball, the sport in which he receivedhis scholarship to Georgia Tech be-cause there were no basketball schol-arships in those days.

After graduating from GeorgiaTech in 1937, he signed a profes-sional baseball contract and playedthree years in the New York Yankeesfarm system.

After a stint in the U.S. Navy inWorld War II, Hyder returned toTech in 1946. He was hired as an as-sistant basketball coach by Directorof Athletics William Alexander, thesame man who had offered him ascholarship to Tech after watchinghim play basketball for Monroe A&Mprep school.

Hyder was elevated from assis-tant to head coach prior to the 1951-52 season, and for 22 years, heguided the Yellow Jacket basketballfortunes. He retired on St. Valentine’s Dayin 1973. He won games and lost games, in-cluding the first NCAA appearance inschool history in 1960 and two trips to thefinals of the National Invitation Tourna-ment.

Hyder was twice named SEC Coachof the Year, and he is a member of theGeorgia Tech Hall of Fame and the Stateof Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

Hyder compiled an overall record of292-271 (.519) and was Tech’s winningestbasketball coach until surpassed in 1996by Bobby Cremins. For the years in which

YourFatherAwayFromHome

YourFatherAwayFromHomeNine wins over Kentucky and trips to the NCAA’s and NIT were only asmall part of Whack Hyder’s legacy


his teams played in Alexander MemorialColiseum, which opened in 1956-57,Hyder’s record was 251-189 (.570).

But there was much more to Hyderthan coaching games.

“The thing about Coach Hyder,” re-called one of his superstar players, RichYunkus, “is that he treated all his playersas human beings and not as animals be-ing led by the nose. He had a genuine con-cern for his players and he was proud. Allbut one of those who played for him thefull four years graduated.

“Above all, he insisted upon an edu-cation and this he told every recruit.”

Roger Kaiser, who played for Hyderfrom 1958-61 and became the first all-America in Tech history, concurred.

“He was my father away from home.I always respected him. I wanted to givehim 100 percent effort, 100 percent of thetime. He made me feel I was wanted andneeded. He got his message across to theplayers, and he did without belittling any-one.”

Kaiser, who won four NAIA nationaltitles as a head coach, was a highly re-cruited prepster from Dale, Ind., who washeaded for Vanderbilt or Indiana when hemet Hyder and changed his plans.

“Coach Hyder was warm,empathetic,” said Kaiser. “He made mefeel like a member of the family. He talkedmore about the importance of a good edu-cation than he did about basketball. I feltlike playing for Coach Hyder was going tobe a positive influence on my life. And itwas.”

Long after he retired, Hyder re-mained active in the program, coordinat-ing the annual Alumni Game.

“I consider Coach Hyder a close per-sonal friend and a man I truly respect,”said Cremins.

Upon Hyder’s retirement followingthe 1972-73 season, at Whack Hyder Nightgiven by friends and former players, hesaid, “All of you know me as Whack. Butmy name is Johnny and tonight I feel likemy last name’s Wooden.

“I’m not the greatest coach in theworld, not by any stretch of the imagina-tion, but I’m a very grateful and humbleman tonight.”

KentuckyKillerPerhaps the most amaz

ing statistic of WhackHyder’s tenure at GeorgiaTech is his record against thepowerful Kentucky teamscoached by the Baron,Adolph Rupp.

From 1951, when hetook over the Tech program,through 1964, when the Yel-low Jackets left the South-eastern Conference, Hyder’steams posted a 9-16 recordagainst the mighty Wildcats.

To put that in perspective, Hyder’snine victories against Kentucky weretwice as many as any other SEC schoolduring that period. The next best recordwas by Vanderbilt at 5-20. Three SECschools—Georgia, Florida, and Missis-sippi—did not record a single victoryagainst the Wildcats during that time,and four others had two or fewer wins.

Hyder’s most famous win over theWildcats was his first one, on Jan. 8,1955, when a Tech team that would fin-ish with a 12-13 record went into Me-morial Coliseum and knocked off No. 1-ranked Kentucky, ending a 129-gamehome winning streak. That was the firstof three victories over top-ranked Ken-tucky squads.

In 1963, Hyder again took his teamto Lexington and downed the ’Cats indouble overtime, becoming the first

coach to defeat Rupp three times on hishome court.

Hyder's WinsOver KentuckyDate Site UK Rank Score1-8-55 Away 1 59-581-31-55 Home 1 65-591-27-58 Home 9 71-521-2-60 Away 13 62-541-25-60 Home 16 65-441-30-61 Home NR 62-601-5-63 Away 6 86-85 (2 ot)1-28-63 Home NR 66-621-4-64 Home 1 76-67

COACH HYDER is congratulated byTerry Randall and others after a 71-52 win over Kentucky in 1958.

“He made me feel like a member ofthe family. He talked more aboutthe importance of a good educationthan he did about basketball. I feltlike playing for Coach Hyder wasgoing to be a positive influence onmy life. And it was.”

ALL-AMERICAROGER KAISER


Tech Heritage

G eorgia Tech made itsintercollegiate basketballdebut on Feb. 17, 1906

when, after playing several gamesin a local amateur league, amatchup was arranged betweenthe Georgia School of Technology,as the Institute was known then,and Auburn University.

The site of the contest was thePeachtree Auditorium and accord-ing to the Atlanta Constitution, “alarge crowd was present in the au-ditorium to witness the firststruggle between college teams forthe supremacy of basketball toss-ing.”

Auburn, under coach Mike Donahue,entered the game as the favorite after beat-ing the Atlanta Athletic Club, 27-18, a weekearlier. Tech, on the other hand, hadplayed together only in the Atlanta Bas-ketball League, a circuit in which teammembers competed to stay in shape for thefootball and baseball seasons. The lineupfor the Yellow Jackets featured the team’scaptain, Wert, at left forward, Baker atright forward, Sutcliff at left guard andFosterling at right guard. The center was6-2 Ed Lafitte, who would go on to pitchprofessionally for the Detroit Tigers.

The experience of the Auburn teamproved to be the difference as The Consti-tution reported, “In the first 20 minutesof play, Tech made the game interestingfor the team from Alabama, but even withthe advantage of knowledge of the floor,could not score more than half the pointsscored by the visitors, this period of play-ing ending 12 to 6 for Auburn.

“In the second half, Auburn had ev-erything her own way. Tech was unable toscore and confined her efforts to limit thepoints made by their opponents. Auburnscored 14 points making the final 26 to 6.”

Baker led Tech in scoring in that firstgame as he tossed in a pair of field goalswhile Wert had two points on two freethrows. Lafitte was held scoreless, whilethe guards in that era were strictly defend-ers.

Despite that initial setback, Techscheduled two more games that season,both against the University of Georgia,

another newcomer to the sport. The Yel-low Jackets were victorious in both gamesagainst their arch-rival, winning on Mar.10 in Athens by the score of 27-13, thencapturing the return engagement twoweeks later, 12-11, in an overtime game atthe Peachtree Auditorium.

Heisman Adds Hoops

It was nearly three years before Techcompeted in an intercollegiate game

again, this time under the guidance of afull-time coach as the legendary JohnHeisman added basketball to his duties asfootball and baseball coach.

Still without an on-campus gymna-sium, arrangements were made for Techto play its home games at the St. NicholasRink on Ponce de Leon Avenue, a facilitythat would provide ample room not onlyfor basketball, but for the big dance thatwould follow each game. Unfortunately, acold snap swept into the Atlanta area justdays before the scheduled opener againstMercer University, forcing Tech to searchfor an alternative to the unheated rink.

Despite short notice, Tech secured theuse of the Cable Piano Company Hall onBroad Street near the Piedmont Hotel. OnJan. 9, 1909, a “goodly crowd” paid 25cents for admission to the ballroom turnedgymnasium to see the Jackets defeat Mer-cer, 28-8.

Tech’s lack of experience after thethree-year layoff quickly became apparentas the Rambling Wreck lost its five re-maining games to veteran squads from

Georgia, Auburn, Tulane and the AtlantaAthletic Club. Still, the season was consid-ered a step in the right direction and planswere made for the following year. The1909-10 season never materialized, how-ever, as the lack of an adequate playingfacility again proved too great an obstacleand the sport was dropped.

First Games On CampusAt Crystal Palace

The Athletic Association took a ma-jor step toward reviving the game in

1912 with the allocation of $500 to trans-form the old campus foundry on CherryStreet near Third Street (later the site ofthe Dean of Students Building) into a bas-ketball arena.

The remodeling involved the plaster-ing of walls, removal of existing obstaclesand installation of screens to protect themany windows as well as the addition of anew 25-foot ceiling and the installation of18 80-power incandescent lights to illu-minate the 100' x 50' playing court.Though the cost of the renovation even-tually reached $800, on Feb. 23, 1912, theCrystal Palace was ready for play as theAthletic Association sponsored anintraclass basketball doubleheader andfree postgame dance. The combinationproved popular among the student bodyand was continued for the next few weeks,setting the stage for varsity competitionin 1913.

On Feb. 8, 1913, the Rambling Wreckplayed its first game ever on campus asClemson visited the Crystal Palace. Unfor-tunately, the inaugural intercollegiategame in the Crystal Palace was a disap-pointing one as the visiting Tigers won, 26-22.

Tech would not win its first game inthe Crystal Palace until the following sea-son when it defeated Vanderbilt on theway to a 6-2 record. Despite the successof the 1914 team, the program receivedanother setback as the sport was discon-tinued for financial reasons, again leavingone of the South’s athletic powers with-out a basketball team.

In 1919-20, basketball returned forgood as coach William Alexander, the man

BIRTH OF TECH BASKETBALLBIRTH OF TECH BASKETBALLYellow Jackets’ Early Teams Call Many Places Home

EARLY TECH TEAMS like this 1908-09unit had no on-campus facility in which toplay.


for whom Alexander Memorial Coliseumis named, organized a team for intercolle-giate competition. The Rambling Wreckwas again without an on-campus facilitysuitable for the sport and thus had to makeuse of any available court. During the 1919-20 season, Tech played four times at theCity Auditorium, once at the Atlanta Ath-letic Club on Auburn Avenue, and once atthe YMCA on Luckie Street before play-ing its last 10 games on the road.

Tech continued to be primarily a roadteam for the next four seasons, playing nomore than six games in any one season onits adopted home floor at the City Audito-rium. Joe Bean replaced Alexander as thecoach for the 1920-21 season, but after a4-10 record, Alexander returned to thehelm for the next three campaigns. Dur-ing this time, an on-campus gymnasiumwas discussed with plans drawn for a fa-cility on Third Street between Techwoodand Williams, the current location of Tow-ers and Glenn dormitories. The cost wasconsidered prohibitive, and the AthleticAssociation elected instead to increase theseating capacity of Grant Field so as to re-alize additional revenue for a better gymin the future.

Temporary GymProves Too Temporary

In November of 1924, a “temporary”wooden gymnasium was erected at the

corner of Third Street and TechwoodDrive beside Grant Field (the current lo-cation of the Edge Center), providing a2,500-seat structure with a 90' x 50' play-ing court. After a disappointing 1-6 homerecord in 1924-25 under new head coachHarold Hansen, the Rambling Wreck es-tablished itself on the new floor, winning29 of its next 37 games as Roy Mundorftook over as head coach for the 1926-27

New Deal agency, the Works Progress Ad-ministration, allowed work to begin on theHeisman Gymnasium, which was locatedon Third Street (now Bobby Dodd Way)adjacent to the North Stands of GrantField until it was razed in 1995.

Designed by the Georgia Tech Archi-tectural Department, the building openedfor the 1938-39 season as the first com-pletely reinforced concrete structure onthe campus.

With a capacity of just 1,800, admis-sion was again limited almost exclusivelyto students and faculty, and over thecourse of 18 seasons in the gym, the Yel-low Jackets were a difficult team to beaton their home floor. In an era in whichTech was just 72-151 (.323) away fromhome, the Jackets sported a home recordof 98-61 (.616) at Heisman Gym.

Dwight Keith coached the programfor three seasons from 1943-46, includinga 14-4 record in 1943-44 and an 11-6 markin 1944-45. Roy McArthur took over forthe 1946-47 season and compiled a 57-72mark in five seasons before giving way in1951 to Hyder, who would guide the pro-gram for the next 22 seasons.

The Heisman Gym has a place in his-tory as the site of the first intercollegiatebasketball game to be televised in theSouth as WSB-TV broadcast Tech’s 81-45win over Tennessee-Chattanooga on Dec.11, 1948, just two-and-a-half months af-ter television was introduced to the region.The entire home schedule was broadcastthat season, and fans who were unable toobtain a ticket to see the game live couldgo next door to the Naval Armory and viewthe contest on one of the many televisionsets set up for that purpose. Also for thefirst time, Tech’s entire home slate wasbroadcast by radio.

By Richard Musterer

GEORGIA TECH’S 1923-24 team (left)was coached by William Alexander.THE HEISMAN GYM (center) was thehome of Georgia Tech basketballthrough the 1955-56 season. DWIGHTKEITH coached the above Tech squadto an 11-6 mark in 1944-45.

season. The “Temporary Gym” proved tobe all too appropriately named because inthe summer of 1931, the building was de-stroyed by fire, again leaving the Tech bas-ketball program homeless.

With the nation in the midst of theDepression and money for a new facilitylacking, Tech had no choice but to moveits home games back to the City Audito-rium, where it played the next four sea-sons until the facility was closed for recon-struction.

President Franklin Roosevelt’s NewDeal recovery program provided salvationfor the Tech program as the Civil WorksAdministration’s construction of a newNaval Armory on the former site of theTemporary Gym provided an 1,150-seatfacility that allowed the Yellow Jackets tofinally settle on campus.

Given the limited seating capacity,admission to games at the Naval Armorywas limited to Tech students and faculty,and the Rambling Wreck made the mostof the home court advantage. After losingthe opening game of the 1935-36 season,Tech compiled a three-year mark of 22-2on the Armory floor, winning its last 19games in a row, including perfect slates of6-0 in 1936-37 and 10-0 in 1937-38.

The 1936-37 Tech squad, captainedby future head coach John “Whack”Hyder, posted a 10-0 record in the South-eastern Conference, which was formed in1932-33 with Georgia Tech as a chartermember. The following year, Mundorf’ssquad marched to its first SEC title withan 18-2 overall record and a 12-2 confer-ence mark.

Heisman Gym HostsSouth’s First TV Game

In the meantime, appropriations fromthe Board of Regents as well as another


Tech Heritage

Tech Basketball Timeline Before Entering the ACCFeb. 17, 1906Georgia Tech plays its first intercollegiategame, a 26-6 loss to Auburn.

Mar. 10, 1906Tech wins its first basketball game, a 27-13 de-cision at Georgia.

1908After two seasons of inactivity, John Heismantakes over as Tech basketball coach for threeseasons, though Tech will not play in 1909-10,1910-11 or 1911-12.

1919The Jackets have not played basketball for fiveyears, but William Alexander revives the pro-gram and coaches it for four seasons.

Jan. 9, 1924After playing most of its home games at AtlantaCity Auditorium, Georgia Tech plays its firstgame in its new on-campus home, a 23-22 lossto Atlanta Athletic Club. The gym was locatedin the north end of Grant Field and eventuallybecame known as Heisman Gym before it wastorn down in 1993.

Jan. 31, 1924Tech wins its first game in Heisman Gym, a 30-25 triumph over Georgia.

Feb. 2, 1929Tech wins its 100th game of all-time in a 38-15decision over Vanderbilt.

Jan. 17, 1932Tech, a charter member of the new Southeast-ern Conference, scores its first conference vic-tory over Sewanee, 38-32.

Mar. 7, 1938Tech wins its first Southeastern Conference titlewith a 58-47 victory over Mississippi in BatonRouge, La.

1943Dwight Keith takes over the coaching reins andposts a 35-21 record in three seasons.

1946Roy McArthur becomes the head coach andgoes 57-72 in five seasons.

1951John “Whack” Hyder, a 1937 Tech graduate, be-comes Tech’s head coach and will endure fourvery lean years before posting his first winningrecord (12-11) in the 1955-56 season.

Nov. 30, 1956Tech begins playing its home games inAlexander Memorial Coliseum (see construc-tion photos above), dropping its first game inthe new facility, 71-61, to Duke.

Dec. 4, 1956Tech wins its first game in Alexander Memo-rial Coliseum, 67-64, over Murray State.

Feb. 27, 1960Tech falls to Vanderbilt, 62-57, in the finals ofthe Southeastern Conference tournament, fin-ishing its best-ever regular season with a 21-5record.

Mar. 11, 1960Led by Roger Kaiser, the first all-America bas-ketball player at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jack-ets defeat Ohio University, 57-54, in the NCAAMideast Regional, first NCAA Tournamentgame in Tech history. Tech would lose to OhioState, the eventual national champion, in thesecond round.

March, 1961Roger Kaiser, a guard whose No. 21 would laterbe retired, is a near-consensus all-America, re-ceiving first-team status on all but one team.

Feb. 23, 1963Tech downs Georgia, 66-58 in overtime, to be-come only the second Yellow Jacket team to win20 games in a season. Tech would finish 21-5.

Feb. 18, 1964Tech defeats Tennessee, 47-45, to complete anundefeated 14-0 season at home. The Jacketsfinished as the runner-up in their final South-eastern Conference season.

Dec. 21, 1964Tech wins the 500th game of its history overWilliam & Mary, 91-73.

Mar. 25, 1971Led by all-America Rich Yunkus, Tech reachesthe finals of the National Invitation Tourna-ment with a 76-71 overtime triumph over St.Bonaventure.

Mar. 27, 1971Tech falls to North Carolina in the NIT finals,but Rich Yunkus finishes his career with 2,232points score, a record which still stands. YunkusNo. 40 is retired.

Mar. 10, 1973The last game of head coach Whack Hyder’s 21-year tenure at Georgia Tech. Hyder won 292games.

1975Tech becomes a charter member of the MetroConference.

1979Tech becomes the eighth member of the Atlan-tic Coast Conference.

Feb. 9, 1980Against a Ralph Sampson-led Virginia team,Georgia Tech notches its first Atlantic CoastConference victory, 62-61, at Alexander Memo-rial Coliseum.


Georgia Tech has lost a legend,” said Tech Director of Ath-letics Dave Braine upon Ciraldo’s death on Nov. 7, 1997at the age of 76. “He was a legend in Georgia Tech athlet-

ics, just like Bobby Dodd.”Ciraldo retired from Tech’s broadcast team in 1997, com-

pleting an on-air career that began in 1935 as play-by-play voicefor the minor-league baseball Akron Yankees and spanned 62years, the last 43 of them with Georgia Tech.

Ciraldo stepped down from play-by-play announcing priorto the 1992-93 season but served as host for Tech’s pregame, half-time and postgame shows.

A 1948 graduate of the University of Florida with a degree inradio broadcasting, Ciraldo actually came to Atlanta in 1949 asthe play-by-play announcer for the University of Georgia’s bas-ketball broadcasts at WGBE-Radio.

He joined the staff at WGST-Radio and broadcast his firstTech football game in 1954 against Tulane. His first Tech basket-ball game was against Sewanee that same year. Over the next 38seasons, he called 416 football and 1,030 basketball games forthe Rambling Wreck.

In 1984, Ciraldo moved with Tech from WGST to WCNN.“Everyone knows how much Al Ciraldo’s meant to Georgia

Tech,” said head basketball coach Bobby Cremins. “But he’s meantso much to Bobby Cremins as well. As far as I’m concerned, he’s alegend and a part of Georgia Tech that can never be replaced. TheAl Ciraldos of his time only come around once in a lifetime.”

Dr. Homer Rice, who retired in 1997 after 17 years as Tech’sDirector of Athletics, said of Ciraldo, “His deep-seated love forGeorgia Tech was matched only by the affection of Georgia Techand its fans, friends and alumni towards him.”

Kim King, Ciraldo’s longest radio partner as the two teamedon Tech football for 17 years, said “It will be hard to imagine Geor-gia Tech without Al Ciraldo in the radio booth. But I admiredhim more than as just a radio announcer. He was a unique indi-vidual who stood for old-fashioned values and virtues you don’tsee a lot of these days.”

Thad Horton was his first partner in 1954, and during the1960s, Pat Williams, future general manager of the OrlandoMagic, worked with Ciraldo for two seasons.

AL CIRALDO, with his wife Ruth,daughter Barbara and Director ofAthletics Dave Braine, was presentedthe “T” from the Tech Tower on Sept.27, 1997.

The Al Ciraldo Fund was established tobenefit athletic and non-athleticscholarships at Georgia Tech, as well asthe Carlyle Fraser Heart Center atCrawford Long Hospital.

AL CIRALDOAL CIRALDOFor 43 seasons, legendary radiovoice Al Ciraldo made expressionslike “Brothers and Sisters” and"the clock ticks" as much a part ofGeorgia Tech basketball as Buzzand Bobby Cremins.

The Voice ofthe JacketsThe Voice ofthe Jackets


Tech Heritage

Bobby Cremins ^• Assistant Coach for the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team–Dream Team III–which

captured the gold medal at the Centennial Games in Atlanta. Chosen by headcoach Lenny Wilkens along with Clem Haskins of Minnesota and Jerry Sloanof the Utah Jazz

• Assisted Arizona’s Lute Olsen in coaching the U.S. team to a gold medal at the1986 World Championships and Goodwill Games in Madrid, Spain

• In 1989, coached a U.S. squad to qualification for the 1990 WorldChampionships

Pete Silas• Played for gold medal-winning U.S. squad in the 1955 Pan Am Games in Mexico

City, Mexico

Mark Price ^• Helped U.S. win a gold medal at

1983 Pan Am Games in Caracas,Venezuela

• Also played on gold medal-winningteam at the 1984 WorldChampionships

• Invited to 1984 Olympic Trials• As a pro, played for Dream Team II,

which won a gold medal at the 1994World Championships in Toronto

Tom Hammonds• Played for gold medal-winning U.S.

squad in the 1986 World BasketballChampionships in Madrid, Spain

• Attended 1988 Olympic Trials

Kenny Anderson• Played on bronze medal team at the

1990 World Championships

Dion Glover >• Helped U.S. win the gold medal

at the 1998 Goodwill Games inNew York, N.Y.

GOING FOR THE GOLDGOING FOR THE GOLDGOING FOR THE GOLD

stephon marbury (left), travis best (center) and kenny...

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