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Record at Tech: 142-112 (.559), eight seasons
ACC Coach of the Year: 2001
Named Georgia Tech's 12th head basketball coach on Apr. 6, 2000, Paul Hewitt was given the task of restoring its basketball program to the level it achieved in the 1980's and early 90's with 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and three Atlantic Coast Conference championships. After five post-season bids, a chance at an NCAA Championship and an average of 18 wins in eight seasons, prevailing time and time again against the nation's top teams in the nation's top conference, Hewitt has done just that.
The results are indisputable. In eight seasons under Hewitt, Tech has been to the NCAA Tournament four times, advanced to the NIT quarterfinals, played for an ACC championship and won the Preseason NIT. He has restored a national profile to Tech basketball with traditional values, instilling in his program the importance of strong defense, teamwork and sharing the basketball, individual skill development and mental preparation.
"In the NBA, it used to be, growing up, the Knicks (his favorite team) vs. the Bullets, the Bucks vs. the Celtics," he said. "Now, it's Shaq vs. Yao Ming. That's not basketball, that's tennis. The guys who saved the NBA, Bird and Magic, they did it with the pass, they didn't do it with the shot. Everybody thinks the game is about the shot now. The guys who kept the league alive and really put college basketball in there, they did it with the pass."
Testimony from his players demonstrates that those values work, even in today's game.
"Coach has always preached about being ready to play," said Marvin Lewis, a senior starter on the Yellow Jackets' national runner-up team. "It doesn't really matter whether you're starting or coming off the bench. You'll get a chance to contribute. One of the great things about this team is that everyone understands and accepts their role."
Recognized as one of the rising stars of the coaching profession early on, Hewitt has a record of 142-112 at Tech, and his overall record as a head coach is 208-139, with a total of seven post-season appearances in 11 years. Given a new six-year contract in the spring of 2004, Hewitt expanded his experience in the summer of 2006 by serving as an assistant coach for USA Basketball's Under-18 team for the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. He also is ranked No. 26 in Hoop Scoop's list of the nation's top 50 college coaches.
Born in Jamaica and reared on New York's Long Island, Hewitt and his coaching staff have consistently built the overall level of talent to be on par with the best teams in the nation. His four NCAA teams at Georgia Tech had a common thread, experienced upperclassmen who played key roles, whether as starters or reserves, and talented young players.
He has received his highest accolades for guiding the Yellow Jackets to the NCAA in his very first season in 2001, and for taking them within one win of a national championship three years later in 2004. That season, Hewitt went to work with a team that had lost its two best rebounders, including Chris Bosh, who left Tech after one season to play in the NBA. Despite preseason predictions that had Tech finishing no better than seventh in the ACC, the Yellow Jackets started 12-0 and finished 28-10, tying a school record for victories in a season.
Along the way, Tech won the Preseason NIT, and in the process defeated a team ranked No. 1 in the country (Connecticut) for the first time in 11 years. Tech achieved its highest ACC regular season finish in eight years (a tie for third at 9-7). The Yellow Jackets, who posted a 9-6 record against Top 25 teams, defeated Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium to end a 41-game homecourt winning streak for the Blue Devils, and won at Wake Forest to snap a 24-game streak at home for the Demon Deacons.
Tech's success led to Hewitt receiving the Fritz Pollard Coach of the Year award by the Black College Coaches Association. He also was listed at No. 71 among the nation's 101 top minorities in sports by Sports Illustrated magazine. Only 15 figures in college athletics, and only four men's basketball coaches, made that list.
Though Tech dealt with a number of injuries to key players the following season, Hewitt again guided the Yellow Jackets to a strong finish, tying for fourth in the rugged ACC and advancing to the championship game of the ACC Tournament, a first for the Jackets under Hewitt. Tech earned its third NCAA bid under its current coach, and fourth post-season bid overall, and won its first-round game before being eliminated by Louisville. He guided Jackets back to the Big Dance this past year despite losing the team's top scorer in December.
In his very first season on the Flats, Hewitt demonstrated his abilities. Disproving the prevailing pre-season opinions that had Tech finishing no better than eighth in the ACC and gave the Jackets little chance for a winning record, Hewitt guided a veteran squad with five seniors to an 8-8 record and a fifth-place finish in the nation's toughest conference. Tech's 17-13 record marked its first winning season since 1998, and the Jackets won their first ACC Tournament game and earned their first trip to the Big Dance since 1996.
Hewitt was recognized as the ACC Coach of the Year, only the second time in league history that a first-year coach had won the award. He was also named District 5 Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and was a finalist for the Naismith College Coach of the Year Award.
Emphasis on Player Development, Fundamentals
Tech's on-court accomplishments have been possible because Hewitt demands a high level of physical conditioning and intensity, and his players deliver. He teaches a style of basketball that is fast-paced, but is grounded in sound fundamentals.
His commitment to individual player development and instruction have paid dividends not only for the Yellow Jackets as a team, but for all the Tech players as individuals. His philosophy of up-tempo offense combined with a pressure defensive attack in both the full-court and half-court, has helped bring back the excitement to Tech basketball.
"We put a strong emphasis on teaching guys how to play the game," said Hewitt. "When you play a high-scoring, fast-paced style, situations come up that your players need to know how to react to. You can't stop and call every play and diagram every cut. If you play the style that we play, you've got to teach people how to play the game.
"The system we play is important, but I believe what is most important to achieving success is emphasis on individual player instruction and physical development."
Five of his players earn first- or second-team all-ACC honors, including Jarrett Jack (second team in 2005), B.J. Elder, second team in 2004), Bosh (second team in 2003), Tony Akins (second-team in 2002) and Alvin Jones (first team in 2001). Two Tech players have been named ACC Rookie of the Year, including Bosh in 2003 and Ed Nelson in 2002.
The recruiting efforts of Hewitt and his staff also have resulted in strong contributions from Tech's players early in their careers as well. Two Tech players have been named ACC Rookie of the Year, including Chris Bosh in 2003 and Ed Nelson in 2002, the ninth and 10th Tech players so honored. Six players have all been named to the league's all-freshman team under Hewitt.
Several Tech players under Hewitt have gone on to play basketball professionally, including first-round draft picks Chris Bosh, an NBA lottery choice in 2003 who has become a star player for the Toronto Raptors; Jack, a first-round pick in 2005 now a starting point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers; Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia) and Javaris Crittenton, first-round choices in 2007; and Alvin Jones, a second-round choice in 2001 who spent time with the Philadelphia 76ers. Will Bynum and Luke Schenscher, seniors in 2005, have both spent time in NBA rosters, while others like Akins, B.J. Elder, Shaun Fein, Anthony McHenry, Isma'il Muhammad and Theodis Tarver have played pro basketball abroad.
"Right from the day I got the job, we were able to take advantage of what Bobby Cremins did here to make this program a national name," said Hewitt. "I can go back to my first press conference where I talked about why I like this place and the reasons why I came here, and all those reasons have held up. When I go out recruiting, talking to parents or to a young man, I can say `great school, great city, great conference.'"
Hewitt's abilities as a coach and leader have also been borne out in the qualities and expertise of his staff. Two of his assistant coaches became head coaches -- Dean Keener at James Madison and Cliff Warren at Jacksonville -- while two others became Division I assistants (Jon Babul at James Madison, Darryl LaBarrie at East Carolina).
Community and National Involvement
Off the court, Hewitt has involved himself in the Atlanta community. He conducts an annual golf outing and auction to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Atlanta. He also serves on the board of directors for Hearts Everywhere Reaching Out for Children (H.E.R.O.), which organizes activities and benefits HIV-infected children, and Camp Twin Lakes, which works with children with serious illnesses and special needs.
This spring, he became part of a coalition of representatives of all levels of basketball -- NCAA, NBA, AAU, WNBA, USA Basketball, among others -- that began an initiative to improve the quality of youth basketball in America. He is the only NCAA Division I coach on this panel. In May of 2007, he was named to the 27-member panel of the NCAA's Acadamic Enhancement Group, which is charged with developing strategies to improve academic performance and graduation rates in Division I men's basketball.
In the summer of 2006, Hewitt served as an assistant coach for the USA Under-18 national team which won a gold medal at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
In 2004, he conducted the Paul Hewitt Teamwork Summit, bringing together prominent figures in sports and Atlanta business circles to teach and promote leadership techniques. He serves on the board of directors for the Black Coaches Association, and frequently participates in public forums on issues facing college basketball and the student-athletes that participate in the sport.
Tech's players are solid citizens and students off the court as well because Hewitt demands it. No fewer than eight players on the Final Four team made the Dean's List at one time or another in their careers. Of the 22 seniors Hewitt has coached, all but four have graduated or are on track to do so soon after their professional basketball careers come to a close. All four seniors on the Final Four team received their degrees by the end of the 2004 calendar year, and three of five seniors on the 2004-05 squad have received theirs (two are still playing professionally overseas).
Siena Success Raised Profile
Tech's success under Hewitt should have come as no surprise. Prior to his arrival in Atlanta, he posted a 66-27 mark as the head coach at Siena. At the Loudonville, N.Y., school, Hewitt revived a program that had been dormant since the mid-90's and molded it into one of the best in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and among the best in the Northeast.
In three seasons at Siena, Hewitt developed one of the nation's highest scoring teams. Siena ranked third nationally in scoring each of his last two seasons there, and in three seasons the team averaged 85.6 points per game while shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range and 77.8 percent from the foul line.
Following a three-year stretch in which Siena won just 22 games, Hewitt guided a young Saints team to a 17-12 overall record in his first season, including a 10-8 mark in the MAAC and the school's first-ever berth in the MAAC Tournament title game. In his second year, Siena went 25-6 and earned the school's first-ever MAAC Tournament Championship and its the first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1989.
Hewitt guided the Saints to their first-ever outright conference regular-season title in 2000. Siena finished the season with a 24-9 overall mark and a MAAC-best 15-3 slate. He directed the Saints to their third consecutive MAAC Championship game appearance, and second-consecutive postseason berth with a bid to the NIT.
From Journalism to Coaching
Hewitt came to Siena from the venerable Big East program at Villanova, where he spent five seasons (1992-97) as an assistant to head coach Steve Lappas. During his final season in Philadelphia, Hewitt was promoted to associate head coach. While there, Hewitt helped lead the Wildcats to four straight 20-win seasons in five years, three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, and an NIT Championship in 1994. In 1997, Villanova was the No. 4 seed in the East Region, finishing the season with a 24-10 record.
In his time at Villanova, he helped the Wildcats land four top-20 recruiting classes from 1993 to 1997. Included in those classes were Tim Thomas, the nation's top-ranked high school senior in 1996, as well as Alvin Williams and Malik Allen, all of whom are active in the NBA.
Prior to his stint at Villanova, Hewitt served as an assistant coach at Fordham University for two years (1990-92), when the Rams posted a 45-18 mark. During those two seasons, the Bronx school won two-straight Patriot League regular-season championships and made the NCAA Tournament in 1992.
He moved to Fordham after spending a year under George Raveling at Southern California, where he served as a graduate assistant. Hewitt's first collegiate job came as an assistant coach at C.W. Post on Long Island during the 1988-89 school year. He helped guide the Pioneers to the ECAC New York State Division Championship that season.
Hewitt spent three years as the junior varsity head coach at his alma mater, Westbury High School on Long Island (1985-88), following his graduation from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y.
Born on May 4, 1963, in Kingston, Jamaica, Hewitt and his family moved to Queens, N.Y., when he was eight years old. He attended Westbury High School, and earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics from St. John Fisher in 1985. Hewitt was a four-year letterwinner and served as the Cardinals' captain as a senior. He also worked toward a post-graduate degree in counseling and high school guidance at Long Island University and C.W. Post during the early stages of his coaching career.
Hewitt and his wife, Dawnette, have three daughters, Olivia, Danielle and Kayla.
Hewitt As An Assistant Coach
1996-97 Villanova 24-10 NCAA 2nd round
1995-96 Villanova 26-7 NCAA 2nd round
1994-95 Villanova 25-8 Big East tournament champions, NCAA
1993-94 Villanova 20-12 NIT champions
1992-93 Villanova 8-19
1991-92 Fordham 20-10 Patriot League regular-season champions, NCAA
1990-91 Fordham 25-8 Patriot League regular-season champions, NIT
1989-90 Southern Cal 10-22 Graduate Assistant
1988-89 C.W. Post 19-11 ECAC New York state division champions
The Hewitt File
Full Name: Paul Harrington Hewitt
Born: May 4, 1963 in Jamaica
Education:
B.A. in Journalism and Economics (1985)
St. John Fisher College (Rochester, N.Y.)
Playing Career:
Four-year letterwinner at St. John Fisher (1982-85)
Family:
Wife, Dawnette, and daughters Olivia, Danielle and Kayla
Joined Tech Staff: April 6, 2000
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  2008-09 Men's Basketball Media Guide |
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