Tommy Amaker

Harold Tommy Amaker Jr. (born June 6, 1965) is an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the Harvard University men's basketball team.

He has also coached for the University of Michigan and Seton Hall University.

He played point guard and later served as an assistant coach at Duke University under Mike Krzyzewski.

An All-American player, Amaker set numerous records and earned many honors and awards.

He took Seton Hall to the post season in each of his four seasons as their coach, helped Michigan win the National Invitation Tournament the year after a probationary ban from postseason play, and had the three highest single-season win totals in the history of Harvard basketball, the school's first six Ivy League championships and first NCAA tournament victory.

Amaker was born in Falls Church, Virginia, in 1965.

Amaker resided in Falls Church, but he attended W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, because his mother, Alma Amaker, was a high school English teacher in Fairfax County.

Her job allowed her to choose among the county schools, her choice made because the school's basketball coach, Red Jenkins, who called Amaker "T-bird", had been impressed with his performances at his youth summer league since Amaker was 10 years old.

He began playing varsity for Woodson by December, making him the first freshman to play varsity in the school's history.

His mother, whom Jenkins called "his first coach and his best coach," attended his practices and graded papers in the coach's office.

Amaker was a high school basketball star at Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School from 1979 to 1983 under Coach Paul (Red) Jenkins.

Amaker led the Woodson Cavaliers to four straight Northern District titles, including victories over the national powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School.

Duke University basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had just completed his first season as Duke coach, was in town to evaluate Johnny Dawkins in a 1981 Washington D.C. summer league game, but was convinced to stay for a second game to see Amaker play.

Krzyzewski met Amaker's mother and said, "Mrs. Amaker, your son is going to look great in Duke blue."

At the time, Amaker had wanted to play for the Maryland Terrapins because his sister Tami went to the University of Maryland, College Park and Amaker idolized Maryland star guard John Lucas.

A McDonald's All-American, Amaker also earned the Wooden Defensive Player of the Year award in 1983, awarded to the nation's best high school defensive player.

He averaged almost 18 points, and contributed 7.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game while at Woodson.

Amaker played on the 1983 McDonald's All-American Team and was also named to the Parade All-American team.

According to the Fairfax Connection, the county changed the rules regarding where teachers could send their children due to Amaker's success at Woodson.

Amaker was a star point guard at Duke after becoming a freshman starter for head coach Krzyzewski.

He led the team in assists three years and in steals four seasons.

While at Duke his roommate for away games was Mike Brey.

In December 1992, the Connection named Amaker to the Connection Dream Team, as a point guard.McDonald's All-American and a Parade All-American.

As a college basketball player, he set most of the assists records and many steals records for Duke basketball.

He also set the Atlantic Coast Conference single-season games played and games started records.

Among his numerous accolades, he was the first winner of the NABC Defensive Player of the Year, and he was a third team All-American.

Amaker was an assistant coach for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball under Krzyzewski for nine seasons.

His first four seasons were part of a five-year streak of Final Four appearances by Duke (including back-to-back national championships).

As a head coach, Amaker took the Seton Hall Pirates to postseason tournaments (NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – 2000 and National Invitation Tournament – 1998, 1999, and 2001) in each of his four seasons as their coach.

He was recruited eventually to Duke by assistant coach Chuck Swenson, who would later become an assistant coach during Amaker's first five seasons at Michigan from 2001 to 2006.

He dealt with the turmoil and self-imposed sanctions of the University of Michigan basketball scandal in his first years with Michigan, where he eventually won the 2004 National Invitation Tournament with the 2003–04 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team and finished as the runner-up with Michigan in the 2006 National Invitation Tournament.

In his tenure as Harvard men's basketball coach, he was the first coach to lead the Crimson to victory over a ranked opponent with the.

He also coached the 2009–10 Harvard Crimson men's basketball team into the postseason (2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament) in his third year there, which included the highest single-season victory total (21) in school history.

In the summer of 2010, the NCAA ruled that Amaker had committed a recruiting violation, resulting in NCAA-mandated recruiting restrictions, the university's first NCAA penalty of the men's basketball program.

The 2010–11 team became the first Harvard men's basketball team to clinch a share of the Ivy League championship and surpassed the prior season win total (23).

The 2011–12 team became the first in school history to appear in the Associated Press (AP) and Coaches Polls and, for the third year in a row, established a new school record for wins (26).

Amaker's 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014–15 teams repeated as Ivy League champions.

The 2012–13 team gave Harvard its first NCAA tournament victory.

The 2013–14 team posted a record 27 wins.

Amaker became the winningest coach in school history in 2016.