Sources - Georgia Tech finalizing Damon Stoudamire hire

Georgia Tech is finalizing a deal to hire Boston Celtics assistant coach Damon Stoudamire as the school's next head coach, sources told ESPN. Stoudamire has emerged as Tech's top target and the school's board is expected to approve Stoudamire's hire today.

Stoudamire brings a blend of college and NBA coaching experience along with a strong playing pedigree, the mix of which Tech officials are hopeful can resuscitate the relevance of a program that's faded in Atlanta in recent years.

Stoudamire proved a solid head coach at Pacific, which included a 23-10 season in 2019-20 that yielded him the West Coast Conference coach of the year. He went 32-19 his final two years and 71-77 overall at Pacific, leaving the job to join Ime Udoka on the Celtics staff prior to last season.

Stoudamire has also worked in college at Rice, Memphis (twice) and Arizona as an assistant coach, giving him more than a decade overall of college coaching experience.

Stoudamire replaces Josh Pastner, who went to just one NCAA tournament in his seven seasons at Georgia Tech. Pastner went 109-114, with the lone NCAA appearance coming after winning the ACC tournament in 2021.

Georgia Tech hasn't reached the NCAA tournament in consecutive seasons since 2004 and 2005, a sign of the lack of sustained success. Stoudamire's challenge will be to re-energize Atlanta and the area's rich recruiting scene to make Georgia Tech a destination again.

Stoudamire emerged as a valued member of the Celtics staff in the wake of Udoka's departure prior to this season. He's been a key assistant for first-year coach Joe Mazzulla, as the Celtics have played to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference (47-21) and the team's staff earned the right to work at the NBA