The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gregory lands at South Florida
Former Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory has a tall order as he joins South Florida as coach. The Bulls went 1-17 in the American Athletic Conference this past season (8-25 overall) and are under NCAA investigation for possible academic fraud. The school announced Gregory’s hire Tuesday afternoon.
Former Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory accepted the head coaching job at South Florida on Tuesday.
Gregory takes on a daunting task to restore a team that went 1-17 in the American Athletic Conference this season (7-23 overall) and is under NCAA investigation for possible academic fraud.
Since his dismissal at Tech last April, Gregory has remained in Atlanta but was working on a consultant basis with Michigan State, where he was a longtime assistant to coach Tom Izzo.
In five seasons at Tech, Gregory was 76-86 overall and 27-61 in the ACC.
His best season was his last, when the Yellow Jackets were 21-15 overall, 8-10 in the ACC and reached the NIT quarterfinals.
Gregory replaces Orlando Antigua, who was fired in January.
The NCAA’s investigation dates to last summer.
Antigua was 16-47 in 2½ seasons.
Antigua was an assistant with Tech coach Josh Pastner for one season at Memphis before leaving for Kentucky with John Calipari, whose departure led to Pastner’s hire as head coach in 2010.
Further, Antigua replaced Stan Heath at USF.
Heath’s firing led to his son, Josh, transferring to play for Gregory, who is close friends with Heath. The pair coached together at Michigan State.
The challenge Gregory takes on is considerable. The team’s leading scorer, Geno Thorpe, is leaving the team with a year of eligibility remaining and a prominent backup has also sought his release to transfer.
The Tampa Bay Times reported more transfers are expected.
“Brian brings vast head coaching experience to USF, a passion for coaching and mentoring student-athletes and a track record of leading successful programs,” South Florida Athletic Director Mark Harlan said in a statement.
“He has been a part of championship winning programs as a player, assistant coach and head coach and has built a very strong reputation as a tireless recruiter, skilled tactician and a coach who cares deeply about his players and graduating them.
“Brian will lead USF men’s basketball to a very exciting future.”