We know Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets basketball great Mark Price has interest in coming aboard the team's new coaching staff, though it was reported he was hoping for the head job. We know new coach Brian Gregory has talked up his desire to incorporate former players however he can in his new program as he did at Dayton, adding, "When they put on that uniform, they aren't just playing for themselves or this great institution, they are playing for those great players that played before here."
So would anybody be surprised if Price and/or Craig Neal became a member of Gregory's first Georgia Tech coaching staff?
Kind of seems like wishful nostalgia to me, but you never know. It might work. Neither has been a head Division I coach, but both have plenty of assistant experience, playing experience, and, in Price's case, experience being a head coach at other levels.
Price is one of the best shooters ever and has worked several jobs as a NBA shooting consultant, so there's an immediate attraction for a team that finished No. 302 in field goal percentage and No. 180 in free throws. Establishing a tie with the program's one-time standing as the premier destination for point guard talent could indeed be excellent for recruiting.
As everyone keeps saying, Georgia Tech plays in the nation's best basketball conference and in one of the nation's best basketball cities. There is no reason it shouldn't consistently do very well in recruiting. Bringing on as many smart people with Atlanta connections as possible sounds like one decent way help make that happen.
Of course, bringing on Price could also set up a situation in which the fanbase turns on Gregory and calls for Price to take over. However, considering the reported timeline of events, bringing on Price could've been part of the deal that got Gregory the gig in the first place.
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