Tommy Amaker speaks at his introductory press conference | photo by Jonathan Tannenwald

Press conference audio
Comments: Tommy Amaker | Bob Scalise | Drew Housman | Tim Murphy

Quotes from other Ivy League coaches:

Terry Dunn
On having met Amaker before:
“He’s a class act, he’s a gentleman first and a professional, and he carries himself well. He represents well any institution he’s a part of.”

On having five African-American head men’s basketball coaches in the Ivy League:
“I think it speaks volumes as to the Ivy League’s commitment to diversity. And not only diversity, but that you’re hiring good people as well.”

James Jones
Initial reaction to news of the hire:
“I know Tommy a little bit and he’s a great person and a tremendous coach. It’s great for the league to have someone with his experience coming in to be a part of it.”

Advice he would give Amaker coming into the Ivy League:
“The one thing I think that’s important would be to make sure he has someone who understands the Ivy League on the staff. That’s of the utmost importance, that you have someone on the staff who understands what Harvard and the Ivy League are all about, because it’s a whole different ball of wax from where he’s been.”

On whether the hire will bring the league more attention:
“I don’t have a really good pulse on that. I think that certainly when they go back and play Michigan, that might be something they highlight on SportsCenter, so I think there will be some more publicity that the league gets. But inevitably, depending on how that Harvard team does, [that] will be the real factor there — if they’re able to be successful and win a championship. Even if Tommy wasn’t there, there would be a lot of publicity given to it.”

Craig Robinson
Advice to Amaker on coming to the Ivy from the Big Ten:
“Mine would be all the obvious things. It’s not having scholarships, that’s a huge difference. But he grew up at Duke, so he knows what it is to coach and be a player who’s interested as much in his school work as much as he is in basketball. So I think the real tough thing is dealing with not having any scholarships. That’s a big deal these days.”

On prior experiences with Amaker:
“Of all the head coaches, he always made time to chat with me and not only at the games, but in the summers when you’d see him around recruiting. I think he’s going to be a great ambassador for the league.”