Billy Schmidt, who served as Brian Gregory’s top assistant coach at Dayton for eight seasons, joined Gregory’s staff at Georgia Tech as an assistant coach on May 5, 2011.
“I’m excited to have Billy on our staff here at Georgia Tech,[” said Gregory. “His wealth of experience and success in this profession has a great impact on our current players and as we move forward as a program. His passion for teaching, coaching and recruiting is driven by a work ethic that is second to none. Having Billy, who I worked with for two years and who worked for me the last eight, is a great benefit to us in the process of building a first-class program.[quote]
Schmidt, 44, who has worked with Gregory a total of 11 years, had been named associate head coach of the Dayton program just prior to the 2009-10 campaign. Earlier in the fall, Schmidt was voted the Atlantic 10[apos]s top assistant coach in a poll of league coaches. He helped the Flyers win 172 games and participated in two NCAA Tournaments and three NITs under Gregory.
Adding Schmidt to the Flyer coaching staff was Gregory[apos]s first move after being named Dayton[apos]s coach in 2003. Schmidt was involved with all aspects of the Flyer men[apos]s basketball program, assisting with scouting, recruiting and player development.
In three seasons at Tech, he has helped turning the Yellow Jackets program steadily back into a winning one, developing Tech[apos]s big men into top-notch ACC players, including center Daniel Miller into an All-ACC performer, and helping bring in three excellent recruiting classes.
[quote]It[apos]s an excellent opportunity to be a part of a world-class institution that has a proud men[apos]s basketball tradition,[quote] said Schmidt. [quote]Georgia Tech has a reputation of having the best and brightest student-athletes who compete at the highest level. I[apos]m also excited to be in Atlanta, which is one of America[apos]s great cities, a vibrant community, and a great place to live and come to work.[quote]
Schmidt moved to Dayton after nine seasons coaching in the SEC, The Big East, and the Big Ten. Schmidt had been on Tommy Amaker[apos]s staff for three years from 2000 to 2003, beginning with Amaker at Seton Hall in 2000 before moving to Michigan with him.
Prior to Seton Hall, Schmidt was an assistant coach for three years (1997-2000) at Northwestern under former Toronto Raptors head coach Kevin O[apos]Neill. During his first two years at Northwestern, Schmidt began his working relationship and friendship with Gregory. Schmidt also worked with O[apos]Neill from 1994 to 1997 at the University of Tennessee. He joined the Volunteer staff as an administrative assistant in 1994 and was promoted to an assistant coach in 1996.
Rivals.com also recognized the traits that Gregory sees in Schmidt in 2008. The college-athletic-oriented website named Schmidt one of the Top 25 recruiters in the country. Schmidt was joined on the list by coaches from the ACC, the Big 12, the Big East, the Pac-10, and the SEC.
In the spring of 2009, Schmidt was named a recipient of the [quote]Rising Star[quote] Award, which is part of BasketballScoop Coach Of the Year. The program honors basketball assistant coaches who are regarded as the best in the business by their peers.
The native of Stamford, Conn., began his coaching career in the high school ranks, serving as an assistant coach to Steve Smith at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, for two years (1992-94). During his tenure, Oak Hill won back-to-back national championships.
Schmidt graduated with honors from Wake Forest in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education. While at Wake Forest, Schmidt was a manager and coaches[apos] aide for the Demon Deacons program for four years (1988-92). He has a Master[apos]s Degree in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee.
