Georgia Tech Basketball: 8 candidates to replace Josh Pastner as head coach

Ron Hunter

This is another one of the best options that you’ll hear for Georgia Tech and Hunter is one of the few coaches on here with decades of head coaching experience already under his belt. It’s not just about the experience, it’s that the Yellow Jackets would be getting a new coach who’s turned around multiple programs and shown he can recruit and win in Atlanta.

A former player at Miami-Ohio, Hunter’s coaching career really got going during a 17-year stint as head coach at IUPUI, leading the Jaguars during a stretch in which they joined D1 and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance. In 2011, he was hired by Georgia State and did phenomenal work for the Panthers, taking them to three NCAA Tournaments, including a first-round upset win where son RJ hit the game-winning shot. Hunter has been entrenched at Tulane for the last four years and is slowly turning the tide there as well, though a return to Atlanta and the ACC would certainly intrigue him.

Hiring Hunter would bring energy and he’s already shown that he can take care of business in the state of Georgia. There might be growing pains as he adjusts to coaching at the power conference level, having spent much of his career in much lower leagues, but Hunter has shown he’s ready for that next step after decent work at Tulane. He’ll be high on the list for the Yellow Jackets.