In conjunction with the school's 50th anniversary, Amaker, who played at Woodson from 1979-83 and was a McDonald's High School All-American, was honored in the ceremony held at the Fairview Park Marriott. Amaker, who holds a 268-195 career head coaching record, including a 92-56 mark at the helm at Harvard, is entering his sixth season as the head coach of the Crimson.

 

Amaker, who went on to play collegiately at Duke from 1983-87, was a four-year starting point guard, helping the Blue Devils reach the NCAA tournament four times. As a junior, he led Duke to a 37-3 overall record and an appearance in the 1986 NCAA championship game and was an All-American in 1987 while serving as team captain. A member of the Duke Athletic Hall of Fame, Amaker was the 1987 recipient of the Henry Iba Corinthian Award as the nation's top defensive player.

 

Amaker began his coaching career at Duke, serving as an assistant on two NCAA championship teams (1991, 1992) and helped the Blue Devils to three other Final Fours.

 

After nine years as a graduate assistant, assistant coach and associate head coach at Duke, Amaker was named head coach at Seton Hall in 1997, becoming the youngest head basketball coach in Big East history. He led the Pirates to the Sweet Sixteen in 2000, as well as three trips to the NIT (1998, 1999 and 2001).

 

Following his tenure at Seton Hall, Amaker was tabbed as the head coach at Michigan in 2001. He steered the Wolverines to the postseason three times, winning the 2004 NIT title and reaching the championship game in 2006.

 

After taking over the Harvard program in 2007, Amaker has led the Crimson to several achievements in his first five seasons. Amaker coached Jeremy Lin '10 for three seasons, who is now a member of the Houston Rockets. Lin was a three-time All-Ivy League selection and became the first Asian-American player to play in the NBA since 2000, as well as the first Ivy League player to compete in the league since 2003.

 

In 2012, Harvard won its second straight Ivy League title and finished 26-5 overall and 12-2 in conference play. Harvard's 26 wins marked the most in program history for a single season, and the Crimson earned the program's first NCAA tournament berth since 1946.

 

During the 2011-12 season, Harvard defeated Utah, Florida State and Central Florida to win the prestigious Battle 4 Atlantis tournament and was ranked as high as No. 21 in the national polls, another first for the program. Following the season, Amaker was named the UBWA and NABC District Coach of the Year, as well as the College Insider Ivy League Coach of the Year. Amaker was also tabbed a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award and the Hugh Durham Award for coaching and was selected as a candidate for the Associated Press National Coach of the Year.

 

In 2010-11, Amaker guided Harvard to a team record with 14 home victories, going 14-0 at home, and enjoyed a 28-game home win streak from Feb. 20, 2010-Feb. 24, 2012. Harvard won a share of the program's first Ivy League title and earned a berth in the NIT, finishing the year 23-6 overall.