Georgia Tech Head Coach and 13-Year NBA Star Damon Stoudamire

24:26Jim Eisen:Let me ask you this, though. Here's the thing. The difference is we had vets in the locker room, okay? And even though sometimes we still made our own decisions, at least we were getting sound advice. And I'm not saying these young men that's playing now are not getting sound advice, but you're getting it a little bit different. You're getting it from probably someone that's your age, someone you played with or played against in high school, maybe one year in college, but not having the vetty vets, the ones that's been there that understand a lot. I'm not saying every team is like this, but the majority of teams don't have that deep veteran pool that these young superstars can dig into.

25:03Jim Eisen:How much is that a factor, too, with the short-sightedness sometimes of a young player? Now, let me caveat that. With the way the contracts are now and they negotiate it, it forces guys, if they want their money, to have to stay where they're at. But still, that don't mean the thought process may not be there. You know, I do think it has an effect. And I'm glad you brought that up because I talk about it a lot, even within my staff and people asked me how I got into coaching. Coaching, I didn't know that I wanted to coach. Coaching kind of picked me and this is how it happened. My 10th year I was in Memphis and I tore my knee up.

25:45And man, I'll be honest with you, even as I laid on that floor at that time, my thoughts went elsewhere because I, laying on the floor I was like, man, I gave the game all I could. I don't know if I got anything left. And when I came back as I was rehabbing, I was 32 years old. Yeah, I had just signed a four-year deal, but I was like, man, I wasn't into it the way I was before then. And rehab, it was tedious. It hurt. And I was more so trying to come back to prove that I can come back from a patella tendon than I was to try to be the best Damon Stoudemire on the floor I could be. Because if that was the case, I would have actually took a couple years off to try to come back.

26:25But I came back in nine months and I played that first game. But what I realized, man, is that I wasn't the same player. Mentally. Yes, mentally. And so I had to make it. Jimmy, I had to make a choice right then and there. Because to be honest with you, I was like, man, it's over. But I still got these years on my deal. So then what ended up happening is we drafted Kyle Lowry. And then we drafted Mike, actually, Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay in the same draft. Then we traded Shane Battier. All right. Then we got Mike Conley that next year. And so essentially they brought in my replacements. And so basically what I did was what John Sally did for me, what Alvin Robinson did for me.

27:12I pulled those two guys in and I was just like, man, compete in between these lines, but don't let the business of basketball mess with your relationship. Because what's going to end up happening is eventually, this organization is going to have to choose one of you guys to stay and they're going to have to move the other guy on. Not because the other guy not good enough, because the other guy can play and he just don't fit in the plans and it's not enough for both of y 'all. And so I was so protective of that because, man, I know how the NBA could get and I didn't want that to happen. And so what I would do, Jimmy, and not even know, when I look back on my process, I'm like, man, you know, this This is how it kind of got started.

27:52Man, I used to go to the coaches and the coaches meet. You know, the coaches meet in the morning. You know, we come to shoot down and I go knock on the door, give them that knock. And I'd be like, hey, man, I ain't got it tonight. My knee is killing me. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. So then what ends up happening is I go to San Antonio for half a year. I finished my career. And then they bring me back to Memphis as a player development coach with who? Mike Conley. Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, all these guys I just got through playing with. And so basically my role at that time, because they were allowing me just to get my feet wet, man, was just really to keep those young guys together mentally, work them out, talk to them, and just make sure they was in a good space, man, so they can be successful at the end of the day.

28:42And that's kind of how my journey started, by me not being able to play no more.

28:47Jim Eisen:the realization though at that point too you like you said you was in year 10 you accomplished a lot individually of course came up short from a championship perspective but it does say something d is i got hurt early in my clear my third year okay first time i ever got injured and missed anything and wasn't the same player afterwards right ended up having 11 more years Don't get me wrong. But mentally, I wasn't the same. You were at a different point. You were at the end end. But still, like you said, I think it's very important. You said this. You said, listen, I came back because I wanted to prove that I could come back.

29:27Jim Eisen:But mentally, I wasn't it. But it's funny how you making that decision, like you said, a 180 to coaching. Because you were coaching those young guys while you were there before you left at Memphis. And to circle back around. And those moments, too, of reality, and people don't understand that they haven't played at a high level, haven't played professional sports. No matter if you're 10 years in, making those decisions on when to say when is one of the hardest to say. Because the majority of us, the majority of players, maybe 99%, don't lead a game the way we want. No. No. You're right. And the thing about it is, again, I talked about John and I talked about Alvin because at that time I told myself I can do one of two things.

30:21I can either help or be a hater.

30:25You know what I mean? Yeah. I could either help or be a hater. You know what I mean? And so to this day, my relationship with Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, you know, it's funny. When Toronto won the championship, you know, Kyle wore my jersey. That's deep. That's deep. That's deep. And so everybody asked him, you know, and he's like, that's my OG. He took care of me. You know what I mean? And my whole thing was it didn't matter. You know how I used to be back then. If I was going to eat, they came to eat. They came to eat. Yeah, exactly. That's what you do. I'm looking out. I'm looking out.

31:14We got to look out. Hey, we going to go over here, man. They going to look out for you. They going to take care of you. That's how it go. And so I just feel like that's how I got into the coaching part of it. but it started with the whole relationship piece and the relationships is so important man and you know you don't really realize that when you're playing but even now you know it's like opens up doors yeah it opens up doors and I never I never once I once I couldn't once I felt like I couldn't play anymore I never talked about when I played because yeah I don't do it Because, man, when you're around these kids and you're trying to help these kids, man, they don't care.

31:58At all. At all. They don't care about none of that stuff, man. They just don't care. Like, you have to help them and you have to be all right with that. Like, you know what I'm saying? And, like, I was all right with playing. Like, when I quit playing, I quit playing pickup. I quit all that. Like, I was done with it. And if I wasn't in the gym with kids working out, guys watching people play, I didn't go to the gym to play basketball no more. Man, I can go get me a workout in. Like, we can do that. But I had other interests, and I started to dive into the coaching, and I wanted to really learn how to coach because just because you played the game don't mean you can teach the game.

32:40And I learned that as well.

32:41Jim Eisen:Say that again, bro. Say that again, man. Say that again. Just because you played the game at a high level don't mean you can teach the game. We've seen it. Some high-level players, and I love Magic, but it was tough for him to coach. I think it would be tough for Michael Jordan to coach because their mindset of what their expectations are for everyone, including what they did, guys can't reach it. You know, Magic is looking for point guards to be able to see three or four plays down the line, and a lot of guys just can't do it. And their frustrations won't, I don't think, allow them to have the patience.

33:23Jim Eisen:Larry Bird had the patience. I think he did an excellent job. And you know Isaiah. It was tougher for Isaiah, too, though, at times. You know, because of his greatness, it was tough for them to understand how guys couldn't get it, especially some superstars that couldn't get it. And as we talk about that big, you know, we always say this. I don't have no regrets. Whatever happened, it was meant to be. But is there, through the playing career in the NBA, is there a regret or two that you have? Yeah, I have a regret. I have two regrets that I wouldn't even have if things would have been achieved.

34:09I hate that we didn't win a chip in Portland, and I shouldn't have left Toronto. But if we win a chip in Portland, then that becomes mute. Because what happens with the Toronto situation is, you know, things could happen, you know, but my pace and my trajectory as an individual player, I was on pace, you know, for whatever, in terms of numbers. But when I went to Portland, we were on pace to be successful as a team. And I think we all sacrificed numbers to be a great team. And probably the thing that makes me the most mad about it, because people don't talk about us like when me and you play together, we went to the conference finals, man.

35:03Jim Eisen:Yep, we did. People act like we only went to the conference finals with that one team. We went back to back. We wasn't supposed to go the year we went. And so what happened to us is funny because, you know, it made me think about when Boston lost to the Knicks this year, I was like, man, in my head, I didn't have nobody to tell it to. But now since me and you talking, I was like, man, that reminded me of when we beat Utah in Portland. Man, we taking our shirts off. We taking our jerseys off. We running around. Man, we be stocking them alone. We be stocking them alone. That's right. You know what I mean?

35:43And so we had won the championship right there, and we forgot it was another series, and then we went and got swept.

35:50Jim Eisen:And it was San Antonio. It was San Antonio. Yeah, we went San Antonio. And we were better than them that year, bro. That was a lockout year 98. We had everything to match up with San Antonio. And I will say, you know, some of the schematic plans, as you know when I went off in the locker room. Hey, man. Hey, we'll keep that done. Put it just where I got traded over that summer. Hey, man, that was a crazy series. It was. I just think about that window. I think about that window. And that Portland window was crazy. And then, you know, I think that we got impatient. You know, so you think, I think back to Portland, we go to the conference finals.

36:41My second year in Portland, we changed the team. We go to the conference final. My third year in Portland, we changed the team. We were still right there with the Lakers. Most people forget that next year, 2001, I think we either had the first or second best record next to Philly that year. We had won like 41, 42 games before the break. And then what happens is Deadlift Shrimp comes out of retirement. Rod came in midseason and it wasn't no fault of their own. It was already a little rocky, but things just went to the left, right? And it probably all started in the summer when we had lost to the Lakers.

37:27If you think back to it And you was in Portland, so you understand what I'm saying. Back then, that was the first time where an organization was really paying guys, so guys was all right with maybe taking less minutes because they was giving out that money.

37:43Jim Eisen:Yeah, that's true. So guys was all right. Guys was all right with less minutes because we wasn't necessarily playing for contracts. And at that time, to get all those young guys to do that because that whole team was essentially brought in in the primary. of their career. Everybody. Not one person. Everybody. And so then, when we lose to the Lakers in game seven, man, we trade Jermaine O 'Neal and Brian Grant. I was like, damn. I was just like... I was like, man, that's a tough one, man. I just, for me, I was just like, Jermaine was going to be Jermaine. Jermaine was coming. And then although BG He was injured that year.

38:32He was still a big part of what we was trying to do. And he was an anchor for us because he brought that toughness. He was going to lay that wood. And then when we made that move to bring in Sean and Dale, now we had to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, and get them to buy into what Jermaine and Brian had already bought into. That was difficult. And if I'm not mistaken, I think both Dale and Sean were coming off all-star seasons.

39:03Jim Eisen:Yeah, that makes it – and I get it too, man, because it's hard to say you don't have regrets when you were right there where you could touch it, when you were so close to – you know, again, you don't want to be defined by winning championships, but that is a definition of the true winning situation when you were a pro athlete. not that you got there but that you can walk in that room you know with those guys with rings and be a part of that you know when I talk about regrets too mine not that I got hurt is probably how I looked at it afterwards big because I was a different player I jumped off my left foot that I had no power but trying to always prove that I can get back and then when I finally kind of got a chance to understand okay this is going to be your role from now on I was fine with it but it It took some time, man.

39:51Jim Eisen:That took, I mean, some years to kind of figure out, okay, you're really not going to be the same player. And then when you were in a situation, I was, in Portland, we were that, because that was my first time in the playoffs in 1998, 99. I remember, you talked about that a lot. Yeah, man, so that first playoff series, it was a series of five. It's five games, we beat Phoenix. Man, I was so emotional because I said, man, this is what I've been seeing, been around, people who've been in the playoffs is all about. It's this time of season, this time of year. And then for us to be so close and then come up short, you know, with that is the same thing.

40:33Jim Eisen:When you always talk about that team of how talent, they want to talk about all this other stuff. I'm like, you realize the talent that we had on that team in 98, 99, and yours moving forward, but we were 10, 11 deep. I mean, legitimate. Yeah. And to not be able to accomplish, I was like that in Sacramento. When C. Webb got hurt in the Western Conference semifinals against Denver, he wins that. I mean, he doesn't get hurt. We get to the Western Conference finals against San Antonio, you never know what happened. Phoenix Suns, Joe Johnson gets hurt, win the Blues in the conference finals to San Antonio.

41:08Jim Eisen:All three of my losses were to San Antonio, like where we could have had deep runs. And, man, I tell you, you look back at it and it's like I had a great career, but it's like I wonder what that moment would feel like to, one, be in the championship, to be in the championship competing, and then to ultimately be able to hoist up that trophy. No question. I tell you, you know, the thing about it, too, Jimmy, is that – and I don't have an ego about it, and I've been blessed, man. But the one thing that the coaching has brought me is it's funny. You know, because when I was in Memphis with the Grizzlies, you know, we were so far away and we got better.

41:52And then we upset San Antonio one versus HC. And then we take OKC to to get to a seven game series and lose them. But then we go to Boston and, you know, man, to to to to get to the playoffs and, you know, to do the things that we did. and to go to the finals that first year, I had no clue I was leaving. I was like, man, this is going to be all right. Then we come back that second year, we had a best record. You get a chance to – for me, it's funny because we got a chance to coach that All-Star game that was in Utah that year. And so I truly believe this. I don't want to take nothing away from nobody, but I truly believe this.

42:45I feel like that team, you know, they lost, right? And I had left midseason to take the job. But, man, we was tired, man. Like, we played straight through. Like, it actually made me respect all the champions even more.

43:05Jim Eisen:Right, winning those back-to-back championships like the three-peat. Yes, like the Lakers. Winning three, like LeBron going to the finals, however many years in a row he went. Like, man, he played what? This would be 21? 22. 22? 22 years, bro. If you count postseason, he probably more 24. Yep, 24, 25. Yeah, definitely with all those postseason games. You know what I mean? So that's what people don't understand because I'm coaching. So you're doing the film. You're doing all the rest of the stuff. Man, I'm tired. I can't imagine how they felt. You know what I mean? So from that standpoint, although I wasn't on the floor running up and down with the fellas, like I felt like I was running up and down running with the fellas, right?

43:58And so when you see them big moments, there's a couple moments that just really stand out for me during that run. And one of those moments is when we played Milwaukee and Giannis dunked on Big Al, right? And they called a tent. And, man, I just never seen Al mad. Man, Al wore Giannis out. The rest of that game, we end up tying the seed.

44:23Jim Eisen:I remember that. Lock defensively was all into him and was hitting some big shots too. Right. And then we go home, lose game five. And I love Boston fans because the Boston fans are brutally honest. And, man, we lose game five. You hear a couple boo birds, but not really bad, but you could tell they were like, dang, this might be over. We go back to Milwaukee, man, and JT gave them boys a 40-piece, man. It was just like, man. And I was like, all right, this close. You know the old saying, this building is closed for the summer. You won't come back here no more. And we end up winning game seven, and you think about those things.

45:11But then I think about the finals, and I say this, and I'm saying what I'm saying because even as a coach to Wendell, it shrinks. It shrinks, yeah, yeah. And most people sit up there, and, you know, sometimes you become a prisoner at the moment. But if you think back to even that 2022 final, you know, So for three and a half quarters, I mean three and a half games, we were the better team. Game four, we are winning. And the last four minutes at home, we couldn't get it done. And that's when Steph hit a couple big shots. And as we were going back to the locker room, and you know how the locker room is in Boston, And so the visiting and the home and the visiting locker room kind of intersect.

46:02And then you go to the left and then you go to the right. Right. And man, in their locker room, you heard you heard, you know, a noise up in there like they won the championship. And I was walking with one of our assistants. I was like, man, it's over, dog. I said, we had our opportunity. They smell blood. But had to get on that plane, fly five hours back to the bay, got smacked, came home. We just couldn't recover. You got these little small windows, man. And, like, you got to take advantage of them, man. You know, that's, you know, look, it's the agony of defeating in a lot of ways because a lot of times there's only one team can win.

46:43And the success is not always going to be there like that. But, you know, you think back to all those moments, man. And, you know, even in defeat, like, in thinking about those moments, man, you start to think back as you get a little older, you get all nostalgic and stuff and think back to all the moments that you had as a basketball player and how many relationships you built within the basketball community and all the things that you did individually and then that you did with guys, man. And it still make you feel good. The result might not have been what you wanted, but it still makes you feel good.

47:17Jim Eisen:Well, I'm glad you brought it to that point because I wanted to – I appreciate your time, and I know you got stuff to do, but two more things. When you look at your entire career, you got rookie of the year, you got playoff battles, you got some controversies you had. Now you're a mentor, you're coaching and teaching young men. What's the biggest difference between the 25-year-old Damon Stoudemire and now this mature 50-plus-year-old Damon Stoudemire? You know, I care more. I care more. And, you know, it sounds vague, but I do care. Like when I was younger, it was basketball. You know, it was basketball.

48:05You were defined by basketball, and that's all you really wanted to be defined by, right? And I think as you get older, like when things, when I do things or, you know, think about things, I think of how they impact everybody around me. You know, my kids, my players, my coaches, my family, my administration, the city of Atlanta, you know, whatever that looks like. I think about everything before I do. You have to understand, like, you know, it's not about you at this juncture. And for me, it's just not about me. I've been blessed. I've lived a great life. I lived my dream of playing in the NBA.

48:56And I never dreamt about, you know, being a head coach. But here I am at Georgia Tech, one of the most prestigious institutions in the country in one of the best cities in the country. And, you know, there's not a day that goes by where I don't think about those things. But the impact, Jimmy, because I care, you know, you just, you know, you don't want to let people down, you know. And with that being said, you know you're still going to let some people down. But you just don't want to let people down. So for me, it's the care factor. You know, I just care. You know, I care about everything that's around me and how it impacts me and how it impacts the people that are next to me.

49:41Like that it really matters. You know, I care what people think about me. You know, the person, you know, how I treat the kids, how I conduct myself, character, all the different things. I care about what people think about me. And every every day I think about those things and I wake up.

50:02Jim Eisen:I totally agree with this because I got a chance to know, even though it was brief, but we got a chance to spend a lot of time talking and hanging that one year. One of my favorite teammates, people of all time, forget teammates, just people and to watch your journey through the coaching ranks and where you're at. I know the program is going to be better, but more importantly, those young men and those families are going to be better because of the tutelage, the insight, the mentorship, but then you add the other layer on it. Not the winning and losing, but the caring part. So to me, the legacy that you're starting to build on the college side, whether it's fully all the way through with Georgia Tech or wherever it may be, I think is long-lasting because of the maturity and the person that you are.

50:52Jim Eisen:Hopefully I get a chance down the line in the tournament sometimes, get a chance to cover you, to be able to chop it up with you, maybe be able to say some good things on TV as well. But I appreciate, you know, the thing I appreciate too the most about where you're at now is that you're 52 and you're in Atlanta and you live in there compared to when you was 25, 26 living in Atlanta. If you was there. So I'm glad it happened later on. And like I say that, too, and I'm like, man, it's crazy to think I lived here. I had a place here, came and hung out here in the summertime when I was in my early 24, 25, man, riding up Peachtree and all them.

51:41Drop top money in the thing, baby. Man, no, it's been a beautiful thing being back here. You know, I got a perspective on it, and, you know, it's a great city, man. It is. It's a great city, and, you know, we're going to get this thing rocking, man. It's funny. Kenny Anderson came up here a couple weeks ago, and I thought about you.

52:05Jim Eisen:Kenny is mad, bro. And, you know, the history and the legacy and all the stuff that was built here, man, And, you know, it's important that we get that back because, you know, it's ready. The trajectory is the right way. And this year, man, we got to get to that turning. And, you know, I look forward to you doing one of them games. You know it. That would be some full circle stuff right there, boy. You better believe it, man. I'm hoping for the best for you, man. I know I see you down the line. I appreciate you taking the time to come on the show too, brother. All right, JJ. Okay, talk to you, man.

52:46All right. All right.

52:48Jim Eisen:Man, incredible. I mean, probably one of my best interviews I've done up to this point because it was personal, good friend of mine, of course, with Damon Sotomayor, but watching his transition, the insight is from one of the best. Damon, thanks for your time, brother. For anyone, everyone who wants to see his work in action, make sure you follow Georgia Tech basketball this season. And for more conversations like this, like I always say, hit that subscribe button on YouTube and follow us wherever you get your podcast. I, all of us appreciate you tuning in.