The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were in search of a new man to handle the team from the sidelines after announcing the firing of head coach Josh Pastner last Friday, and it looks like they got their guy. Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Monday that Boston Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire had emerged as a strong candidate for the job, and now Goodman and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Pete Thamel are reporting a deal is being finalized.

ESPN reports Stoudamire's deal is expected to be five years.

Georgia Tech basketball made the decision to part ways with Pastner after seven seasons of partnership. During that span, the Yellow Jackets have made it to the NCAA tournament just once, which was in 2021 when the program earned a No. 9 seed before getting bounced out of the first round. Outside of his first season at the helm of Georgia Tech basketball, Pastner had not steered the team to a 20-win campaign or a winning one. In what turned out to be his final season with the Yellow Jackets, Pastner coached the team to just a 15-18 season in the 2022-23 college basketball campaign. Clearly, Georgia Tech needed change and that starts with a new head coach.

Damon Stoudemire checks out as a solid candidate. He was the head coach of the Pacific Tigers from the 2016-17 season to the 2020-21 campaign and even earned a WCC Coach of the Year award during in 2019-20 when he led the school to a 33-23 record. The former NBA star joined the Celtics in the summer of 2021.