Tommy Amaker - College Career

College Career

Amaker was a star point guard at Duke, starting as a freshman for head coach Krzyzewski. He led the team in assists three years and in steals four seasons. While at Duke his roommate for away games was Mike Brey. The three-point shot became a permanent part of the game during his senior season and he led the team that year. In his senior season, he was named the first winner of the Henry Iba Corinthian Award, given to the national defensive player of the year. Amaker also won a gold medal as a member of the US national team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship and the 1986 Goodwill Games. Amaker was selected as a 1987 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American third team member by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He was selected to the 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament All-NCAA Final Four Team and the 1987 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament All-Midwest Regional Team. In the 1987 tournament he led Duke in scoring in its final two games. He was a 1987 All-ACC 2nd-team selection and earned the team co-MVP award with Danny Ferry that year. He served as team captain that season.

As a freshman and sophomore he led Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 1984 and 1985, but neither team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. As a junior in 1986, he was part of a team that finished as national runner-up in the NCAA Tournament to Louisville. That year he recorded 81 steals. At the time, that was second to Jim Spanarkel in Duke history. He set the career steals record, which stood until Shane Battier broke it in 2001. Amaker also holds the Duke single-year NCAA Tournament record with 16 steals in 1986. During that tournament, he had seven steals in two different games—against Old Dominion in the second round on March 15 and Louisville in the final on March 31. This stood as the Duke single-game NCAA tournament record for seven years until Grant Hill had eight. His 36 steals in 12 career NCAA games for a 3.0 average continues to be a Duke NCAA tournament career record. As a senior, he led Duke back to the NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to eventual champion Indiana.

As a player, he set many Duke career and single-season assists records including single-season assists (241, 1986–90), single-season assists to turnover ratio (2.88, 1985–97), career assists to turnover ratio (2.11, 1987–98), career assists per game (5.1, 1987–93), and career assists (708, 1987–92). They were broken by Hurley (single-season assists, career assists, and career assists per game) and Wojciechowski (single-season assists to turnover and career assists to turnover ratio). Although his single-season assists records was surpassed by Hurley's freshman, sophomore and senior season totals, it still stands as a record for a Duke junior. He also held Duke's career NCAA tournament assist average record with 57 in 12 games for a 4.7 average until Hurley surpassed it with 145 in 20 games for a 7.3 average. His school single-game assists record of 14 tied on vs. Miami, 2/19/1986 was not broken until Hurley's senior 1993 season and is still a record for a junior.

Amaker holds several Duke and ACC records for games played. Mark Alarie and Johnny Dawkins have also started 40 games for Duke and both Ferry and Billy King have played 40 games. Amakers 138 consecutive games started surpassed Alerie and Dawkins' totals of 133. His 138 consecutive games played was a Duke record until Chris Duhon played 144 in a row ending in 2004. Consecutive games started is not shown in the 2009–10 Atlantic Coast Conference Media Guide records section. However, no ACC player has ever played more than 40 games in a season.

Following his career, he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 3rd round of the 1987 NBA Draft with the 55th pick overall. He was regarded to be too small to play in the NBA at 6 feet (1.8 m) and 155 pounds (70 kg). He did not make the Sonics team and spent three days with the Wyoming Wildcatters of the Continental Basketball Association in Casper, Wyoming. He quickly decided he wanted to return to Duke to pursue a Master of Business Administration.