Tommy Amaker - Personal

Personal

Amaker is married to Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, who is a licensed clinical psychologist. The couple met at Duke. Amaker's grandmother is Annie Deskins and his mother is Alma Amaker. Amaker's mother continued to make him the sauce for his favorite meal of spaghetti and express mail it to him from her home in Falls Church, Virginia during his career at least until his days at Michigan. Because he is a finicky eater, she has to strain the green pepper and onion bits out of the sauce using cheesecloth. According to friend, John Feinstein, Amaker was politically left-leaning and Krzyzewski was the opposite.

Amaker earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1987 from Duke. While serving as an assistant coach at Duke, he attended classes at the Fuqua School of Business. At Michigan, his daily routine included breakfast at a local hotel where he read USA Today. At Harvard, once a month, he convenes for breakfast at the Cambridge, Massachusetts restaurant Henrietta's Table with a group of noted African-American scholars and businessmen led by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree to discuss sociopolitical issues. Amaker is known for his trademark mock turtleneck shirts, each of which has his initials monogrammed into the collar, and for wearing a sports coat at each news conference. Unlike most of his peers, Amaker avoids the press and won't do a radio or television show.

Amaker was enshrined in the Duke Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. He was a member of the board of directors for USA Basketball. During his time on the board he served as a member of the Men's Collegiate and Men's Senior National Committees, where he helped select members of the United States 1996 Olympic gold medal team. Amaker owns two vintage Mercedes-Benz cars and is a Washington Redskins fan.