Staff Writer

ATLANTA--There was a time not long ago when Georgia Tech’s Matt Harpring thought his basketball career had been all fouled up. Now he’s waiting to see if he’ll make the first pass of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) draft June 24 in New York.

And though he admits that would be a slam dunk to his basketball career, the player who got his first sideline nods for performance while on the Marist School team, is playing defensively. He’s also looking at graduate school, thanks to a scholarship which bounced his way.

When Tech finished its l996-97 season with a record of only 9 wins against l8 losses, Harpring said he was worried about whether or not the team, and his reputation as a player, would rebound. He admits he flirted seriously with leaving school, but his heart would not let him.

“I didn’t want to leave school after we had one of the worst seasons in Tech history,” he said. “I didn’t want to have people say, ‘Matt Harpring? Oh yeah, he’s the guy who jumped ship after one of our worst seasons ever.’”

Harpring, a parishioner at St. Jude the Apostle Church, Atlanta, said he aimed instead to be remembered as a winner who earned a college degree, who ran the ups and downs of both the athletic and academic courts in collegiate life.

He said he also wanted to help Tech rebuild its team and reestablish its winning tradition. And, having never before played on a team that had a losing season, he said he learned something in the midst of Tech’s failure that will help him in the future.

“Over the years here I’ve learned how to win and how to lose. I am a pretty intense guy and losing like we did really didn’t sit well with me,” he said. “When you’re in the middle of it and you don’t think others are giving 100 percent, it is very frustrating. I had to adjust my attitude...and the coach helped me with that. It was a good experience for me. If I’m drafted, I may be selected by a losing team. Now I know how to deal with it.”

The two-time academic All-American who earned a degree in management from Georgia Tech this May, said that, in retrospect, the decision to stay in school was an easy one.

“When I came to Tech, my primary goal was to get a college degree, not play in the NBA,” he said. “The opportunity to play in the NBA is a dream come true, but no one knows when that dream will come to an abrupt end.”

“The opportunity to earn a lot of money quickly is appealing, but that can all vanish overnight because of injury or loss of contract, leaving a player with few options,” he said. “A college degree, however, is something that no one can take away from you.”

The NBA hopeful admits that he chose to stay at Tech because “I talked to some of the guys who had left college early and they all encouraged me to stay in school.”

“It was funny because in spite of all the money, fame and freedom, they miss their college days. I don’t think they regret their decision to leave, they just recognize that once you leave, you rarely go back,” Harpring said.

Although NBA scouts believe Harpring will be selected in the first round draft of 15 players, he continues to explore the possibility of further studies as one of 16 athletes to receive the Weaver James Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship offered by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

“My goal is to play in the NBA,” he said. “And everything seems on course for that to become a reality. But I can’t see into the future and just in case I experience a career-ending injury, it is wise to have a back-up plan,” he said.

Tech basketball coach Bobby Cremins discovered Harpring while watching his own son, Bobby, Jr., play for Marist. After leading Marist to a 32-0 record and an AAA state championship, Harpring was named Georgia’s “Mr. Basketball,” by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the Atlanta Tip-Off Club. However, he was recruited by just three colleges, one of which was Georgia Tech.

He entered as one of the most unheralded players in Tech’s history, but leaves as only the sixth Yellow Jacket to have his jersey retired.

Returning to Tech for his senior year actually improved his NBA stock as he enjoyed his best season yet. He completed his college career as the second leading scorer and rebounder in Georgia Tech history. He scored 2,225 points, just eight short of the Tech career scoring record of 2,232 set by Rich Yunkus from l969-71.

Harpring was selected three times for the All-ACC First Team. In 70 career games, Harpring played 2,631 of a possible 2,840 minutes and became known for his tenacity and hard work on the court.

When Tech’s sports information officials designed a poster to promote basketball, they used Coach Cremins’ statement, “Give me a team full of Matt Harprings.” The poster features Cremins sitting among nine players---and they’re all Harpring.

“When I left Marist, I knew I was good, but I didn’t know how good,” Harpring said. “I just knew that God had given me some talent which I needed to develop. I had no idea I’d end up waiting to hear who had selected me in the NBA draft.”

And whether he taps the NBA ball or goes on to graduate school, Harpring thinks he will be okay. “I learned early on that God has a plan for us all and, as long as we let him navigate, we are in good hands.”