When Tommy Amaker left Seton Hall after what was a bitter 2001 divorce, it was just assumed there was more to the situation than the fame and fortune that came with being the coach at the University of Michigan.
As much as Amaker had built the Pirates’ program up over a four-year run, there was a feeling he had taken them as far as they could go.
But Michigan? Different story. He could feed off that Wolverines tradition, right? He could use his recruiting prowess — established during his time as an assistant at Duke and refined during his tenure in South Orange — to take on Michigan State icon Tom Izzo head-on across the state, right? The possibilities were endless. What’s the fight song again? “Hail To The Victors”?
Well, there wasn’t much to hail in Amaker’s six seasons in Ann Arbor. He did manage to go 108-84, but it just didn’t seem like it, did it? He had two dreadful seasons — 11-18 in 2001-02 and 13-18 in 2004-05
— and finished 10 games under .500 (43-53) in the Big Ten.
Most important, Amaker never led the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament. In fact, he hasn’t been to the Big Dance since the Pirates’ surprising Sweet 16 run of 2000.
But that might change this year.
“Harvard is really, really good. I watched five games on tape before we played them, and wow,” Dartmouth coach Mark Graupe said. “Cornell is getting a lot of respect in the Ivy League, but Harvard deserves some of that as well. They play the game the way it should be played.”
Amaker, 44, now in his third season at Harvard, has the Crimson, traditionally an Ivy League also-ran, in a surprisingly strong position to challenge for a title. Harvard (12-3, 1-0) ran through a difficult non-league schedule and should be able to put a scare into the conference’s benchmark program, Cornell (15-3, 1-0), which has won the last two crowns.
“We are pleased with the effort from our ballclub. We have had good balance as a team,” said Amaker, whose team meets Dartmouth (4-11, 0-1) tonight. “So far, so good. But we all know how difficult and challenging conference play can be.”
It will help that the Crimson already are battle-tested. In their five toughest non-conference games — vs. William & Mary, George Washington, Boston College, UConn and Georgetown — Harvard went 3-2, losing to the Big East teams, which were both ranked No. 14 at the time.
“We’ve tried to upgrade our program on a number of levels,” Amaker said. “We’ve done that with our schedule. Having a challenging schedule has lifted the spirits of our players. Playing top-level competition has motivated us in a way that we haven’t seen before.”
The rest of the league has taken notice.
“I take my hat off to those guys,” Penn coach Jerome Allen said. “Playing games against powerhouse conferences prepares you, from a mental standpoint, for league play. You have a little bit of a backbone to stand on. When you go to a Boston College, like Harvard has, and you win, that only helps the league. They’ve put their best foot forward.”
So perhaps the third time will be a charm for Amaker. Perhaps he needed three swings — three schools — to get it right. Perhaps he’s on his way, finally, to redefining a coaching career so many thought was destined for greatness, especially after his brilliant playing career at Duke.
“There’s a lot of things that we’ve tried to address along this journey,” Amaker said. “But more than anything else, we’ve simply got a lot of really good play out of our players.”
He hasn’t had the opportunity to say that often during his career.
But times do appear to be changing.
tsullivan@nypost.com