Tucker High’s head basketball coach James Hartry inducted into Clark Atlanta University Hall of Fame

By Mark Brock

DCSD Athletics Specialist

ATLANTA—Tucker High School boys’ head basketball coach James Hartry was inducted into the Clark Atlanta University Athletics Hall of Fame today (Oct. 21)

The induction ceremony was held at the Bishop Cornelius Henderson Student Center on the Clark Atlanta campus.

The DeKalb County School District’s (DCSD) Hartry joins Dennis Roberts (basketball); Gwendolyn Louise Rainey Gillespie (tennis); and Parrish Lamar Preston (tennis) as the Hall of Fame honorees named by the Clark Atlanta Athletics Boosters Association.

“I’ve received a lot of honors over the years such region and state Coach-of-the-Year, Teacher of the Year, but to be recognized for the Hall of Fame at the college I graduated from might just be the best yet,” said Hartry, who was a point guard for three years at Clark Atlanta. “I had pretty good career at Clark, but maybe the work I’ve done teaching and coaching for the last 45 years played a role in getting the honor.”

Hartry attended Clark from 1979 to 1982 and played basketball for three seasons.  Hartry helped lead Clark Atlanta to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) regular season championship in 1981 along with a runner-up finish in the conference tournament that same season.

Hartry is entering his 24^th season as the basketball coach at Tucker, sitting third all-time in the DeKalb boys’ basketball  record book sporting a 464-200 (69.8-win percentage).

Hartry’s teams have reached the state playoffs in 18 of 23 seasons including five semifinal appearances and two state title game appearances (won 2007 Class 4A state title 56-51 over fellow DeKalb rival Columbia). His squads have reached the 20-win plateau 13 times including a best of 31-2 in the state title season of 2007. Six of those 13 teams won 25 or more games.

Hartry has 19 consecutive winning seasons and 20 overall as his only three losing seasons came in the first four years heading the program.

Hartry also has coached the Tucker tennis teams for 19 of the last 20 seasons. The boys and girls have both reached the state playoffs on eight occasions.

Photo provided by Mark Brock, DeKalb County School District.