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"We were looking for a coach who is a great recruiter, a very good communicator and an excellent teacher," said athletic director Dave Braine. "Paul fits all three of these qualifications very well."

Hewitt, who was 71-27 in three years at Siena, signed a five-year deal.

"There are very few places I can imagine are better for me," he said. "Today a dream has come true for me and my family."

He takes over a program that has fallen to the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Georgia Tech went 13-17 this season and hardly appears poised for a quick turnaround after losing Jason Collier, its top scorer and rebounder. Also, shot-blocking center Alvin Jones might enter the NBA draft a year early.

Hewitt is familiar with this situation. Siena went 23-59 in the three years before he arrived, but the Saints reached the NCAA Tournament in 1999, their first appearance in 10 seasons. They finished 24-9 this year, losing to Penn State in the second round of the NIT.

Hewitt, a 36-year-old former assistant at Villanova and Fordham, is known as a strong recruiter and favors a running, up-tempo style popular with fans. Siena averaged more than 6,500 per game over the last two years to lead the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in attendance.

"I feel like I'm very prepared to take the job," Hewitt said Thursday. "I expect to win next year. I have high expectations."

Braine said Hewitt "coaches an exciting brand of basketball, and he feels confident in being able to bring people back into our coliseum and recreate the Thrillerdome atmosphere of the 1980s and early '90s."

Hewitt's contract at the Loudonville, N.Y., school runs through the 2002-2003 season, but includes a buyout provision that allowed him to take the Georgia Tech job.

Cremins was a 33-year-old coach at tiny Appalachian State when Georgia Tech hired him as coach in 1981. He pushed the Yellow Jackets to national prominence, recruiting such players as Mark Price, John Salley, Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott and Stephon Marbury.

Under Cremins, Tech went to the NCAA Tournament nine consecutive years and 10 times overall, including the 1990 Final Four. The Yellow Jackets fell on hard times during the latter stages of Cremins' 19-year tenure, reaching the tournament only once the last seven seasons.

Cremins announced Feb. 18 that he would not return, saying the program needed a new direction. He accepted $1.5 million to buy out the final three years of his contract.

Hewitt was a late entry into the coaching search after higher-profile candidates Leonard Hamilton of Miami and Bill Self of Tulsa agreed to contract extensions.

Among the others mentioned as candidates for the Tech job were Appalachian State's Buzz Peterson, Delaware's Mike Brey and Dayton's Oliver Purnell.