He took Seton Hall to the post season in each of his four seasons as their coach, helped Michigan win the National Invitation Tournament the year after a probationary ban from postseason play, and had the three highest single-season win totals in the history of Harvard basketball, the school's first six Ivy League championships and first NCAA tournament victory.

Amaker led the Woodson Cavaliers to four straight Northern District titles, including victories over the national powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School.

Assistant coach, Jason Lampa, credits the success that Amaker experienced at Seton Hall to his calm demeanor and respect for players.

He also coached the 2009–10 Harvard Crimson men's basketball team into the postseason (2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament) in his third year there, which included the highest single-season victory total (21) in school history.

[9][10] In the quarterfinal round of the 1984 ACC men's basketball tournament against the Mark Price-led Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets,[11][12] Amaker hit the game-winning shot with the score tied and less than 10 seconds left in overtime.

In some instances, Amaker's defense changed the game by limiting dribble penetration and forcing low shooting percentages regardless of whether he had notable offensive contributions.

[14] In the March Carolina–Duke rivalry game against North Carolina Amaker stole the ball from Jeff Lebo and made a layup that gave Duke a late first half three-point lead it never surrendered.

[16] That year, he helped the team win the 1986 ACC men's basketball tournament, including a championship game victory over the Price-led Georgia Tech.

[25] The 1986 Duke team graduated four of its five starters (Dawkins, Mark Alarie, Jay Bilas and David Henderson), leaving Amaker with an inexperienced supporting cast for his senior season.

[30][31][32] Senior Amaker served as team captain for the 1986–87 Blue Devils,[33] and he led Duke back to the 1987 NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to eventual champion Indiana.

[38] A few weeks later, with the score tied in regulation at 60 against Notre Dame and on a two-on-one fast break with 16 seconds left, Amaker took a jump shot.

[2] Amaker accepted a graduate assistant position on Krzyzewski's staff at Duke in 1988 while pursuing his MBA degree from the Fuqua School of Business;[55][56] the team reached the Final Four of the 1989 NCAA tournament.

He attempted to return to coaching two weeks later but eventually was re-admitted to Duke University Hospital for four days in January due to related complications.

The reason his negotiations with USC failed was compensation since Amaker was both a Duke assistant coach and earned an additional $100,000 (US$206,355 in 2024 dollars)[65] through a summer youth day camp.

[70][71] When the Northwestern job opened up again in 1997, he was not under consideration because athletic director Rick Taylor sought a candidate with Division I head coaching postseason experience.

[82][83] The class consisted of Eddie Griffin (ranked by some as the top high school player in the nation),[84] Andre Barrett, and Marcus Toney-El.

[97] The Wolverines opposed Amaker's former mentor Krzyzewski and the 2001–02 Duke Blue Devils in his seventh game as head coach, but his team lost.

[98] Although the 2001–02 Wolverines finished at 11–18, Amaker was able to lead the tenth-seeded team to a victory over seventh-seeded Northwestern in the 2002 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament before losing to two seed, Ohio State.

[104] Amaker's 2003–04 team earned a fifth seed and first round bye in the 2004 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament where it defeated fourth-seeded Iowa before losing to top-seeded Illinois.

[107][108][109][110] The team won the championship game against Rutgers, giving Amaker his highest single-season victory total up to that point in time with a 23–11 record.

The team had been ranked 37th in the Ratings Percentage Index prior to the game, making them a solid contender for a 2006 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament invitation.

[116] Michigan's 2006–07 team earned an eight seed in the 2007 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, when it defeated the ninth-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers before succumbing to top-seeded Ohio State.

[127] Some fans and sportswriters argued that Amaker's Michigan teams tended to underachieve and fall apart in pressure situations, particularly in conference, on the road and at the end of the regular season.

[146] These were the first NCAA penalties ever assessed against the Harvard men's basketball program and the first instance of the Ivy League being overruled on a formal rules interpretation.

[151] Although Harvard never appeared in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings, for a few weeks during the season they received a vote in the AP Poll.

[167] Amaker was selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as the 2011–12 Men's District I (ME, VT, NH, RI, MA, CT) Coach of the Year.

[172] Instead of being the favorite as originally expected, the team was predicted to finish second to Princeton by various media sources because Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry withdrew due to the scandal.

[190] The team was the first Ivy League school to win games in consecutive NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments since the 1983–84 Princeton Tigers.

[193] On December 7, 2016, in a rivalry contest against Boston College, Amaker earned his 179th win with the 2016–17 team, surpassing Frank Sullivan as Harvard's all-time winningest coach.

[2] Amaker's mother, Alma, 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.