By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 11 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible to receive the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by Just Play Solutions which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2021-22 college basketball season.
This is the seventh season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list 2021-22 Coach of the Week winners, as well as the list of all-time COY winners can be found following this week’s honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 11 winners are:
NCAA DI: Chris Victor – Seattle University
With three more road wins this week, Coach Victor’s Redhawks continued their perfect start to conference play. Seattle opened its week at Cal Baptist on Monday, recovering from an eight-point halftime deficit to force overtime, where it came away with a 92-85 victory. Back in action on Thursday, the Redhawks took down Abilene Christian by a score of 72-62 before concluding their road trip with a matchup against Tarleton State on Saturday. Seattle was able to take a 76-68 triumph, moving to 6-0 in WAC play for the first time in program history. The Redhawks’ 15-4 overall start is their best since the 1963-64 season. They will look to keep it rolling when they host Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday evening.
NCAA DII: George Suggs – McKendree University
Coac
h Suggs led McKendree to three impressive wins this week, as the Bearcats improved to 9-4 on the season. McKendree began its week on the road, with a matchup against Southern Indiana on Monday. The Bearcats trailed by 10 at halftime, but used a big second half to exit with a 77-71 victory. Hosting Quincy in its next contest on Thursday, McKendree shot 66.7% from the field on the way to a 91-86 win. The Bearcats then concluded their week with a 77-69 triumph over Illinois-Springfield on Saturday. Now 5-4 in the GLVC, McKendree will attempt to make it five straight wins when they travel to take on William Jewell on Thursday.
NCAA DIII: Ryan Mee – Vassar College
Coach Mee led Vassar to a pair of conference victories on the road this week, including one over a Top 25 opponent. The Brewers jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead en route to a 73-56 win over No. 23 RPI on Friday, handing the conference leader its first Liberty League loss of the season. At Bard the following day, Vassar was able to hold the hosts to just 27.5% from the field and eke out a 54-53 victory to improve to 12-4 (8-2 Liberty) on the season. The Brewers are back on the road again next weekend, facing off against St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday.
NAIA: Matt O’Brien – Southwestern College
Coach O’Brien picked up his 300th career win this week as his Southwestern squad took another pair of double-digit victories. The Moundbuilders won at Tabor by a score of 76-61 on Wednesday, marking the milestone for Coach O’Brien. In his head-coaching career, which includes a stint at Central Christian in addition to 13 years at Southwestern, O’Brien holds a record of 301-177 (incl. Saturday’s win). His Moundbuilders were back in action on Saturday, using a dominant second half to pull away from Saint Mary and take a 97-67 victory. Now 18-3 (12-3 KCAC) on the season, Southwestern will look to extend its winning streak to nine when it faces off against Kansas Wesleyan this evening.
JUCO: Victor Correa – Suffolk County Community College
Two more wins this week have improved Coach Correa’s Sharks to 12-1 on the season. 7th-ranked Suffolk County raced out to a 53-22 halftime lead at Kingsborough Community College on Tuesday, eventually coming away with a dominant 87-58 victory. The Sharks returned home on Saturday, this time using a big second half to pull away from Bronx Community College for a 77-65 win. Now winners of eight straight, Suffolk County closes out its two-game homestand with a matchup against Queensborough Community College on Tuesday.
2021-22 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Gerald Gillion – Chicago State University
NCAA DII: Jeff Brookman – Anderson University
NCAA DIII: Rich Sutter – Westfield State University
NAIA: Kurt Paulson – Carroll College
JUCO: Jeremy Shulman – Eastern Florida State College
NCAA DI: Lamont Paris – Chattanooga
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Chris Carideo – Widener University
NAIA: Chris Wright – Talladega College
JUCO: Allen Sharpe – Wallace State Community College
NCAA DI: T.J. Otzelberger – Iowa State
NCAA DII: Todd Duncan – Lubbock Christian University
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Hank Plona – Indian Hills Community College
NCAA DI: Ed Cooley – Providence College
NCAA DII: Greg Clink – Cal State Chico
NCAA DIII: Tim Fusina – Waynesburg University
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
JUCO: Kyle Taylor – Salt Lake Community College
NCAA DI: Kevin Willard – Seton Hall University
NCAA DII: Jason Taylor – Newberry College
NCAA DIII: Scott Coval – DeSales University
NAIA: Alfred Williams – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Jake Williams – Dodge City Community College
NCAA DI: Speedy Claxton – Hofstra University
NCAA DII: Justin Weick – University of Minnesota Duluth
NCAA DIII: Raul Placeres – Maryville College
NAIA: Brandon Espinosa – Paul Quinn College
JUCO: Bill Beilein – Niagara County CC
NCAA DI: Jerry Stackhouse – Vanderbilt University
NCAA DII: D2 winter break – no games played
NCAA DIII: Jimmy Smith – Trinity College (TX)
NAIA: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
JUCO: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Shawn Walker – Elizabeth City State University
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose – Illinois Wesleyan University
NAIA: Colby Blaine – The College of Idaho
JUCO: Brandon Giles – Polk State College
NCAA DI: Jim Larrañaga – University of Miami
NCAA DII: Vinay Patel – Northwestern Oklahoma State University
NCAA DIII: Todd McGuinness – Case Western Reserve University
NAIA: Lance Von Vogt – William Jessup University
JUCO: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Dana Altman – University of Oregon
NCAA DII: Craig Doty – Emporia State University
NCAA DIII: Pat Juckem – Washington University in St. Louis
NAIA: Preston Ingram – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Bill Morosco – Garden City CC
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2020-21: Dennis Gates – Cleveland State University
- 2019-20: Joe Gallo – Merrimack College
- 2018-19: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
- 2017-18: Porter Moser – Loyola University Chicago
- 2016-17: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
- 2015-16: Roy Williams – University of North Carolina
Division II
- 2020-21: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University
Division III
- 2020-21: Brooks Miller – Trine University
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas
NAIA
- 2020-21: Delano Thomas – Shawnee State University
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2020-21: No winner named – COVID season
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College
USCAA
- 2018-19: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
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