Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 3 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week Award, presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible for the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award, also presented by Just Play Solutions, which will be announced at the end of the 2024-25 college basketball season.
This marks the tenth season of the HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. A full list of past National Coach of the Year winners can be found after this week’s honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The week 3 winners are:
NCAA D1: Ben McCollum – Drake University
In his first season at Drake, Coach McCollum has the Bulldogs off to a 6-0 start that includes three victories at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic this week. In their opener on Thursday, Drake defeated Miami 80-69, marking the first time since 2017 that the Bulldogs have knocked off an ACC opponent. Back in action the following morning, Drake held Florida Atlantic, who had entered the matchup averaging 94.8 points per game, to just 63 in a 75-63 victory. The Bulldogs then claimed the title at the Charleston Classic on Sunday night, taking down their second power conference opponent of the week in an 81-70 triumph over Vanderbilt. The win was the 400th in Coach McCollum’s career, as he had compiled an incredible record of 394-91 and four National Championships across 15 seasons at DII Northwest Missouri State. McCollum has continued winning with many of the same players despite the fact that it is his first year with the program, as four of his current starters came with him from Northwest Missouri State. His Bulldogs will return to the floor on Saturday at home against Georgia Southern.
NCAA D2: Justin Namolik – Shepherd University
Namolik’s Rams opened conference play with a pair of road victories this week, including one over a top-5 opponent. Shepherd handed Seton Hill its first loss of the season on Friday, coming away with a 70-62 victory before heading back onto the road to take on No. 4 California (PA) the following night. Trailing by four at the half, the Rams’ offense came alive over the final 20 minutes to secure a hard-fought 66-61 triumph. Now 4-2 (2-0 PSAC) on the season, Shepherd returns to action on Wednesday night in another road matchup, this time against non-conference opponent Bowie State.
NCAA D3: B.J. Dunne – Gettysburg College
Dunne guided Gettysburg to three wins this week, including two over ranked opponents, as his Bullets remained undefeated on the season. Gettysburg trailed Bryn Athyn by eight with under five minutes remaining on Tuesday, but rallied back to force overtime and eventually take a 77-72 victory. The Bullets then headed to the Hampden-Sydney Tip-Off Tournament, where they faced off against 20th-ranked Maryvile in their opening matchup. Despite a late Maryville rally, Gettysburg came away with an 84-78 victory, advancing to the championship game against the hosts, No. 23 Hampden-Sydney. The Bullets prevailed in a nailbiter, securing an 81-78 win to improve to 7-0 on the season. Gettysburg is now off until after the week of Thanksgiving, as they next take on Stevenson in a road matchup on Wednesday, December 4th.
NAIA: Steve Drabyn – Bethel University (IN)
Drabyn couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season, as his squad picked up two more wins this week to remain unbeaten. Opening Crossroads League play at home on Wednesday, Bethel outrebounded Goshen 56-23 on the way to a 101-56 victory. Next up for the Pilots was a road matchup with 13th-ranked Huntington, who entered the matchup also undefeated and coming off a victory against No. 3 Indiana Wesleyan. Bethel jumped out to a 48-27 halftime lead and was able to hold off the hosts in the second half to secure a huge 96-90 win. The schedule does not get any easier for the 8-0 (2-0 CL) Pilots, who are slated to take on No. 5 Georgetown (KY) on the road Tuesday evening.
JUCO: Kyle Pugh – Cloud County Community College
With another pair of victories to open region play this week, Coach Pugh has Cloud County Community College off to a perfect start to the season. The Thunderbirds began Region VI Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play with a matchup against Seward County Community College on Wednesday. Despite trailing by five with just over a minute to go, the Thunderbirds were able to rally to force overtime and eventually come away with a 74-69 win. Back in action on Saturday, CCCC shot 16-32 from three in an impressive 101-90 road triumph over Dodge City Community College. Now 8-0 (2-0 KJCCC) and off to the best start to a season since 2006-07, the T-Birds will look to continue winning when they take on defending NJCAA DI Champions and current No. 1-ranked Barton Community College.
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Jerome Tang – Kansas State University
- 2021-22: Ed Cooley – Providence College
- 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
- 2023-24:
- 2022-23: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 2021-22: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 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
- 2022-23: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University
- 2021-22: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
- 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
- 2022-23: Chris Wright – Langston University
- 2021-22: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
- 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
- 2022-23: Rick Cabrera – Tallahassee Community College
- 2021-22: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State
- 2020-21: COVID Season – No winner selected
- 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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About Just Play Solutions
Just Play Solutions has become the market leader in coaches’ workflow. A platform to help coaches prepare playbooks, automate scouting reports, research analytics, integrate and distribute video, manage recruiting workflow, and organize recruiting schedules. The end-to-end platform is used by over 700 customers across the country and internationally in football, basketball, and lacrosse.
