Story: AJ Nelson, Senior Staff Writer, HoopDirt.com
BOSTON, MA – The following college basketball coaches have been named recipients of the Week 5 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. The list of 2024-25 weekly winners, as well as the all-time COY recipients can be found below this week’s release.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The week 5 winners are:
NCAA D1: Dennis Gates – University of Missouri
Coach Gates led Missouri to a pair of huge wins this week as the Tigers extended their winning streak to eight. Hosting California in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Tuesday, the Tigers found themselves trailing by 16 at the half. They came alive in the second half, however, shooting 84.6% from the field and putting up 63 points – their most in a half since 2001 – to come back and take a 98-93 victory. Missouri then closed out the week with a home matchup against top-ranked Kansas, forcing 22 Jayhawk turnovers en route to a 76-67 triumph – its first win over an AP No. 1 opponent since 1997. Now 8-1 on the season, Missouri’s homestand will continue when the Tigers host LIU on Saturday.
NCAA D2: Michael Lamberti – Coker University
Coach Lamberti guided Coker to two more victories this week as the Cobras’ continued their historic start to the season. In the Top-25 for the first time since the 1996-97 season, the 24th-ranked Cobras drilled a three with 10 seconds remaining to complete a 15-point second half comeback and take a 112-109 win over Emory & Henry on the road on Wednesday. Coker’s high-powered offense was back on display on Saturday, as the Cobras came away with a 110-97 home victory over Mars Hill. Now 7-0 (5-0 SAC) on the season, Coker is off to its best start in program history and has surpassed the 100-point threshold in every game this season. The Cobras will return to the floor when they take on Anderson in a road matchup on Wednesday night.
NCAA D3: Kent Dernbach – University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
Coach Dernbach’s Pointers took down the No. 1 team in the country this week as they extended their perfect start to the season. UW – Stevens Point hosted top-ranked Trine on Saturday, jumping out to a nine-point halftime lead and holding on to take a 65-62 win. The impressive victory extended the Pointers’ winning streak to seven to begin the season. Having received the second-most votes of teams not in the D3hoops.com Top-25 last week, UW – Stevens Point will almost certainly find itself in the rankings this week. The Pointers next matchup comes at home on Saturday night against the University of Olivet.
NAIA: Clint Galyean – Wayland Baptist University
Having already defeated the nation’s No. 1 ranked team earlier in the season, Coach Galyean’s squad took down another ranked opponent this week. The Pioneers opened the week on the road against Southwestern Christian, using a big second half to pull away and take an 87-56 victory. Remaining on the road, Wayland Baptist faced off against 19th-ranked Oklahoma City on Saturday afternoon. The back-and-forth affair ended with a go-ahead three by Pioneers’ senior guard Quenton Coleman with just two seconds remaining in the contest, pushing Wayland Baptist to a 79-77 triumph. Now 6-5 (6-1 SAC) on the campaign, the Pioneers will travel to take on Texas Wesleyan on Thursday night.
JUCO: Cole Dewey – Indian Hills Community College
Coach Dewey’s Warriors picked up a trio of impressive victories this week, including one over a fellow top-25 opponent. No. 5 Indian Hills began the week by putting up 130 points – their most since 2015 – in a 130-73 blowout win over Dakota County. The Warriors then traveled to Texas for a pair of tough matchups at the SPC Invitational over the weekend. Facing off against the hosts, RV South Plains, on Saturday, Indian Hills rallied back from a nine-point halftime deficit to come away with a 94-88 victory. Back in action the following day, the Warriors used another strong second half to pull away from #18 Frank Phillips en route to a 76-62 triumph. Now 11-3 on the season, Indian Hills will return home to take on Snow College on Friday.
2024-25 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
Week 1
Early season – no winners selected.
NCAA DI: Bill Self – Kansas
NCAA DII: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
NCAA DIII: Steve Schweer – Illinois College
NAIA: Tony Romero – Central Christian College
JUCO: Hunter Jenkins – Frank Phillips College
NCAA DI: Ben McCollum – Drake University
NCAA DII: Justin Namolik – Shepherd University
NCAA DIII: B.J. Dunne – Gettysburg College
NAIA: Steve Drabyn – Bethel University (IN)
JUCO: Kyle Pugh – Cloud County Community College
NCAA DI: Bruce Pearl – Auburn University
NCAA DII: Ben Wilkins – Seton Hill University
NCAA DIII: Chris Bartley – Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Joey Cantens – Daytona State 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.
