Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 10 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by The Hoop Group. The coaches are now eligible to receive the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by the Hoop Group which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2016-17 college basketball season.
Nominations for next week’s award can be emailed to: [email protected] – please include a brief statement as to why the coach should be recognized as well as any other information that may be helpful.
The Week 10 winners are:
NCAA DI: Chris Collins, Northwestern University
With a 74-72 win at Ohio State on Sunday, Collins’ Wildcats move to 16-4 on the year and an impressive 5-2 in the Big Ten. Sunday’s victory also marks Northwestern’s best 20-game start to a season in school history, and their best start in the Big Ten since the 1967-68 season. Northwestern, the only team from a power five conference who has never made it to an NCAA tournament, will host Nebraska and Indiana in Evanston this week as they look to further their chances to make it to the Big Dance. Northwestern received 28 votes in the latest AP poll, and two wins this week should catapult them into the Top-25.
NCAA DII: Chris Fite, Shippensburg University (PA)
Coach Fite has his Pennsylvania squad rolling, undefeated on the season standing at 17-0 and an astounding 13-0 in conference play. Fite’s squad is just one of four unbeaten teams remaining at the DII level. This past week, Shippensburg took down East Stroudsburg 86-82 in overtime on Wednesday before beating Cheney by 10 on the road on Saturday. Ranked in the top-10 in the most recent DII polls, Shippensburg will look to pick up wins 18 and 19 when they host UPJ before traveling to Millersville next weekend.
NCAA DIII: Ken Scalmanini, Claremont Mudd Scripps (CA)
Coach Scalmanini is reminding people that UCLA isn’t the only high flying hardwood show in Southern California. The Stags, currently ranked #18 in the nation, are coming off of a 3-0 week, and have now won seven straight games. With wins against Occidental (63-58), Chapman (62-44), and Cal Lutheran (86-71) last week, CMS has pushed their record to 13-1 and 6-0 in conference. They’ll look to take two more this week with league match-ups against La Verne and Pomona-Pitzer.
NAIA: Sean Hanrahan, Warner University (FL)
Hanrahan’s Warner Royals are currently 18-2 (9-2 in conference) with win #18 coming in dramatic fashion this past week. Playing rival Southeastern University in the NAIA National Game of the Week on Saturday, Warner overcame an 18-point deficit with 11:59 remaining in the second half to win 94-85 in overtime. Ranked in the top-10 in the country, Warner is gearing up for a showdown against fellow nationally ranked team Keiser University on the 26th before hosting Johnson & Wales on the 28th.
JUCO: Matt Ridge, Davidson County CC (NC)
Davidson County is currently the 2nd ranked NJCAA DIII team in the country and with good reason. Last week, Coach Matt Ridge’s squad defeated Sandhills CC (92-88), and Johnston CC (119-83) to improve their record to 19-1. Entering this week they’ll look to pick up a pair of wins at home as they host Central Carolina and Bluefield College. Wins in both of those games could land DCCC the #1 ranking in the nation, as current top dog Onondaga took a loss earlier this week.
Previous Weekly Winners:
Week 1:
NCAA DI: Tom Crean, Indiana
NCAA DII: Brian Beaury, College of Saint Rose
NCAA DIII: David Hixon, Amherst College
NAIA: Jeff Britt, Bethel College (TN)
JUCO: John Pigatti, South Suburban College (IL)
Week 2:
NCAA DI: Chris Holtman, Butler
NCAA DII: Ben McCollum, Northwest Missouri State
NCAA DIII: Tom Slyder, Northpark
NAIA: Kevin Burton, Union College (KY)
JUCO: Martin McCann, Palm Beach State
Week 3:
NCAA DI: Scott Drew, Baylor
NCAA DII: Kyle Tolin, Arknasas Monticello
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose, Illinois Wesleyan
NAIA: Craig Doty, Graceland College
JUCO: Steven DeMeo, Northwest Florida State
Week 4:
NCAA DI: Roy Williams, University of North Carolina
NCAA DII: Jerrod Calhoun, Fairmont State University
NCAA DIII: Luke Flockerzi, University of Rochester
NAIA: Kim Elders, Cornerstone University
JUCO: Patrick Smith, Moberly Area Community College
Week 5:
NCAA DI: Steve Forbes, East Tennessee State
NCAA DII: Rodney Watson, University of Southern Indiana
NCAA DIII: Charlie Brock, Springfield College
NAIA: Rollie Massimino, Keiser University
JUCO: Luke Strege, Mineral Area College
Week 6:
NCAA DI: Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech
NCAA DII: Paul Trevor, San Francisco State
NCAA DIII: Eric Bridgeland, Whitman College
NAIA: Jeff Rutter, Arizona Christian
JUCO: David Archer, Jr., Chattahoochee Tech
Week 7:
NCAA DI: Kelvin Sampson, Houston
NCAA DII: Jamie Stevens, Montana State Billings
NCAA DIII: Mark Edwards, Washington University (St. Louis)
NAIA: Kelly Wells, University of Pikeville (KY)
JUCO: Steve Green, South Plains College (TX)
Week 8:
NCAA DI: Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s
NCAA DII: Nelson Haggerty, Midwestern State (TX)
NCAA DIII: Chris Martin, Loras College (IA)
NAIA: Larry Cordaro, LSU Alexandria
JUCO: Todd Lorensen, Southwestern CC (IA)
Week 9:
NCAA DI: Kevin Keatts, UNC Wilmington
NCAA DII: Bob Pietrack, Fort Lewis College (CO)
NCAA DIII: Bob Ghiloni, Denison University (OH)
NAIA: Tony Ingle, Dalton State (GA)
JUCO: Charlie Wilson, Indian River State College (FL)
