Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 11 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 11 winners are:
NCAA DI: Josh Pastner, Georgia Tech
Perhaps nobody had a bigger week than Pastner and Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets took down two top-15 teams, first pounding #6 Florida State 78-56 on Wednesday, and then winning in dramatic fashion on a buzzer beater to down 14th ranked Notre Dame on Saturday. Pastner’s Ramblin’ Wreck have now defeated three top-25 teams this season – the most since the 2003-04 season. Georgia Tech is 13-8 in Coach Pastner’s first year on the job and currently stand at sixth place in the ultra-loaded ACC. Their 5-4 conference record is their best record after nine ACC games since 2009-10. They’ll look to keep the momentum going this week with road games at Clemson and Wake Forest.
NCAA DII: TJ Dekmar, Goldey-Beacom College (DE)
Coach Dekmar has been the leader of one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball this year. At the ripe age of 27, Dekmar inherited a squad that went 10-16 last year. This year he already has the Lightening off to a 17-3 start as they sit in first place in the CACC South with an 11-2 mark. This past week saw a pair of wins for the first-year head coach and a school record ten in a row for Goldey-Beacom, including a 115-74 shellacking of Nyack which set the school record for most points in a game. They take on Philadelphia U and Post University this week.
NCAA DIII: John Krikorian, Christopher Newport University (VA)
A repeat customer of the Coach of the Week award, Coach Krikorian has Christopher Newport playing at their usual level. Ranked third in the country right now the Captains are 17-2 overall with an 11-1 mark in conference. They are coming off of a week where they came from behind to defeat 12th ranked Salisbury University 55-53 on Wednesday night, and then blew out Penn State Harrisburg 75-47 on Saturday. Krikorian’s crew is currently ranked second in the nation in points allowed per game and also second in field goal percentage defense. They’ll look to get to 19-2 this week with games coming up against University of Mary Washington and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
NAIA: Justin Wetzel, Dickinson State University (ND)
Coach Wetzel and his squad have been clamping down on the defensive end of late. In their two wins last week they held both teams to under 55 points – they beat Viterbo 92-52 on Friday, and then knocked off Mayville State 70-48 on Saturday afternoon. Dickinson State stands at 18-2 on the year and a conference best 10-2. The Blue Hawks have now reeled off eight straight wins, and remain a perfect 12-0 at home. The 18-wins are the most for the program since 2004, and a stark contrast from the 7-win program Wetzel took over just two short years ago.
JUCO: Chuck Moore, Richard Bland College (VA)
Coach Moore’s Statesmen currently sit at 18-3 overall and 11-1 in their region. The preseason contenders have validated the hype, and occupy the #6 spot in the most recent NJCAA Division II Top 20. This past week, they went 2-0, defeating Patrick Henry CC and Guilford Tech – both on the road. The Statesmen have won their last five games and 14 out of 15, while sporting an unblemished 7-0 home record. They’ll look to get wins 19 and 20 this week with match-ups against Lenoir CC and Catawba Valley CC.
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)
Week 10:
NCAA DI: Chris Collins, Northwestern University
NCAA DII: Chris Fife, Shippensburg University (PA)
NCAA DIII: Ken Scalmanini, Claremont Mudd Scripps (CA)
NAIA: Sean Hanrahan, Warner University (FL)
JUCO: Matt Ridge, Davidson County CC (NC)
