Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 4 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions. The 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 2017-18 college basketball season.
Past weekly and yearly winners can be found below this week’s recipients.
Nominations for next week’s award can be emailed to: [email protected].
The Week 4 winners are:
NCAA DI: James Whitford – Ball State
Coach Whitford’s Cardinals defeated a nationally ranked team for the first time since 2001 on the way to a 2-0 week. Ball State stunned 8th ranked Notre Dame 80-77 on Tuesday, on a game winning three by junior Taylor Persons in the final seconds. The Cardinals then went on to defeat Valparaiso 71-70 on Saturday, on yet another game-winning three by Persons. This victory extended their winning streak to five games and was their second straight win against a top-100 team. Ball State is back in action at home against North Florida on Tuesday.
NCAA DII: Adam Bohac – Southern Nazarene University (OK)
Southern Nazarene University, led by Coach Adam Bohac, went 2-0 this week and defeated a Division I opponent for the first time in school history. The Crimson Storm began the week by defeating Southeastern Oklahoma State to improve to 5-0 in conference play and 6-1 on the season. Southern Nazarene then faced off against Division I Oral Roberts University and pulled out a 68-60 victory. The Crimson Storm will look to extend their winning streak to four as they take on Central Oklahoma on Tuesday.
NCAA DIII: Hilliary Scott – Lynchburg College (VA)
Coach Scott’s Hornets squad finished a 2-0 week by capturing the FNCB Bank Monarch Classic title in a record setting victory. Lynchburg College defeated Susquehannah University 73-65 in the first round of the tournament on Saturday, then faced host King’s College (PA) in the championship game. The Hornets cruised to a 131-64 win, setting multiple records along the way. The 67-point victory was the largest ever under Coach Scott, and the 24 three-pointers set a new school record. Lynchburg will now head to the Music City Classic in Nashville where they will play Ohio Northern on Friday.
NAIA: Vinay Patel – Oklahoma City University
Coach Patel’s 23rd ranked Stars defeated a top-10 opponent on the way to an impressive 2-0 week. Oklahoma City University handed 7th ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma their first loss of the season on Wednesday in a 92-80 victory. They then went on to pull out a hard fought 103-95 overtime win against John Brown University (AR). This improved the Stars record to 8-2 on the season and moved them into a tie for second place in the SAC. Oklahoma City is back in action against Bacone College on Saturday.
JUCO: Tommy Guerin – Borough of Manhattan Community College
Coach Guerin rode his Borough of Manhattan Community College Panthers’ high-powered offense to two impressive victories this week. On Thursday, the Panthers defeated Bergen Community College 117-77. They followed up on this victory with a 120-93 win over Bronx Community College on Saturday. This marked the sixth straight win for the high-scoring Panthers, who have averaged 107.3 point per game during the streak. BMCC will look to keep their streak alive as they face Schenectady County Community College on Saturday.
[Coach of the Week written and compiled by HoopDirt.com contributor AJ Nelson]
2017-18 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Fran Dunphy – Temple University
NCAA DII: Pryor Orser – Colorado School of Mines
NCAA DIII: Kevin Bettencourt – Endicott College (MA)
NAIA (co-winner): Wayne Wagner – Viterbo University (WI)
NAIA (co-winner): Matt O’Brien – Southwestern College (KS)
JUCO: Mark White – Tallahassee Community College
NCAA DI: Porter Moser – Loyola University Chicago
NCAA DII: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State University (MI)
NCAA DIII: Justin Lunt – University of Puget Sound (WA)
NAIA: Keith Adkins – Life University (GA)
JUCO: Don Tuley – Seminole State College (OK)
NCAA DI: Chris Mack – Xavier University
NCAA DII: Darrell Walker – Clark Atlanta University
NCAA DIII: Pat Juckem – University of Wisconsin-Osh Kosh
NAIA: R-Jay Barsh – Southeastern University (FL)
JUCO: Steve DeMeo – Northwest Florida State College
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
2016-17: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
2015-16: Roy Williams – University of North Carolina
Division II
2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University (TN)
Division III
2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College
2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA
2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College (KY)
2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College (IA)
2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College (IA)
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About Just Play Solutions
Just Play Solutions is quickly becoming a market leader in helping coaches to prepare faster and teach athletes more effectively. From our digital coaching tools to interactive mobile app coaches can build playbooks, scouting reports, integrate video and even quiz players. Working with over 325 programs from high school to the professional levels, Just Play has a solution for any budget or need. Just Play currently has products available for Basketball, Football, Soccer, Hockey and Lacrosse.
