Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 7 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 7 winners are:
NCAA DI: LaVall Jordan – Butler University
Coach Jordan’s Bulldogs squad got off to a stellar start in Big East play this week, with a huge victory over the #1 team in the country. Butler began the week with a hard-fought 91-89 2OT victory at Georgetown, in which they fought back from a 20-point deficit. The Bulldogs then faced off against undefeated, #1 ranked Villanova on Saturday. They were able to stun the Wildcats, taking a 101-93 victory in which they shot an insane 15-22 (68%) from three. This was Butler’s third win against a #1 team since the beginning of the 2012-2013 season – the most in the nation in that time. The 13-2 Bulldogs will look to continue their hot start in Big East play when they face off against Xavier on Tuesday.
NCAA DII: Rodney Watson – University of Southern Indiana
The University of Southern Indiana, led by Coach Watson, went 2-0 at the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic in an impressive week to end 2017. The Screaming Eagles opened the Classic with a huge 94-77 upset over 9th ranked Lake Superior State University. They then defeated Ohio Valley University 95-69 to finish without a loss in the Classic. This victory improved Southern Indiana’s record to 11-3 on the season. The Screaming Eagles are back in action on Thursday in a conference match-up against the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
NCAA DIII: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College (WA)
Coach Brideland’s #1 ranked Blues remained undefeated this week with a 2-0 performance at the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas. Whitman first defeated University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 77-64 before facing #14 Ohio Wesleyan. Down by 15 points with 11 minutes to go, Whitman was able to fight back to take a thrilling 94-92 victory. This pushed the Blues to 11-0 on the season, and extended their regular season winning streak to 44 games. Whitman begins conference play on Friday against Pacific University.
NAIA: Jeff Sherman – Central Methodist University (MO)
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6th ranked Central Methodist University went 2-0 at the Rib Crib – Kansas Wesleyan Coyote Classic this week. Coach Sherman’s Eagles began the Classic by defeating NAIA DII – 8th ranked Southwestern College 80-68. They then took down host Kansas Wesleyan 55-53 in an extremely hard-fought game. Central Methodist is 13-1 on the season and currently on a 5-game winning streak. The Eagles will look to keep winning as they play Baker University in conference action on Wednesday.
JUCO: Brian Peabody – Pima Community College (AZ)
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o. 6 ranked Pima Community College, led by Coach Peabody, rode their high-powered offense to a 3-0 showing at the Bruce Fleck Classic this week. The Aztecs first defeated NJCAA DI Utah State Eastern 99-81 before taking an impressive 115-99 victory over Macomb Community College, leading by as much as 41 points in the second half. Pima CC then finished the Classic by scoring a ridiculous 133 points en route to a 133-95 defeat of Bismarck State College. The Aztecs improved to 12-1 on the season with this win. They will look to extend their win streak to eight games as they take on Scottsdale Community College on Wednesday.
[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
NCAA DI: James Whitford – Ball State
NCAA DII: Adam Bohac – Southern Nazarene University (OK)
NCAA DIII: Hilliary Scott – Lynchburg College (VA)
NAIA: Vinay Patel – Oklahoma City University
JUCO: Tommy Guerin – Borough of Manhattan Community College
NCAA DI: Steve Pikiell – Rutgers University
NCAA DII: Jeff Burkhamer – University of West Florida
NCAA DIII: Steve Howes – Catholic University (DC)
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – Louisiana State University – Shreveport
JUCO: Hank Plona – Indian Hills Community College (IA)
NCAA DI: Mike Young – Wofford College
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Mike Schauer – Wheaton College (IL)
NAIA: Kelvin Starr – The Master’s University (CA)
JUCO: Evan Lavery – Rock Valley College (IL)
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 (MA)
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 (IL)
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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.
