By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 14 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions. These 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 2020-21 college basketball season.
This is the sixth season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. This season’s previous weekly winners, and a list of all-time COY winners can be found following this week’s honorees.
This season will be a bit different, however. As college basketball adjusts to life with COVID, so will we. Not every level will be honored on a weekly basis – we will honor as many of the levels as possible provided enough games are played. It’s different than in the past, but we still hope to have enough weekly winners at each level to name a Coach of the Year (NCAA DI, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO) at the end of the season
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 14 winners are:
NCAA DI: Mike Boynton – Oklahoma State University
Coach Boynton guided Oklahoma State to a pair of overtime wins against ranked opponents this week. On Monday, the Cowboys trailed No. 18 Texas Tech by as many as nine early in the second half, but fought back to force overtime, where they came away with a 74-69 triumph. In their next contest, Oklahoma State rebounded from a seven point halftime deficit at No. 7 Oklahoma to take a huge 94-90 overtime victory. With these wins, the Cowboys improved to 16-6 (9-6 Big 12) on the season and jumped into the No. 17 spot in the latest AP Top-25 poll. They will look to extend their winning streak to five when they host Oklahoma in a rematch this evening.
NCAA DII: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State University
With two more victories this week, Coach McCollum’s Bearcats were able to close out the regular season on a 16-game winning streak. Top-ranked Northwest Missouri State began their week by shooting 67.8% from the field in a 95-59 win over Nebraska-Kearney. In their season finale on Saturday, the Bearcats defeated Fort Hays State by a score of 87-62 to finish the regular season with a record of 21-1 (21-1 MIAA). Their 16 consecutive victories marks the longest active NCAA Division II winning streak in the nation. Northwest will take on Emporia State in the MIAA quarterfinals on Wednesday.
NCAA DIII: Scott Coval – DeSales University
Coach Coval picked up his 500th career victory this week as his Bulldogs remained undefeated on the season. On Friday, DeSales came away with a hard-fought 75-72 triumph over Arcadia in the road portion of a home-and-home series. A 78-71 victory in the following day’s rematch marked career win No. 500 for Coach Coval. Now in his 28th season with the Bulldogs, Coval has compiled a career record of 500-244 (.672). His squad will look to move to 7-0 on the season when they face off against Eastern on Thursday.
NAIA: Marcus “Chief” Bryant – Keiser University
Coach Bryant’s squad won three games in the Sun Conference Tournament this week to capture an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The Seahawks cruised in the first two rounds of the tournament, defeating Coastal Georgia by 14 on Tuesday and Ave Maria by 17 on Friday. In Saturday’s championship game, Keiser junior CoreVon Lott drained a floater with one second remaining to take a 72-71 victory over St. Thomas and advance to the NAIA National Tournament. The Seahawks will enter the tournament with a record of 20-9 (13-7 TSC). Their first round matchup is to be revealed on Thursday night.
JUCO: Chris Parker – Arkansas State University Mid-South
2020-21 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Mark Few – Gonzaga University
NCAA DII: Jeff Horner – Truman State University (MO)
NCAA DIII: Clif Carroll – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX)
NAIA: Greg Tonagel – Indiana Wesleyan University
JUCO: No week 1 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Mike Magpayo – UC Riverside
NCAA DII: Brian Good – Wingate University (NC)
NCAA DIII: No week 2 winner awarded
NAIA: Dugan Lyne – Martin Methodist College (TN)
JUCO: No week 2 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Lamont Paris – Tennessee Chattanooga
NCAA DII: Mike DeGeorge – Colorado Mesa University
NCAA DIII: Neal Young – Covenant College (GA)
NAIA: Chris Dial – Our Lady of the Lake University (TX)
JUCO: No week 3 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
NCAA DII: Chad Warner – Flagler College (FL)
NCAA DIII: No week 4 winner awarded
NAIA: Danny Neville – University of Jamestown (ND)
JUCO: No week 4 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Bryan Mullins – Southern Illinois University
NCAA DII: No winner – mandatory DII winter break
NCAA DIII: No week 5 winner awarded
NAIA: Mark Svagera – Briar Cliff University (IA)
JUCO: No week 5 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Frank Haith – University of Tulsa
NCAA DII: Vinay Patel – Northwestern Oklahoma State University
NCAA DIII: No week 6 winner awarded
NAIA: Will Shouse – Asbury University (KY)
JUCO: No week 6 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Shaka Smart – University of Texas
NCAA DII: Dan Ficke – Belmont Abbey College (NC)
NCAA DIII: Reni Mason – Louisiana College
NAIA: Delano Thomas – Shawnee State University (OH)
JUCO: No week 7 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Isaac Brown – Wichita State
NCAA DII: Bubba Smith – Lee University (TN)
NCAA DIII: Damion Jablonski – Whitworth University (WA)
NAIA: Chris Wright – Talladega College (AL)
JUCO: No week 7 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Tony Pujol – University of North Alabama
NCAA DII: Blake Flickner – Dallas Baptist University
NCAA DIII: Bill Sall – Calvin University (MI)
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Jeff Reinert – College of Southern Idaho
NCAA DI: Lon Kruger – University of Oklahoma
NCAA DII: Kelvin Jefferson – Gannon University (PA)
NCAA DIII: Clay Nunley – Roanoke University (VA)
NAIA: Ryan Wall – Texas A&M – Texarkana
JUCO: Luke Strege – Mineral Area College (MO)
NCAA DI: Dennis Gates – Cleveland State
NCAA DII: Johnny Estelle – Texas A&M Kingsville
NCAA DIII: Brooks Miller – Trine University (IN)
NAIA: RJosh Gamblin – Mid-America Christian (OK)
JUCO: Brandon Giles – Polk State College (FL)
NCAA DI: Scott Davenport – Bellamine University
NCAA DII (Co-Winner): Todd Eisner – Winona State University (MN)
NCAA DII (Co-Winner): Mike Helfer – Valdosta University (GA)
NCAA DIII: Bill Fenlon – DePauw University (IN)
NAIA: John Teasley – Stillman College (AL)
JUCO: Pete Pena – Pensacola State College (FL)
NCAA DI: Casey Alexander – Belmont University
NCAA DII: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas College (NY)
NCAA DIII: John VanderWal – Marietta College (OH)
NAIA: Justin Newton -Reinhardt University (GA)
JUCO (Co-Winner): Bryan Bender – Southwest Mississippi CC
JUCO (Co-Winner): Matt Ridge – Davidson-Davie CC (NC)
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 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
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College (AL)
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State (MI)
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University (TN)
Division III
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University (NY)
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College (WA)
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College (MA)
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College (KY)
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University (IA)
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College (KY)
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College (TX)
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College (NJ)
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College (IA)
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College (IL)
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.
