Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 11 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 2018-19 college basketball season.
Nominations for next week’s award can be emailed to: [email protected].
The Week 11 winners are:
NCAA DI: Steve Henson – University of Texas at San Antonio
It was a wild week for Coach Henson’s Roadrunners, as they picked up two wins in very different ways. UTSA began the week with a dominating 88-43 victory over Charlotte, giving up their fewest points since 2014. The Roadrunners then pulled off the comeback of the season against Old Dominion on Saturday. Trailing 67-49 with 4:43 remaining, UTSA came all the way back, hitting a game-winning three with 15 seconds remaining to complete the thrilling comeback and secure a 74-73 win. With the win, UTSA grabbed a share of first place in Conference USA (6-2) and moved to 12-9 overall on the season. They return to action on Thursday at Western Kentucky.
NCAA DII: Mark Downey – Northeastern State University (OK)
Coach Downey’s squad continued their hot play of late, winning two more conference games on the road and extending their winning streak to five. The RiverHawks defeated Lincoln 80-72 on Thursday and Lindenwood 76-71 on Saturday. After being picked last in the preseason conference media poll and dropping their first five conference games, Northeastern State has picked up five straight conference wins, improving to 11-8 on the season (5-5 MIAA). The win over Lindenwood also marked the first time since the 2009-10 season that NSU has won three straight road games. They return home to kick off a three-game homestand on Thursday, facing off against Central Missouri.
NCAA DIII: Damien Strahorn – Colby College (ME)
Coach Strahorn had an eventful week, as his squad won on a buzzer beater before going and beating two top-20 teams on the road. On Tuesday, Colby hit a buzzer beating three to take a 101-98 victory in a non-conference matchup against Husson. The Mules carried this momentum into their ensuing road trip, as they knocked off #19 Amherst 83-73 on Friday and #6 Hamilton 86-78 on Saturday. These huge wins improved Colby to 15-5 on the season (3-3 NESCAC). The Mules will look to extend their winning streak to four on Friday at home against Williams.
NAIA: Denis Shaefer – Grand View University (IA)
Coach Schaefer’s Grand View squad had a huge week, knocking off a top-25 team in both of their wins this week. The Vikings opened the week with a thrilling 73-69 overtime victory against #2 William Penn, handing the Statesmen just their fourth loss of the season. They followed this up with a big 90-75 road win against #24 Central Methodist University. These victories pushed the Vikings over .500 on the season, as they are now 10-9 (6-8 Heart of America). Next up for Grand View is another ranked opponent, as they face #7 Benedictine College on Thursday.
JUCO: Corey McKendry – Schoolcraft College (MI)
Schoolcraft College, led by Coach McKendry, remained undefeated as they came away with two more victories this week. The Ocelots defeated St. Clair 92-82 and Alpena 117-62 to move to 16-0 on the season. With the loss this week by #1 South Suburban, Schoolcraft should take over the NJCAA DII top spot when the rankings are released this week. They will look to continue their dominant play on Wednesday against Oakland Community College.
USCAA: Jonathan Pena – Berkeley College (NY)
Berkeley, ranked #2 in USCAA DII, won two games this week, including a defeat of the #1 team in the nation. On Wednesday, Coach Pena’s squad came away with a dominating 118-47 win on the road against Vaughn. Following this victory, the Knights faced off against #1 overall 19-1 Villa Maria. They took a 91-84 victory, improving to 12-4 on the season and coming away with their 32nd consecutive win at home. The Knights will look to win their sixth straight game as they take on Davis College at home on Wednesday.
[Coach of the Week written and compiled by HoopDirt.com contributor AJ Nelson]
2018-19 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Bob Richey – Furman University
NCAA DII: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State University
NCAA DIII: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
NAIA: Aaron Coombs – Oklahoma Pan Handle State University
JUCO: Anthony Figueroa – Parkland College (IL)
NCAA DI: Greg McDermott – Creighton University
NCAA DII: Stan Gouard – University of Indianapolis
NCAA DIII: Quintin Grogan – Johnson & Wales University Denver
NAIA: Mike Newell – Dillard University (LA)
JUCO: Craig Fletchall – Barton Community (KS)
NCAA DI: Eric Musselman – University of Nevada
NCAA DII: Jeff Price – Lynn University (FL)
NCAA DIII: Jimmy Smith – Millsaps College (MS)
NAIA: Rocky Lamar – MidAmerica Nazarene University (KS)
JUCO: Nkrumah Jones – Bunker Hill Community College (MA)
NCAA DI: Frank Haith – University of Tulsa
NCAA DII: Billy Taylor – Belmont Abbey College (NC)
NCAA DIII: Andrew Weber – Rockford University (IL)
NAIA: Mike McBride – Holy Cross College (IN)
JUCO: Mark White – Tallahassee Community College (FL)
NCAA DI: Rick Barnes – University of Tennessee
NCAA DII: Scott Burrell – Southern Connecticut State University
NCAA DIII: Larry Anderson – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NAIA: Stan Holt – Langston University (OK)
JUCO: Hank Plona – Indian Hills Community College (IA)
USCAA: Patrick Crarey, II -Washington Adventist University (MD)
NCAA DI: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
NCAA DII: Eric Bovaird – Chaminade University (HI)
NCAA DIII: Carl Danzig – University of Scranton (PA)
NAIA: Jared Ronai – Mount Vernon Nazarene University (OH)
JUCO: William West – Prince George’s Community College (MD)
NCAA DI: Johnny Jones -Texas Southern University
NCAA DII: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern University (FL)
NCAA DIII: Tom Spanbauer – SUNY Cortland
NAIA: Jayson Artaz – Bethel College (KS)
JUCO: Jeff Brustad – Monroe College (NY)
NCAA DI: Chris Mullin – St. John’s University
NCAA DII: Scott Davenport – Bellarmine University (KY)
NCAA DIII: Matt Siverling – Wisconsin-Eau Claire
NAIA: R-Jay Barsh – Southeastern University (FL)
JUCO: Mark Bunker – Scottsdale CC (AZ)
USCAA: Don Silveri – Villa Maria College (NY)
NCAA DI: Kermit Davis – Ole Miss
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Greg Dunne – SUNY Brockport
NAIA: Ty Harrelson – Wayland Baptist University (TX)
JUCO: Mike Burris – Olney Central College (IL)
USCAA: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
NCAA DI: Nate Oats – University of Buffalo
NCAA DII: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas College (NY)
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College (VT)
NAIA (Co-Winner): Donnie Butcher – University of the Cumberlands (KY)
NAIA (Co-Winner): Kevin Easley – Life University (GA)
JUCO: Chris Oney – Pearl River CC (MS)
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
2017-18: Porter Moser – Loyola University Chicago
2016-17: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
2015-16: Roy Williams – University of North Carolina
Division II
2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State (MI)
2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University (TN)
Division III
2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College (WA)
2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College (MA)
2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA
2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University (IA)
2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College (KY)
2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-AlexandriaN
JUCO
2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College (NJ)
2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College (IA)
2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College (IL)
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