By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 13 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 2021-22 college basketball season.
This is the seventh season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list 2021-22 Coach of the Week winners, as well as the list of all-time COY winners can be found following this week’s honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 13 winners are:
NCAA DI: LeVelle Moton – North Carolina Central University
Coach Moton’s squad got back on track after their first conference loss last week, picking up a pair of closely-contested victories against quality opponents. The Eagles defeated Norfolk State in a 70-67 nail-biter on Monday, handing the visitors their first loss in MEAC play this season. Back in action against Coppin State on Saturday, NC Central was able to get a stop on the game’s final possession to come away with a 69-68 victory. With the wins, the Eagles moved back to .500 (10-10, 4-1 MEAC) on the season. Their next contest comes at South Carolina State later this evening.
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University
Coach Healing guided Pace to three impressive victories this week, as the Setters improved to 14-8 on the season. The Setters kicked off their week with a thrilling victory on Monday, as graduate student Austin Gilbertson knocked down a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to propel Pace to a 68-67 win over Le Moyne. Returning home on Wednesday, Pace held New Haven to just 29.2% from the field in a dominant 77-48 triumph. The Setters closed out the week with another strong defensive performance on Saturday, defeating Saint Rose by a score of 73-56 to move to 10-5 in NE10 play. Pace will look to make it four straight wins when they face off against Southern Connecticut State on Thursday.
NCAA DIII: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
Coach Baptiste led UMass Dartmouth to a rare four-win week – with all coming by double-digits. The Corsairs found themselves trailing Keene State at the half of their first game of the week on Monday, but closed the game on a 27-6 run to secure a 76-60 victory. At UMass Boston on Wednesday, UMass Dartmouth led by as many as 18 in the first half of a 77-62 triumph. The Corsairs closed out their week with a home-and-home series with Southern Maine – winning 96-57 at home on Saturday, and 93-55 on the road on Sunday. Now 18-2 (10-1 LEC) on the season, UMass Dartmouth will look to extend its winning streak to 12 when it hosts Keene State on Wednesday night.
NAIA: Stan Holt – Presentation College
In his first season at the helm, Coach Holt continued his turnaround of the Presentation program this week, as his Saints won a pair of contests against two of the top teams in the NSAA. Presentation trailed Dakota State by as many as 11 in the first half of Friday’s matchup before closing the gap and eventually pulling out a 60-58 victory. Back in action the following day, the Saints knocked down a game-winning free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining to take a 68-67 triumph over Bellevue. The two victories marked the first time since 2019 that Presentation won two conference games in a weekend. Holt’s Saints are 11-13 (4-7 NSAA) on the season, and have already surpassed the program’s combined win total of 7 from the two years prior to his arrival in Aberdeen. They will attempt to continue their solid play when they travel to take on Waldorf on Friday.
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton Community College
Coach McCarthy’s Spartans extended their winning streak to 12 with three more impressive victories this week. Then-No. 12 Northampton trailed the Community College of Philadelphia by as many as 13 early in the second half on Tuesday, but rallied back into the contest and eventually came away with an 88-85 triumph. The Spartans put on a defensive showcase in their next matchup, holding Mercer County Community College to just 32% from the field in a 68-39 victory on Thursday. Closing out the week on Saturday, Northampton used a big second half to pull away from Thaddeus Stevens and pick up an 87-58 win to improve to 17-2 on the season. Now ranked 9th in the latest NJCAA DIII Top 15 Poll, the Spartans visit Montgomery County Community College on Tuesday night.
2021-22 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Gerald Gillion – Chicago State University
NCAA DII: Jeff Brookman – Anderson University
NCAA DIII: Rich Sutter – Westfield State University
NAIA: Kurt Paulson – Carroll College
JUCO: Jeremy Shulman – Eastern Florida State College
NCAA DI: Lamont Paris – Chattanooga
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Chris Carideo – Widener University
NAIA: Chris Wright – Talladega College
JUCO: Allen Sharpe – Wallace State Community College
NCAA DI: T.J. Otzelberger – Iowa State
NCAA DII: Todd Duncan – Lubbock Christian University
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Hank Plona – Indian Hills Community College
NCAA DI: Ed Cooley – Providence College
NCAA DII: Greg Clink – Cal State Chico
NCAA DIII: Tim Fusina – Waynesburg University
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
JUCO: Kyle Taylor – Salt Lake Community College
NCAA DI: Kevin Willard – Seton Hall University
NCAA DII: Jason Taylor – Newberry College
NCAA DIII: Scott Coval – DeSales University
NAIA: Alfred Williams – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Jake Williams – Dodge City Community College
NCAA DI: Speedy Claxton – Hofstra University
NCAA DII: Justin Weick – University of Minnesota Duluth
NCAA DIII: Raul Placeres – Maryville College
NAIA: Brandon Espinosa – Paul Quinn College
JUCO: Bill Beilein – Niagara County CC
NCAA DI: Jerry Stackhouse – Vanderbilt University
NCAA DII: D2 winter break – no games played
NCAA DIII: Jimmy Smith – Trinity College (TX)
NAIA: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
JUCO: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Shawn Walker – Elizabeth City State University
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose – Illinois Wesleyan University
NAIA: Colby Blaine – The College of Idaho
JUCO: Brandon Giles – Polk State College
NCAA DI: Jim Larrañaga – University of Miami
NCAA DII: Vinay Patel – Northwestern Oklahoma State University
NCAA DIII: Todd McGuinness – Case Western Reserve University
NAIA: Lance Von Vogt – William Jessup University
JUCO: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Dana Altman – University of Oregon
NCAA DII: Craig Doty – Emporia State University
NCAA DIII: Pat Juckem – Washington University in St. Louis
NAIA: Preston Ingram – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Bill Morosco – Garden City CC
NCAA DI: Chris Victor – Seattle University
NCAA DII: George Suggs – McKendree University
NCAA DIII: Ryan Mee – Vassar College
NAIA: Matt O’Brien – Southwestern College
JUCO: Victor Correa – Suffolk County CC
NCAA DI: Bruce Pearl – Auburn University
NCAA DII: Bob Pietrack – Fort Lewis College
NCAA DIII: Don Friday – Penn State Harrisburg
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Mike Hunter – Lakeland CC
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2020-21: Dennis Gates – Cleveland State University
- 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
- 2020-21: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2019-20: Fred Watson – Miles College
- 2018-19: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2017-18: Andy Bronkema – Ferris State
- 2016-17: Ben McCollum – Northwest Missouri State
- 2015-16: Josh Schertz – Lincoln Memorial University
Division III
- 2020-21: Brooks Miller – Trine University
- 2019-20: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University
- 2018-19: Dale Wellman – Nebraska Wesleyan University
- 2017-18: Eric Bridgeland – Whitman College
- 2016-17: Stephen Brennan – Babson College
- 2015-16: John Tauer – University of St. Thomas
NAIA
- 2020-21: Delano Thomas – Shawnee State University
- 2019-20: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
- 2018-19: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College
- 2017-18: Craig Doty – Graceland University
- 2016-17: Kevin Burton – Union College
- 2015-16: Larry Cordaro – LSU-Alexandria
JUCO
- 2020-21: No winner named – COVID season
- 2019-20: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
- 2018-19: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College
- 2017-18: Paul Cisek – Brookdale Community College
- 2016-17: Todd Lorensen – Southwestern Community College
- 2015-16: Craig Doty – Rock Valley College
USCAA
- 2018-19: LeShawn Hammett – Penn State Wilkes-Barre
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About Just Play Solutions
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