By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 15 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 2019-20 college basketball season.
This is the fifth season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The previous 2019-20 weekly winners, and a list of all-time COY winners can be found following this weeks honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 15 winners are:
NCAA DI: Mark Pope – Brigham Young University
Coach Pope led BYU to two wins this week, including a huge senior night victory over Gonzaga. The Cougars, who entered the week ranked 23rd in the country, knocked off Santa Clara at home by a score of 85-75 on Thursday before a showdown with No. 2 Gonzaga on Saturday. A dominant 91-78 victory snapped Gonzaga’s streaks of 19 straight wins, 18 straight road wins, 40 straight regular season conference wins and 39 straight conference road wins. These two wins moved the Cougars (23-7, 12-3 WCC) up six spots in the latest AP Poll, as they now sit in the 16 spot with just one regular season game remaining. They will look to enter the WCC Tournament on a nine game winning streak when they travel to take on Pepperdine in on Saturday.
NCAA DII: David Balza – Palm Beach Atlantic University
Two game-winning shots extended Coach Balza’s squad’s winning streak to nine as the Sailfish reached the 20-win mark this week. Palm Beach Atlantic opened the week on Wednesday, facing off against No. 10 Nova Southeastern at home. Trailing by two with 16 seconds remaining, guard De’Ondre Jackson knocked down a three to lead the Sailfish to a 78-77 victory. PBA was back in action on Saturday, taking on Rollins on the road. With the score tied and 30 seconds remaining in overtime, Jackson nailed another three to hand the visitors an 89-86 triumph. The win gave Palm Beach Atlantic their first 20-win season in their DII era, as they are now 20-6 (13-5 SSC) on the season. They take on Lynn in their final road contest of the season on Wednesday.NCAA DIII: Greg Dunne – The College at Brockport
Coach Dunne’s Golden Eagles closed out a stellar regular season with two overtime victories on the road this week. On Friday, 23rd-ranked Brockport came away with an 86-80 victory in overtime against Cortland to clinch the No. 1 seed in the SUNYAC Tournament. An 85-80 overtime triumph at Oswego State the following day extended the Golden Eagles winning streak to 15 games heading into the postseason. Brockport finishes the regular season with a record of 22-3 (17-1 SUNYAC) – their best record in six years as well as Coach Dunne’s best conference record in his tenure with the program. The Golden Eagles are back in action when they host a SUNYAC semifinal matchup on Friday.
NAIA: Adam Hiatt – Montana Technological University
Coach Hiatt guided Montana Tech to two huge top-25 upsets this week, including one over the No. 3 team in NAIA Division 1. The Orediggers began the week by taking down 17th-ranked Carroll by a score of 74-66 on Tuesday. They carried this momentum into Thursday’s matchup against No. 3 Lewis-Clark State, coming away with a 67-64 victory to snap the visitors 16-game winning streak. This marked Montana Tech’s highest ranked win in program history, as well as the first time they defeated two ranked teams in a week. With two games remaining in the regular season, Coach Hiatt’s squad is 16-11 (8-8 Frontier) on the season. The Orediggers hit the road to take on Montana Western on Thursday as they look to win their third straight game.
JUCO: Chris Lovell – Bossier Parish Community College
Two closely contested victories this week gave Coach Lovell’s Cavaliers 18 wins on the season – the program’s most in over a decade. BPCC trailed Trinity Valley by six at the half on Wednesday before rallying late to come away with a 77-75 victory. An 88-86 triumph over Panola on the road on Saturday improved the Cavaliers to 18-10 (11-7 Region 14) on the season. The 11 region wins are the program’s most since joining Region 14. BPCC plays a final regular season regional contest on Saturday, as they take on Tyler at home.
2019-20 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Walter McCarty – University of Evansville
NCAA DII: Mark Downey – Northeastern State (OK)
NCAA DIII: Josh Merkel – Randolph-Macon College (VA)
NAIA: Kelly Wells – University of Pikeville (KY)
JUCO: Kyle Cooper – Western Texas College
NCAA DI: Tony Bennett – University of Virginia
NCAA DII: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas College (NY)
NCAA DIII: Bosko Djurickovic – Carthage College (WI)
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University (LA)
JUCO: Anthony Fletcher – Eastfield College (TX)
NCAA DI: Juwan Howard – University of Michigan
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University (NY)
NCAA DIII: Keith Bunkenburg – Benedictine University (IL)
NAIA: Todd Lorensen – Mount Marty College (SD)
JUCO: Cole Dewey – Otero Junior College (CO)
NCAA DI: LaVall Jordan – Butler University
NCAA DII: Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern College
NCAA DIII: Landry Kosmalski – Swarthmore College (NY)
NAIA: Tae Norwood – Keiser University (FL)
JUCO: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College (TX)
NCAA DI: Ritchie McKay – Liberty University
NCAA DII: Tom Klusman – Rollins College (FL)
NCAA DIII: Dave Niland – Penn State-Behrand
NAIA: Aaron Siebenthall – Ottawa University (KS)
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton Community College (PA)
NCAA DI: Steve Forbes – East Tennessee State University
NCAA DII: Damien Blair – West Chester University (PA)
NCAA DIII: Anthony Medina – University of St. Thomas (TX)
NAIA: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
JUCO: Terry Bowe – Lakeland Community College (OH)
NCAA DI: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
NCAA DII: DII Winter Break Week – No Winner
NCAA DIII: Pete Moran – John Carroll University (OH)
NAIA: Matt Wilber – Dakota Wesleyan University
JUCO: Eric Murphy – Florida SouthWestern State University
NCAA DI: Brian Dutcher – San Diego State University
NCAA DII: Kyle Gerdeman – Lindenwood University (MO)
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College (VT)
NAIA: Patrick Crarey – Washington Adventist University (MD)
JUCO: Luke Strege – Mineral Area College (MO)
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
NCAA DII: Eric Olen – University of California, San Diego
NCAA DIII: Jim Calhoun – University of Saint Joseph (CT)
NAIA: Preston Ingram – Missouri Baptist University
JUCO: Zach Settembre – Tallahassee Community College (FL)
NCAA DI: Nate Oats – University of Alabama
NCAA DII: Bart Lundy – Queens University of Charlotte
NCAA DIII: Jean Bain – Brandeis University (MA)
NAIA: Josh Gamblin – Mid-America Christian University
JUCO: Pat Smith – Moberly Area Community College
NCAA DI: Anthony Grant – University of Dayton
NCAA DII: Matt Majkrzak – Northern Michigan University
NCAA DIII: Damien Strahorn Colby College (ME)
NAIA: Chris Briggs – Georgetown College (KY)
JUCO: Carl Howell – Skagit Valley College (WA)
NCAA DI: Joe Gallo – Merrimack College
NCAA DII: Matt Brock – University of Illinois-Springfield
NCAA DIII: Elliot Steinmetz – Yeshiva University (NY)
NAIA: Alfred Williams – Xavier University of Louisiana
JUCO: Kevin O’Connor – Murray State College (OK)
NCAA DI: David Cox – University of Rhode Island
NCAA DII: Mike Helfer – Valdosta State University (GA)
NCAA DIII: Matt Hunter – York College (PA)
NAIA: Austin Hunter – Lewis-Clark State (ID)
JUCO: Matthew St. Croix – Mohawk Valley Community College (NY)
NCAA DI: Richie Riley – University of South Alabama
NCAA DII: Fred Watson – Miles College (AL)
NCAA DIII: Johnny Tauer – University of St. Thomas (MN)
NAIA: Kyle Blankenship – LSU Shreveport
JUCO: Randy Casey – Milwaukee Area Technical College
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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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