By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 3 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 3 winners are:
NCAA DI: Lamont Paris – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
With three more victories this week, Coach Paris has the Mocs off to a historic start to the season. Chattanooga grabbed a pair of wins early in the week, defeating Middle Tennessee State on Monday and Bellarmine on Wednesday. A victory over North Georgia on Saturday pushed the Mocs to 6-0 on the season – their best start ever as a Division I program. The Mocs will look to continue their hot start and remain unbeaten when they take on UNC Asheville at home on Wednesday.
NCAA DII: Mike DeGeorge – Colorado Mesa University
Coach DeGeorge guided Colorado Mesa to a pair of road victories this week, including a double overtime thriller to remain undefeated on the season. On Friday, the No. 22 Mavericks trailed Black Hills State by six at the half before rallying late to take a 75-70 triumph. Back in action the following day, the Mavericks again found themselves facing a halftime deficit, this time to Chadron State. Though they could not emerge victorious in regulation, Colorado Mesa used a huge second overtime period to come away with a 77-68 victory. Now 4-0 on the season, the Mavericks take on Adams State in another road contest on Friday.NCAA DIII: Neal Young – Covenant College
Coach Young led his squad to their first three victories of the season this week. The Scots used a huge second half to defeat East Texas Baptist 81-76 in a hard-fought battle on Tuesday before leading Belhaven by as many as 37 on the way to a 89-75 victory the following day. Covenant then took on Trevecca Nazarene on Friday in a contest that was scheduled just two days prior. The Scots drilled a go-ahead free throw with 4.2 seconds remaining in the game to pull out a 55-54 triumph and extend their winning streak to three. Currently 3-1 on the season, Covenant’s next contest is scheduled for December 30th at Asbury.
NAIA: Chris Dial – Our Lady of the Lake University
Coach Dial picked up his first ever win against a Division I opponent this week, as OLLU knocked off Texas State on Saturday. The Saints trailed by 11 with just over nine minutes remaining in the game, but fought back to come away with a thrilling 61-58 victory. OLLU forced 19 turnovers in the upset, which marked their first win of the season. Now 1-1 on the season, they will play an exhibition against New Mexico on Tuesday in what is the Saints’ fourth game in a string of seven in a row (including exhibitions) against Division I opponents.
JUCO: No week 3 winner awarded
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
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.
