Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 4 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 4 winners are:
NCAA DI: Frank Haith – University of Tulsa
Coach Haith’s Tulsa squad had a big week, knocking off two Big-12 opponents, including a top-25 team. On Wednesday, the Golden Hurricane fought off Oklahoma State for a 74-71 home victory to move to 6-3 on the season. They took on another Big-12 foe in #16 Kansas State on Saturday in a defensive showdown, coming away with a hard-fought 47-46 victory. With these two huge wins behind them, Tulsa will look to continue their hot play at home against New Orleans on Thursday.
NCAA DII: Billy Taylor – Belmont Abbey College (NC)
Belmont Abbey, led by Coach Taylor, is off to its best start since the 2012-2013 season, and picked up two more big wins this week. The Crusaders first took a resounding 93-79 victory over 20th ranked Barton on the road before winning a 73-72 nail-biter against North Greenville on Friday. This moved Belmont Abbey to 8-2 on the season – their best start under Coach Taylor – and 3-0 in conference play. The Crusaders are back in action on Saturday against Limestone.
NCAA DIII: Andrew Weber – Rockford University (IL)
Coach Weber’s Regents picked up their first two wins of the season in style this week, as they came away with a thrilling 4OT victory before scoring knocking off the preseason conference favorite. On Wednesday, Rockford finally outlasted Marian 115-110 in the fourth overtime of a game that featured 16 ties and 11 lead changes. They rode this momentum into Saturday’s road showdown against rival Aurora University, where they made an astounding 30 of 34 free throws on the way to a 112-103 win. The Regents moved to 2-5 on the season, and will look to keep winning as they take on Knox on Wednesday.
NAIA: Mike McBride – Holy Cross College (IN)
Holy Cross (IN) showcased its defensive prowess this week, holding opponents to a total of 82 points combined over its two wins. Coach McBride’s squad first held Andrews to 36 points in a huge 72-36 victory, before knocking off Trinity International 65-46 on Saturday in a conference matchup. With these stifling victories, the Saints took over the NAIA DII’s #1 scoring defense spot, and moved to 8-4 on the season. Their next matchup is Thursday against Great Lakes Christian College.
JUCO: Mark White – Tallahassee Community College (FL)
Coach White’s undefeated Tallahassee CC Eagles won three more games this week, moving to 14-0 on the season. First, the 12th ranked Eagles led by as much as 47 in a dominating 110-70 win over Pasco-Hernando State on Thursday. Then, they came away with a big-time 66-64 victory after knocking down two free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining to defeat #23 Daytona State. To cap off the week, Tallahassee blew out Florida State College-Jacksonville 87-52 to reach their best start since the 2000-2001 season. The Eagles will try to remain unbeaten against Advance Prep Academy on Monday.
[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)
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-Alexandria
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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About Just Play Solutions
Just Play Solutions has become the market leader in helping coaches prepare faster and teach athletes more effectively. From our digital coaching tools to interactive mobile app coaches can build playbooks, scouting reports, integrate video and even quiz players. Working with over 500 programs from high school to the professional levels, Just Play has a solution for any budget or need. Just Play currently has products available for Basketball, Football, Soccer, and Lacrosse.
