By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 4 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 4 winners are:
NCAA DI: Chris Collins – Northwestern University
Coach Collins led Northwestern to an impressive top-5 victory this week – the program’s first since 1979. The Wildcats began the week by defeating DII Quincy 100-48 before hosting No. 4 Michigan State in their conference opener on Sunday. Northwestern got off to a hot start and never looked back, taking down the previously unbeaten Spartans 79-65. This marked Northwestern’s first win over Michigan State since 2012. With a record of 4-1 on the season, the Wildcats received votes in the latest AP Top-25 Poll. They next face off against Indiana on the road on Wednesday.
NCAA DII: Chad Warner – Flagler College
A win over North Florida this week improved Coach Warner’s squad to 2-1 on the season, with every game coming against a DI opponent. The Saints defeated North Florida 73-66 for their second Division I victory in just 17 days, as they had taken down Central Michigan 92-73 on December 2nd. Prior to this season, Flagler had never beaten a DI opponent. Now having wrapped up their non-conference schedule, which comprised of six Division I games (including exhibitions), the Saints will head into winter break before beginning conference play on January 6th.NCAA DIII: No week 4 winner awarded
NAIA: Danny Neville – University of Jamestown
Coach Neville guided Jamestown to a pair of come-from-behind victories this week as his squad moved to 10-3 on the season. On Tuesday, the Jimmies trailed Briar Cliff by one at the half before using a 35-7 second half run to pull away and eventually take a 74-57 triumph. In their next contest, Jamestown trailed Concordia by as many as 17 in the first half and 11 with nine minutes remaining in the game before rallying and forcing overtime. The Jimmies never trailed in the extra period and came away with an 89-87 victory. Now 6-2 in the GPAC, Jamestown will take on Hastings at home on January 2nd.
JUCO: No week 4 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
NCAA DI: Lamont Paris – Tennessee Chattanooga
NCAA DII: Mike DeGeorge – Colorado Mesa University
NCAA DIII: Neal Young – Covenant College (GA)
NAIA: Chris Dial – Our Lady of the Lake University (TX)
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
About HoopDirt.com
HoopDirt.com is the largest website in the country dedicated specifically to college basketball coaching news, jobs, and rumors at all levels. HoopDirt.com brings a unique insider perspective to the world of college basketball coaching – it was founded by college coaches as a way to help the college basketball community stay informed of what is going on in the coaching profession. HoopDirt.com currently has a Twitter following of over 41,000, and receives nearly three-million page views per month.
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.
