By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 6 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 6 winners are:
NCAA DI: Speedy Claxton – Hofstra University
Coach Claxton guided Hofstra to a huge win over a ranked opponent this week as the Pride improved to 7-5 on the season. Hofstra took down #24 Arkansas by a score of 89-81 on Saturday at a “neutral site” in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Pride led for the final 32 minutes of the contest, and out-rebounded Arkansas by a 40-33 margin in the impressive victory. The win marked the first against a ranked opponent for first-year Head Coach Claxton, who actually played for Arkansas’ Eric Musselman with the Golden State Warriors during the 2003-04 season. His squad returns to action on Wednesday, when they face off against Monmouth in their final non-conference matchup of the season.
NCAA DII: Justin Wieck – University of Minnesota Duluth
Coach Weick’s squad picked up a pair of impressive road wins this week to continue their unbeaten start to the season. The No. 12/17 Bulldogs’ first game of the week came against reigning NSIC Champion Northern State on Friday, with UMD taking a 69-66 victory after trailing at the half for the first time all season. Facing off against Minnesota State – Moorhead the following day, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead en route to a 92-71 triumph. UMD is now 13-0 (7-0 NSIC) on the season, with 10 of their victories coming by double-digits. The Bulldogs are now off until January 2nd, when they take on St. Cloud State on the road.
NCAA DIII: Raul Placeres – Maryville College (TN)
Coach Placeres led No. 23 Maryville to two big victories this week, though they came in starkly different ways. The Scots first game at the Hampden-Sydney Classic was an 84-47 blowout over Ferrum on Friday. Returning to action the following day, Maryville was able to fend off a furious comeback attempt by Hampden-Sydney, knocking down a baseline jumper with just under four seconds remaining to claim an 85-84 victory. These wins extended the Scots’ winning streak to five, as they improved to 9-1 on the season. Maryville is back in action on December 28th, when they face off against Pacific Lutheran at the D3hoops.com Las Vegas Invitational.
NAIA: Brandon Espinosa – Paul Quinn College
With another pair of victories this week, Coach Espinosa has Paul Quinn off to its best start since joining the Red River Athletic Conference in 1998. The Tigers opened the week with a 67-47 road triumph over Langston on Monday, before returning home to take on UNT-Dallas on Thursday. Paul Quinn used a big second half to come away with an impressive 79-64 victory, improving to a perfect 8-0 on the season in the process. Next up for the Tigers is a road contest against North American University on December 29th.
JUCO: Bill Beilein – Niagara County Community College
Coach Beilein and No. 15 Niagara County Community College picked up three more victories this week, moving to 12-3 on the season. The Thunderwolves began the week with a dominating 102-57 win over Finger Lakes Community College on Wednesday, before hosting the Thunderwolves Classic over the weekend. NCCC took a 100-82 victory over Schoolcraft on Saturday, and defeated Henry Ford College by a score of 71-66 on Sunday to come out of the Classic 2-0. The Thunderwolves will look to extend their winning streak to four when they return to action on January 5th against Lorain County Community College.
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
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
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.
