Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 6 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by The Hoop Group. The coaches are now eligible to receive the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by the Hoop Group which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2016-17 college basketball season.
Nominations for next week’s award can be emailed to: [email protected] – please include a brief statement as to why the coach should be recognized as well as any other information that may be helpful.
The Week 6 winners are:
NCAA DI: Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech
Just two years ago Buzz’s bunch won 2 games in conference in Coach Williams’ first year in Blacksburg. Those days seem to be long gone for the Hokies, who stand at 10-1 thus far and have been in the Top-25 conversation all season. Last Sunday, they took down Ole Miss 80-75 (ranked 26th in the RPI at the time). They followed that up by dropping 113 on the Citadel in a 42-point win where the Hokies scored 73 second half points. Coach Williams crew finished the week with a 29-point win over Cgarleston Southern.Charleston Southern. The Hokies have a tune-up this week against UMBC before their conference opener against ACC Power Duke.
NCAA DII: Paul Trevor
San Francisco State is having its most impressive season yet. Coach Trevor’s squad has achieved their highest ranking ever in a national poll, having jumped to 14th in the latest DII poll. The Gators are a perfect 11-0 on the year, with the most recent victory being a 83-73 win over Humboldt State. One of only nine teams undefeated remaining in Division II, they’ll look to go to 12-0 with a road game on New Years Eve against Chico State.
NCAA DIII: Eric Bridgeland, Whitman College
Currently ranked #2 in the nation by D3Hoops.com, Bridgeland’s Whitman squad won both of their games this past week in the Daytona Beach Shootout. They opened the tournament with a convincing 80-62 win over King’s College (PA), and then hit a couple of free throws late to down #4 Marietta 72-71. The Blues are now off to a 9-0 start for the second consecutive season, and will host Crown College and Buena Vista University at the end of the week in the Comfort Inn Classic.
NAIA: Jeff Rutter, Arizona Christian
A 3-0 week for the #25 ranked Firestorm included two overtime victories, and a milestone win for Jeff Rutter. ACU opened the Cactus Classic with an 86-82 OT win over Southwestern Christian University. Two nights later, they downed Montana Tech 67-55, giving Rutter the 100th victory of his career. The firestorm capped off their perfect week with another overtime win, knocking off the University of Calgary 91-84 at home. They face #6 Carroll College later this week in the Master’s Classic in California.
JUCO: David Archer, Jr., Chattahoochee Tech
The Golden Eagles raised their record to 12-2, and extended their winning streak to five games with a 115-95 win over West Georgia Tech last week. Archer’s squad went 5-0 in the month of December, and they are currently 5th in the nation in scoring offense (108.4ppg). During their undefeated December, they scored 117ppg, while beating opponents by an average margin of 27 points per game. They face South Georgia Tech on January 4th.
Week 1 Winners:
NCAA DI: Tom Crean, Indiana
NCAA DII: Brian Beaury, College of Saint Rose
NCAA DIII: David Hixon, Amherst College
NAIA: Jeff Britt, Bethel College (TN)
JUCO: John Pigatti, South Suburban College (IL)
Week 2 Winners:
NCAA DI: Chris Holtman, Butler
NCAA DII: Ben McCollum, Northwest Missouri State
NCAA DIII: Tom Slyder, Northpark
NAIA: Kevin Burton, Union College (KY)
JUCO: Martin McCann, Palm Beach State
Week 3 Winners:
NCAA DI: Scott Drew, Baylor
NCAA DII: Kyle Tolin, Arknasas Monticello
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose, Illinois Wesleyan
NAIA: Craig Doty, Graceland College
JUCO: Steven DeMeo, Northwest Florida State
Week 4 Winners:
NCAA DI: Roy Williams, University of North Carolina
NCAA DII: Jerrod Calhoun, Fairmont State University
NCAA DIII: Luke Flockerzi, University of Rochester
NAIA: Kim Elders, Cornerstone University
JUCO: Patrick Smith, Moberly Area Community College
Week 5 Winner:
NCAA DI: Steve Forbes, East Tennessee State
NCAA DII: Rodney Watson, University of Southern Indiana
NCAA DIII: Charlie Brock, Springfield College
NAIA: Rollie Massimino, Keiser University
JUCO: Luke Strege, Mineral Area College
