By AJ Nelson, HoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 8 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 2019-20 college basketball season.
This is the fifth season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The previous 2019-20 weekly winners, and a list of all-time COY winners can be found following this weeks honorees.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 8 winners are:
NCAA DI: Brian Dutcher – San Diego State University
Coach Dutcher’s squad picked up two more wins this week to remain one of just two undefeated teams in the nation. The 13th ranked Aztecs took down Fresno State 61-52 on Wednesday before traveling to take on Utah State, who was the unanimous preseason pick to repeat as MWC champions. SDSU came away with a 77-68 victory to move to 15-0 (4-0 MWC) on the season – their best start since the 2010-11 campaign. The undefeated Aztecs own the nation’s longest winning streak and are back in action at Wyoming on Wednesday night.
NCAA DII: Kyle Gerdeman – Lindenwood University
In his first season at Lindenwood, Coach Gerdeman has the Lions playing great basketball, taking two more wins this week. Lindenwood picked up its first ever GLVC victory on Thursday, taking down Missouri S&T by a score of 78-73. An 81-76 over Maryville on Saturday extended the Lions’ winning streak to five games – matching the program’s longest streak since December of 2017. Lindenwood is now 8-3 (2-1 GLVC) on the season, and will look to stay hot as they hit the road for a matchup with Southwest Baptist on Thursday.
NCAA DIII: Jeff Brown – Middlebury College
No. 4 Middlebury, led by Coach Brown, won the Naismith Classic this week, remaining unbeaten on the season. The Panthers defeated Colby-Sawyer 91-80 on Friday to advance to the championship game against host Springfield College. Middlebury trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but fought back to take a 74-71 victory. The Panthers are now 12-0 on the season, with eight wins coming on the road or at neutral sites. They will look to continue their winning ways in a home contest against Plattsburgh on Tuesday before heading into conference play.
NAIA: Patrick Crarey – Washington Adventist University
Coach Crarey’s squad is now 2-0 against NCAA DI schools on the season, as the Shock took down another MEAC opponent this week. No. 12 Washington Adventist trailed by seven at the half, but rallied late to come away with a 78-76 victory over Delaware State on Monday to move to 2-0 against the MEAC this season (def. Howard 71-68 on Nov. 5). The Shock returned to NAIA action on Sunday, defeating Point Park 72-66. The victory improved WAU to 12-3 on the season. They will host the A.I.I. East Coast Classic over the weekend.
JUCO: Luke Strege – Mineral Area College
Coach Strege led No. 7 Mineral Area to two more victories this week, including a come from behind win to remain undefeated. The Cardinals returned from break with a 111-70 defeat of Faith Prep before taking on Three Rivers in the conference opener. Mineral Area trailed by four with just 25 seconds remaining, but knocked down a three with four seconds left to take a 76-75 victory. The win pushed the Cardinals to 18-0 on the season, and was their first single-digit victory of the campaign. They take on Missouri State – West Plains on the road in a conference showdown on Saturday.
2019-20 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Walter McCarty – University of Evansville
NCAA DII: Mark Downey – Northeastern State (OK)
NCAA DIII: Josh Merkel – Randolph-Macon College (VA)
NAIA: Kelly Wells – University of Pikeville (KY)
JUCO: Kyle Cooper – Western Texas College
NCAA DI: Tony Bennett – University of Virginia
NCAA DII: Tobin Anderson – St. Thomas Aquinas College (NY)
NCAA DIII: Bosko Djurickovic – Carthage College (WI)
NAIA: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University (LA)
JUCO: Anthony Fletcher – Eastfield College (TX)
NCAA DI: Juwan Howard – University of Michigan
NCAA DII: Matt Healing – Pace University (NY)
NCAA DIII: Keith Bunkenburg – Benedictine University (IL)
NAIA: Todd Lorensen – Mount Marty College (SD)
JUCO: Cole Dewey – Otero Junior College (CO)
NCAA DI: LaVall Jordan – Butler University
NCAA DII: Mike Donnelly – Florida Southern College
NCAA DIII: Landry Kosmalski – Swarthmore College (NY)
NAIA: Tae Norwood – Keiser University (FL)
JUCO: Billy Gillispie – Ranger College (TX)
NCAA DI: Ritchie McKay – Liberty University
NCAA DII: Tom Klusman – Rollins College (FL)
NCAA DIII: Dave Niland – Penn State-Behrand
NAIA: Aaron Siebenthall – Ottawa University (KS)
JUCO: Brennan McCarthy – Northampton Community College (PA)
NCAA DI: Steve Forbes – East Tennessee State University
NCAA DII: Damien Blair – West Chester University (PA)
NCAA DIII: Anthony Medina – University of St. Thomas (TX)
NAIA: Colby Blaine – College of Idaho
JUCO: Terry Bowe – Lakeland Community College (OH)
NCAA DI: Kelvin Sampson – University of Houston
NCAA DII: DII Winter Break Week – No Winner
NCAA DIII: Pete Moran – John Carroll University (OH)
NAIA: Matt Wilber – Dakota Wesleyan University
JUCO: Eric Murphy – Florida SouthWestern State University
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 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
- 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
- 2008-19: 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
- 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
- 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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