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 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 8 winners are:
NCAA DI: Scott Drew – Baylor University
Coach Drew guided top-ranked Baylor to another pair of victories this week, as the Bears remained perfect into the New Year. Baylor began its week by defeating Northwestern State by a score of 104-68 on Tuesday, before heading into its first conference matchup of the season – a road showdown against also-unbeaten No. 8 Iowa State. The Bears never trailed in the contest, coming away with an impressive 77-72 victory to improve to 13-0 (1-0 Big 12) on the campaign. They will look to remain undefeated when they face off against Oklahoma at home on Tuesday evening.
NCAA DII: Shawn Walker – Elizabeth City State University
Coach Walker’s Vikings picked up two wins at the YES/U.S. Virgin Islands Classic this weekend, improving to 9-4 on the season. ECSU opened the Classic with a 73-65 triumph over Fisk on Friday, before facing off against Point Park the following day. All 11 ECSU players scored in the 61-48 victory, which clinched the inaugural YES/USVI Classic title. The Vikings (9-4, 2-1 CIAA) return to action on Thursday, when they take on Livingstone in a non-conference matchup on the road.
NCAA DIII: Ron Rose – Illinois Wesleyan University
Coach Rose and his 4th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan squad came away with a huge victory this week, taking down the No. 1 team in the country and snapping their historic winning streak. The Titans’ only contest of the week came at top-ranked Yeshiva, which entered the matchup riding a 50-game winning streak that began over two years ago. However, Illinois Wesleyan came out hot, never trailing in the contest and leading by as many as 25 en route to a huge 73-59 victory. Now 9-2 (2-1 CCIW) on the season, the Titans will try to build off of this historic win when they host Elmhurst in a conference matchup on Wednesday.
NAIA: Colby Blaine – The College of Idaho
With two more hard-fought victories this week, Coach Blaine’s Yotes extended their winning streak to five games. 15th-ranked C of I began its week on Friday, with a road matchup against Bushnell. Trailing by two in the final seconds of regulation, Yotes guard Drew Wyman drilled a buzzer-beater to force overtime, where C of I was able to come away with a thrilling 81-76 victory. Returning to action the following day, the Yotes used a big second half to pull away from Corban and take a 74-54 triumph. Now 12-3 (8-1 CCC) on the season, C of I returns home on Friday for a conference matchup against Multnomah.
JUCO: Brandon Giles – Polk State College
Coach Giles and Polk State reached the double-digit win mark this week, picking up two road victories to improve to 10-5 on the season. The Eagles took down Seward County by a score of 77-69 on Wednesday, before facing off against Pensacola State the next day. Polk State trailed by five at halftime, but used a strong second half to come away with a hard-fought 62-59 victory. Next up for the Eagles is a home matchup against St. Petersburg on Wednesday night.
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
NCAA DI: Speedy Claxton – Hofstra University
NCAA DII: Justin Weick – University of Minnesota Duluth
NCAA DIII: Raul Placeres – Maryville College
NAIA: Brandon Espinosa – Paul Quinn College
JUCO: Bill Beilein – Niagara County CC
NCAA DI: Jerry Stackhouse – Vanderbilt University
NCAA DII: D2 winter break – no games played
NCAA DIII: Jimmy Smith – Trinity College (TX)
NAIA: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
JUCO: Not enough games played (winter break + COVID cancellations)
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
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 49,000, 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.
