Story: Adam Nelson (@HD_DirtKing)
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 2023-24 college basketball season.
This is the ninth season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2023-24 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:
D1: Shaka Smart – Marquette University
Weekly record (overall): 1-0 (11-3)
Past week’s results: 72-67 W vs #20 Creighton
Highlights: Smart’s #8 Golden Eagles knocked off Creighton on Saturday in front of 18,086 fans – a Fiserv Forum record for a Marquette game. The Golden Eagles have now won 20-straight games in BIG EAST Conference play, which ties the all-time record for consecutive league wins. Marquette has also won 19-straight games at Fiserv Forum dating back to last season, the third-longest home winning streak in the nation.
NCAA D2: Bryan Rooney – Cal State East Bay
Weekly record (overall): 1-0 (9-2)
Past week’s results: 77-68 W at San Francisco State
Highlights: Cal State East Bay downed San Francisco State on Sunday to push their winning streak to seven. The Pioneers are also a perfect 5-0 in California Collegiate Athletic Association, and sit alone atop the league in first place. What makes their undefeated league record even more impressive is that all five of the their CCAA wins have come on the road. This season, Rooney’s team has also defeated two Top 25 opponents, as they beat #4 Cal State San Bernardino, and #11 Point Loma.
NCAA D3: Todd McGuinness – Case Western Reserve University
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (11-0)
Past week’s results: 87-74 W vs #4 Oswego State, 98-87 W vs Clark University
Highlights: Eighth ranked CWRU went 2-0 this past weekend in the D3Hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas. In a Top 10 match-up on day one, the Spartans beat #4 SUNY Oswego, handing the Lakers their first loss of the season. With their defeat of Clark the next day, the Spartans improved to 11-0 on the season, matching the best start in program history. It also marked the second-straight season that CWRU has gone undefeated in regular season non-conference play and the Spartans extended their regular season non-conference winning streak to 31-straight games.
NAIA: Scott Moore – Grace College
Weekly record (overall): 1-0 (13-0)
Past week’s results: 88-55 W vs Alice Lloyd
Highlights: The #1 NAIA team in the nation continued it’s dominant start to the season, as they cruised to an 88-55 win over Alice Lloyd College on Saturday. The game took place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and tipped off after the NBA’s Pacers versus Knicks contest. Grace’s game began after 10:30 p.m. and ended after midnight. On the season, the 13-0 Lancers are averaging 92.6 ppg, while allowing just 64.8ppg (+27.8 scoring margin). Moore’s crew is also shooting 53% from the field through their first 13 games, and are out rebounding their opponents by nearly 14 boards per game.
JUCO: Steve DeMeo – Northwest Florida State College
Weekly record (overall): 2-0 (16-1)
Past week’s results: 74-68 W vs Calhoun CC, 82-51 W vs Georgia Highlands
Highlights: With two more wins last week, NJCAA D1 #4 NWF has moved to 16-1 on the season, and pushed their winning streak to 6. The Raiders trailed Calhoun by 3 at the half on Saturday, before pulling away in the second half for the 74-68 win. DeMeo’s group then easily handled Georgia Highlands 82-51 on Sunday. On the season, NWF is now 9-1 at home and 7-0 at neutral sites.
2023-24 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Mark Byington – James Madison University
NCAA DII: Alfred Jordan – Clark Atlanta University
NCAA DIII: Caleb Kimbrough – Hampden-Sydney College
NAIA: Darnell Archey – University of Mobile
JUCO: Kris Baumann – Odessa College
NCAA DI: Ritchie McKay – Liberty University
NCAA DII: Mark Kuntz – Post University
NCAA DIII: Eric Bridgeland – University of Redlands
NAIA: Dannton Jackson – Talladega College
JUCO: Dillon Hargrove – National Park College
NCAA DI: David Ragland – Evansville University
NCAA DII: Jordan Fee – Gannon University
NCAA DIII: Anthony Medina – University of St. Thomas (TX)
NAIA: Chase Teichmann – Florida College
JUCO: Hayden Sowers – South Plains College
NCAA DI: Damon Stoudamire – Georgia Tech
NCAA DII: John Ellenwood – Ashland University
NCAA DIII: Brandon Linton – Tufts University
NAIA: Matt O’Brien – Southwestern College
JUCO: Darren Stratton – Northern Essex CC
NCAA DI: Bryce Drew – Grand Canyon University
NCAA DII: Bob Pietrack – Fort Lewis College
NCAA DIII: Michael McSloy – Drew University
NAIA: Tigh Compton – University of Pikeville
JUCO: Terrell Harris – Prince George’s CC
NCAA DI: Danny Sprinkle – Utah State University
NCAA DII: Artis Mattox – Benedict College
NCAA DIII: Dave Macedo – Virginia Wesleyan University
NAIA: Chris Wright – Langston University
JUCO: Joey Cantens – Daytona State College
Week 7
NCAA DI: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DII: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NCAA DIII: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
NAIA: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
JUCO: Christmas Holiday – no winner selected
Previous HoopDirt.com Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2022-23: Jerome Tang – Kansas State University
- 2021-22: Ed Cooley – Providence Colleg
- 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
- 2022-23: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 2021-22: Jim Crutchfield – Nova Southeastern
- 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
- 2022-23: John Krikorian – Christopher Newport University
- 2021-22: Brian Baptiste – UMass Dartmouth
- 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
- 2022-23: Chris Wright – Langston University
- 2021-22: Stacy Hollowell – Loyola University New Orleans
- 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
- 2022-23: Rick Cabrera – Tallahassee Community College
- 2021-22: Greg Heiar – Northwest Florida State
- 2020-21: COVID Season – No winner selected
- 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
