By AJ Nelson, WHoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 12 WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Pivot Analysis. These coaches are now eligible to receive the WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by Pivot Analysis which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2020-21 college basketball season.
This is the second season that HoopDirt.com and Pivot Analysis have run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. This season’s weekly winners, and COY winners can be found following this weeks honorees.
This season will be a bit different, however. As college basketball adjusts to life with COVID, so will we. Not every level will be honored on a weekly basis – we will honor as many of the levels as possible provided enough games are played. It’s different than in the past, but we still hope to have enough weekly winners at each level to name a Coach of the Year (NCAA DI, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO) at the end of the season
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
The Week 12 winners are:
NCAA DI: Geno Auriemma – University of Connecticut
Coach Auriemma’s squad has taken over the top spot in the AP Top-25 Rankings thanks to three big victories this past week. The Huskies, who entered last week ranked second in the nation, were able to take down No. 1 South Carolina in a 93-89 overtime thriller on Monday. After this huge win, UConn closed out the week with two conference blowouts – a 70-49 victory over Seton Hall and a 64-40 triumph at Georgetown. Now 16-1 (13-0 Big East) on the season, the Huskies will look for their seventh consecutive win when they face off against St. John’s in a road contest on Wednesday.
NCAA DII: Jasmina Perazic – Georgian Court University (NJ)
Coach Perazic’s Lions remained perfect on the season as they picked up three more wins this past week. Georgian Court began the week on the road, knocking off Caldwell by a score of 72-53 on Tuesday. The Lions were back in action on Thursday, this time at home, as they jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead on the way to 64-49 victory over Nyack. In their final contest of the week, GCU trailed Bloomfield by three entering the fourth quarter, but outscored the visitors by 10 in the final period come away with a 66-59 win. The Lions are off to a 7-0 (7-0 CACC) start to the season, and are back in action next Tuesday, when they take on Concordia (NY) on the road.
NCAA DIII: Kent Madsen – Wheaton College (IL)
With three wins this week, Coach Madsen’s Thunder have earned a spot in the latest D3hoops.com Top-15 Poll. In Tuesday’s contest at North Park, Wheaton fought back from an eight point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, where they were able to pull out a 71-66 victory. The Thunder then remained on the road, as they took down Carthage by a score of 77-66 on Thursday in the first game of a home-and-home series. In Saturday’s rematch, Wheaton trailed by eight entering the fourth quarter, but rallied to outscore Carthage by 15 in the period and take a 47-40 victory. The Thunder are 7-1 (7-1 CCIW) on the season, and now hold No. 14 in the D3hoops.com Top-15. Their next contest comes at home against Carroll on Thursday.
NAIA: K.C. Bassett – Sterling College (KS)
For the first time in her head coaching career, Coach Bassett has led her squad to the KCAC regular season championship. The 10th-ranked Lady Warriors took down McPherson by a score of 105-83 on Wednesday to lock up the title with three games remaining in the regular season. A dominant 83-44 victory at Southwestern on Saturday pushed Sterling to 24-0 on the season (20-0 KCAC). The Lady Warriors will continue their quest for a perfect season on Wednesday, when they travel to take on Ottawa.
JUCO: Jim Turgeon – Independence Community College (KS)
Coach Turgeon guided Independence to two impressive wins this week, including a road victory over a ranked opponent. On Wednesday, the Pirates notched a 70-64 victory over No. 17 Hutchinson. This win marked Indy’s first against Hutchinson since the 2006-07 season. The Pirates built on this huge victory with an 84-67 win at Pratt on Saturday. Indy has now won four consecutive games and sits at 7-1 on the season. They return to action on Wednesday evening, when they face off against Garden City on the road.
2020-21 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Mike Carey – West Virginia University
NCAA DII: Nate Vogel – Texas A&M International University
NCAA DIII: No week 1 winner awarded
NAIA: Jessie Biggs – Indiana Institute of Technology
JUCO: No week 1 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Adia Barnes – University of Arizona
NCAA DII: Jason Williams – Belmont Abbey College (NC)
NCAA DIII: Blake Arbogast – East Texas Baptist University
NAIA: Krista Van Hauen – St. Ambrose University (IA)
JUCO: No week 2 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Amy Vachon – University of Maine
NCAA DII: Lora Westling – Western Colorado University
NCAA DIII: Polly Thomason – University of Texas Dallas
NAIA: Megan Leuzinger – Evangel University (MO)
JUCO: No week 3 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Aaron Johnston – South Dakota State University
NCAA DII: Tanya Haave – Metropolitan State University of Denver
NCAA DIII: No week 4 winner awarded
NAIA: Ginger High Colvin – Campbellsville University (KY)
JUCO: No week 4 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Tara VanDerveer – Stanford University
NCAA DII: No winner – mandatory DII winter break
NCAA DIII: No week 5 winner awarded
NAIA: Jeff Hans – Thomas More University (KY)
JUCO: No week 5 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Kyra Elzy – University of Kentucky
NCAA DII: No week 6 winner awarded
NCAA DIII: Cassi Rozanski – LeTourneau University (TX)
NAIA: Grady Morrell – Webber International University (FL)
JUCO: No week 6 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Seton Sobolewski – Idaho State University
NCAA DII: Carrie Eighney – University of Nebraska Kearney
NCAA DIII: No week 7 winner awarded
NAIA: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University (IA)
JUCO: No week 7 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Bill Fennelly – Iowa State University
NCAA DII: Meagan Price – Tusculum University (TN)
NCAA DIII: Rodney Rogan – Rhodes College (TN)
NAIA: Jamie Sale – Morningside College (IA)
JUCO: No week 7 winner awarded
NCAA DI: Jeff Walz – University of Louisville
NCAA DII: Kim Stephens – Glenville State College (WVa)
NCAA DIII: Katherine Menendez – Colorado College
NAIA: Katie Gearlds – Marian University (IN)
JUCO: Chad Gibney – Western Nebraska CC
NCAA DI: Lisa Fortier – Gonzaga University
NCAA DII: Kari Hoffman – Cedarville University (OH)
NCAA DIII: Beth Andrews – John Carroll University (OH)
NAIA: Kellie Kennedy – Loyola University – New Orleans
JUCO: Mercedes Corona – Arkansas State University Mid-South
NCAA DI: Jarrod Olson – Cal Baptist University
NCAA DII: Toby Winn – Emporia State University (KS)
NCAA DIII: Brian Morehouse – Hope College (MI)
NAIA: Ericka Stuckman – University of Mobile (AL)
JUCO: Karrie Redeker – Illinois Central Colege
2019-20 WHoopDirt.com / Pivot Analysis Coach of the Year Award Winners:
Division I
- 2019-20: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
Division II
- 2019-20: Molly Miller – Drury University (MO)
Division III
- 2019-20: Jill Pace – Tufts University (MA)
NAIA
- 2019-20: Chris Nelson – Bethel University (TN)
JUCO
- 2019-20: Cayla Petree – South Plains College (TX)
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