By AJ Nelson, WHoopDirt.com staff writer
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 8 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 2019-20 college basketball season.
To nominate coaches for future weeks, please email [email protected] with your selection(s).
Previous weekly winners can be found below this week’s recipients.
The Week 8 winners are:
NCAA DI: Quentin Hillsman – Syracuse University
Coach Hillsman’s squad took down a top-10 opponent as well as the reigning national runner-up in two overtime victories this week. On Thursday, the Orange hit a buzzer-beating layup to hand No. 8 Florida State their first loss of the season. This was Syracuse’s first win over a top-10 team since the 2016 Elite Eight. The Orange next beat Notre Dame 74-63 in another overtime contest on Sunday. The triumph marked the first time since the 2001-02 Big East Tournament that Syracuse has defeated Notre Dame. Now 8-6 (2-1 ACC) on the season, the Orange will take on their eighth top-25 opponent of the year when they face off against No. 23 Miami on Sunday.
NCAA DII: Jason Burton – Texas A&M University – Commerce
It was a milestone week for both Coach Burton and the Texas A&M – Commerce basketball women’s basketball program, as they each picked up historic wins. On Thursday night, the eighth-ranked Lions defeated Cameron 77-55. This victory improved A&M Commerce to 12-0 on the season – the program’s longest ever winning streak. It also marked Coach Burton’s 100th career win, making him the fastest coach in program history to reach the 100-win milestone. A 107-70 victory over Midwestern State on Saturday kept the Lions unbeaten and extended their historic winning streak. They will look to stay hot as they travel to take on Texas A&M International on Thursday.
NCAA DIII: G.P. Gromacki – Amherst College (MA)
There were no surprises from Coach Gromacki’s squad this week, as they won four more games and improved to 10-1 on the season. The No. 6 Mammoths began the week in California, taking down Redlands 54-46 before rebounding from a four-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to defeat Chapman 62-58. Amherst then headed back east to take on 24th-ranked Widener on the road on Saturday. They dominated wire to wire in an 87-48 victory, handing Widener their first loss of the season. The road trip continued on Sunday, as the Mammoths traveled to Stevens and took another commanding victory, winning by a score of 80-39. Amherst has now won seven straight and returns home to take on Albertus Magnus in their final non-conference match-up tonight.
NAIA: Hannah Moeller – Mid-America Christian University (OK)
Coach Moeller led Mid-America Christian to three more wins this week, extending their winning streak to seven. The Evangels held off a late comeback attempt to defeat Kansas Wesleyan 64-61 on Tuesday before blowing out Bacone 85-48 on the road on Thursday night. MACU returned to conference play on Saturday, coming back from a five-point deficit at the half to take a 73-71 victory over John Brown. The Evangels are now 11-2 on the season and 4-0 in conference play for the first time under Coach Moeller. They are back in action on Thursday when they hit the road to take on Wayland Baptist in a conference match-up.
JUCO: Mary “Roonie” Scovel – Gulf Coast State College (FL)
Coach Scovel and top-ranked Gulf Coast State picked up three victories against top-25 teams this week to remain unbeaten on the season. The Commodores defeated No. 11 Shelton State 66-60 on Monday and No. 25 Eastern Florida 82-79 on Tuesday before heading into conference play. Gulf Coast took down fourth-ranked Northwest Florida State 78-66 in the opener on Saturday. Now 14-0 on the season, the Commodores will look to continue winning when they take on Pensacola State on Wednesday.
2019-20 HoopDirt.com / Pivot Analysis Coach of the Week Winners
NCAA DI: Dawn Staley – University of South Carolina
NCAA DII: Justin Payne – Georgia Southwestern State University
NCAA DIII: Melissa Kuberka – St. John Fisher College (NY)
NAIA: Courtney Boyd – Clarke University (IA)
JUCO: Bart Walker – Northwest Florida State College
NCAA DI: Dawn Plitzuweit – University of South Dakota
NCAA DII: Lynsey Warren – Ohio Dominican University
NCAA DIII: Kristina Baugh – UMass-Boston
NAIA: Dan Waldeck – The Master’s University (CA)
JUCO: Mark Leszczyk – Massasoit Community College (MA)
NCAA DI: Karl Smesko – Florida Gulf Coast University
NCAA DII: Steve Gomez – Lubbock Christian University
NCAA DIII: Meg Barber – New Your University
NAIA: Jeff Hans – Thomas More University (KY)
JUCO: Cayla Petree – South Plains College (TX)
NCAA DI: Bethann Shapiro Ord – Binghamton University
NCAA DII: Molly Miller – Drury University (MO)
NCAA DIII: Andy Yosinoff – Emmanuel College (MA)
NAIA: Steve Williamson – William Penn University (IA)
JUCO: Kim Muhl – Kirkwood Community College (IA)
NCAA DI: Gary Blair – Texas A&M University
NCAA DII: Missy Traversi – Adelphi University (NY)
NCAA DIII: Mahogany Green – Hamilton College (NY)
NAIA: K.C. Bassett – Sterling College (KS)
JUCO: Stephanie Murphy – Coahoma Community College (MS)
NCAA DI: Karen Alston – University of Texas
NCAA DII: Deandra Schirmer – Valdosta State University (GA)
NCAA DIII: Nick DiPillo – University of Scranton (PA)
NAIA: Tim Hays – Southeastern University (FL)
JUCO: Marcilina Grayer – Salt Lake Community College (UT)
NCAA DI: Rebecca Tillett – Longwood University
NCAA DII: DII Winter Break Week – No Winner
NCAA DIII: Jill Pace – Tufts University (MA)
NAIA: Dennis Hutter – Mayville State University (ND)
JUCO: Mike Seney – Community College of Baltimore County – Essex
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