Kevin Ollie A Finalist For Coaching Award

UConn’s first year coach Kevin Ollie has been named as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, given annually to the nation’s best first year coach in Division I basketball.

The award was named for Joe B. Hall, the coach that took over the Kentucky program when coaching legend Adolph Rupp retired in 1972. Hall led the Wildcats to a 20-8 overall record in his first season and finished first in the SEC with a record of 14-4. In the NCAA tournament, Kentucky got all the way to the Elite Eight. In his thirteen season at Kentucky, Hall went 297-100, won the national championship once and finished in the Final Four two other times.

The other finalists for the award are: Kevin Baggett (Rider), Jamion Christian (Mount St. Mary’s), Mike Martin (Brown), Bashir Mason (Wagner), Dan Muller (Illinois State), Jack Perri (LIU-Brooklyn), Richard Pitino (FIU), Nick Robinson (Southern Utah), and Travis Williams (Tennessee State).

The name of the award winner will be announced April 5th in Atlanta at the site of the Final Four.

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