Coach of the Year

[bballnut90]

Who do you think will get it?

My top 5 candidates are:
1. Courtney Banghart-I don't think anyone was surprised there was an undefeated team entering the NCAA tournament. Just everyone thought it'd be UCONN, not Princeton. Remarkable season for Banghart and Princeton even with the loss in the 2nd round.

2. Brenda Frese-To be a two loss team and make it back to the Final Four after losing Alyssa Thomas was one heck of a job by Frese. The Big Ten was competitive this year and Maryland was significantly improved when everyone thought Maryland would struggle. I don't think she's the best coach in the nation, but she has guided Maryland to an outstanding season.

3. Geno Auriemma-UCONN has been insanely dominant. The best coach in WCBB led his team to another outstanding season and an 8th straight Final Four.

4. Muffett McGraw-After losing two All-Americans, she has led Notre Dame to be the 2nd best team in women's basketball yet again. They dominated the ACC and everyone has significantly improved from a season ago.

5. Dawn Staley-A 2 loss team in the Final Four, I honestly didn't expect USC to be a top notch squad this year after they struggled against good teams a year ago. Good wins against Duke, Tennessee (2x), North Carolina and Florida State. Mitchell evolved into one of the best guards in the nation, and Wilson took home All-America honors as a freshman.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Princeton (Courtney Banghart) is in Region 1 and Geno was the nominee for Region 1 so she won't win the WBCA Award. May win another award for COY

Nominees: http://www.wbca.org/pages/RELEASES_2014-15_032515_d1-coy-finalists

• Region 1 – Geno Auriemma, University of Connecticut
• Region 2 – Sue Semrau, Florida State University
• Region 3 – Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina
• Region 4 – Michelle Clark-Heard, Western Kentucky University
• Region 5 – Kim Mulkey, Baylor University
• Region 6 – Brenda Frese, University of Maryland
• Region 7 – Mark Trakh, New Mexico State University
• Region 8 – Scott Rueck, Oregon State University

 

[Sonny44]

As much as I don't care for Kim, I think she did a lot with what she had. But, I would still vote for Geno.

 

[Huskies Rule]

How could it be anyone but Dayton's Jim Jabir. He took his #7 seeded team, ranked #37 in the AP poll and unranked by USA Today, and in the brightest lights of the NCAA tournament beat #2 seed Kentucky, #3 seed Louisville (handily), and then gave #1 UConn all it could handle in the Elite 8 game. Jim Jabir, without a doubt.

 

[ScarlettB]

Sue Semrau, FSU. Unranked to top 10, Elite Eight 8 and almost Final Four. Coaching a team with a lot of transfers from other programs, she made them play team ball.

 

[alexrgct]

As much as I don't care for Kim, I think she did a lot with what she had. But, I would still vote for Geno.

Agree- I think Kim is an outstanding coach. Won an NC somewhat out of the blue in 2005, used that as a launchpad to recruit and put together the NC-caliber classes 4-5 years later, won a 2012 NC with a completely different roster from 2005, and now that Griner and Simms are gone...she still wins the Big XII and gets Baylor within spitting distance of a Final Four. Geno is always my COY, but Kim deserves many an accolade.

 

[Wally East]

How could it be anyone but Dayton's Jim Jabir.

Because the voting was conducted prior to that game?

 

[meyers7]

How could it be anyone but Dayton's Jim Jabir. He took his #7 seeded team, ranked #37 in the AP poll and unranked by USA Today, and in the brightest lights of the NCAA tournament beat #2 seed Kentucky, #3 seed Louisville (handily), and then gave #1 UConn all it could handle in the Elite 8 game. Jim Jabir, without a doubt.

I imagine it's for the whole season, not just a 4 game run in the Tourney. Dayton finished 28-7 and didn't win their conference or conference tourney championship. Resume just wasn't there.

 

[Striper69]

If Freese or Staley upset UCONN then that coach should be COY.

 

[tower1]

How could it be anyone but Dayton's Jim Jabir. He took his #7 seeded team, ranked #37 in the AP poll and unranked by USA Today, and in the brightest lights of the NCAA tournament beat #2 seed Kentucky, #3 seed Louisville (handily), and then gave #1 UConn all it could handle in the Elite 8 game. Jim Jabir, without a doubt.

I agree Jim Jabir deserves it more than all the named coaches. What he and his team did in the tournament was truly amazing.

 

[UcMiami]

A lot of good choices out there. A lot of schools/coaches that have built up their programs to surprising levels in the last few years, and others who have maintained excellence through major graduations of talent.

 

[EricLA]

Sue Semurau, Courtney Banghart, or Kim Mulkey would be my choices with honorable mention for Joanne McCallie... Joanne gets the best award for doing less with more - sort of the "Reverse Flash" award for super hero nerd types...

 

[VFLfan]

Holly Warlick! She finally got em in "a stance!" I kid...I kid!

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I agree Jim Jabir deserves it more than all the named coaches. What he and his team did in the tournament was truly amazing.

What he did in the tournament was incredible.

But is the "Coach of the Year" award, not "Coach of the Tournament" award. He had a very good year, but there were other coaches who had great seasons.

 

[Huskies Rule]

What he did in the tournament was incredible.

But is the "Coach of the Year" award, not "Coach of the Tournament" award. He had a very good year, but there were other coaches who had great seasons.

True. I agree, but for me the ultimate measure of success for any coach (and his/her team) is to play, play well, and go deep in the NCAA Tournament.
And really, how the heck can you objectively compare coaches (and who was "best") without taking into consideration what they achieved relative to the talent level of kids they had, level of competition, injuries dealt with, etc. What are the reasonable criteria for determining 'coach of the year?' It clearly has to go far beyond simply wins and losses. I'm just not sure what they are.

Perhaps little NJIT coach Steve Lanpher's 12-17 record, given his players' skill level, amounted to one of the greatest coaching jobs in WCBB. Maybe Geno Auriemma did no more and no less than a JPMcCallie or many others could have accomplished, given he had Stewie, Mo, Kaleena et al.

-I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe Holly Warlick, given all the key injuries UT sustained, deserved coach of the year. [Ericsandiego forgive me]

A daunting conundrum, this. There are many legitimate candidates. Makes selecting AA teams a piece-of-cake.

 

[lanieer]

I'm going with Dawn Staley as the second place Coach of the Year. She's done a phenomenal year. Geno will win it.

 

[rocky rococo]

When is the voting for this done? If the voting is done before the tournament, how could tourney performance possibly impact the result?

Seems rather likely for Banghart, though I'd like to see Sue Semrau get it. She's done a remarkable job with a rather hastily stitched together team assembled from all over.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Princeton (Courtney Banghart) is in Region 1 and Geno was the nominee for Region 1 so she won't win the WBCA Award. May win another award for COY

Nominees: http://www.wbca.org/pages/RELEASES_2014-15_032515_d1-coy-finalists

• Region 1 – Geno Auriemma, University of Connecticut
• Region 2 – Sue Semrau, Florida State University
• Region 3 – Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina
• Region 4 – Michelle Clark-Heard, Western Kentucky University
• Region 5 – Kim Mulkey, Baylor University
• Region 6 – Brenda Frese, University of Maryland
• Region 7 – Mark Trakh, New Mexico State University
• Region 8 – Scott Rueck, Oregon State University

What region would Muffett McGraw be in. Whatever division, she should have been selected. No question!

 

[Buzzyboy]

Who do you think will get it?

My top 5 candidates are:
1. Courtney Banghart-I don't think anyone was surprised there was an undefeated team entering the NCAA tournament. Just everyone thought it'd be UCONN, not Princeton. Remarkable season for Banghart and Princeton even with the loss in the 2nd round.

2. Brenda Frese-To be a two loss team and make it back to the Final Four after losing Alyssa Thomas was one heck of a job by Frese. The Big Ten was competitive this year and Maryland was significantly improved when everyone thought Maryland would struggle. I don't think she's the best coach in the nation, but she has guided Maryland to an outstanding season.

3. Geno Auriemma-UCONN has been insanely dominant. The best coach in WCBB led his team to another outstanding season and an 8th straight Final Four.

4. Muffett McGraw-After losing two All-Americans, she has led Notre Dame to be the 2nd best team in women's basketball yet again. They dominated the ACC and everyone has significantly improved from a season ago.

5. Dawn Staley-A 2 loss team in the Final Four, I honestly didn't expect USC to be a top notch squad this year after they struggled against good teams a year ago. Good wins against Duke, Tennessee (2x), North Carolina and Florida State. Mitchell evolved into one of the best guards in the nation, and Wilson took home All-America honors as a freshman.

Do you think there's any possibility at all that if Maryland was still in the ACC that they would have been undefeated and if fact, do you think there's any chance that they would have won the conference title. My personal opinion is NO WAY. The Big 10 is balanced with mediocrity and that's why Maryland was undefeated there. I feel that Brenda Friese is a much better recruiter than she is a coach. You don't think that South Carolina struggled with Duke??? You and I know they had absolutely no business winning that game at Duke and if a team was ever given a game, that was the one. Fate and luck are the reasons South Carolina was only a two loss team this year. Playing Tennessee with their best player out surely enhanced South Carolina's ability to win. The other three nominees on your list are more valid candidates, IMHO.

 

[Buzzyboy]

True. I agree, but for me the ultimate measure of success for any coach (and his/her team) is to play, play well, and go deep in the NCAA Tournament.
And really, how the heck can you objectively compare coaches (and who was "best") without taking into consideration what they achieved relative to the talent level of kids they had, level of competition, injuries dealt with, etc. What are the reasonable criteria for determining 'coach of the year?' It clearly has to go far beyond simply wins and losses. I'm just not sure what they are.

Perhaps little NJIT coach Steve Lanpher's 12-17 record, given his players' skill level, amounted to one of the greatest coaching jobs in WCBB. Maybe Geno Auriemma did no more and no less than a JPMcCallie or many others could have accomplished, given he had Stewie, Mo, Kaleena et al.

-I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe Holly Warlick, given all the key injuries UT sustained, deserved coach of the year. [Ericsandiego forgive me]

A daunting conundrum, this. There are many legitimate candidates. Makes selecting AA teams a piece-of-cake.

Maybe there should be no Coach of the Year awards given all the conflicting circumstances that each potential candidate has. The schedule, the game situations, the injuries for your team, the injuries that your opponents may have at the time you play them, the teams traveling conditions, the academic circumstances that your players may be dealing with just before or after key games and the list goes on and on and on.

 

[triaddukefan]

What region would Muffett McGraw be in. Whatever division, she should have been selected. No question!

ND and FSU are in the same region.

 

[DobbsRover2]

ND and FSU are in the same region.

So I guess we're not using the G-curve here to set up the regions, since Indiana and Florida are as close as a tongue in someone else's cheek. There's a bow-down to the P5 group of regions, and three more tossed to the poor wretched mid-majors in the East, Midwest, and West. What a joke, but yeah, this is the NCAA we're basically talking about.

 

[j66kicker]

Our coach of the year with Jon Gruden:

 

[svetbird]

Dawn Staley will win. Everyone on espn wont shut up about her. It should be Geno but that is how it should be almost every year.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

So I guess we're not using the G-curve here to set up the regions, since Indiana and Florida are as close as a tongue in someone else's cheek. There's a bow-down to the P5 group of regions, and three more tossed to the poor wretched mid-majors in the East, Midwest, and West. What a joke, but yeah, this is the NCAA we're basically talking about.

The regions are by conference. The ACC is in Region 2 with the Big South, CAA and MAAC. Geno is from Region 1, which includes the American, America East, Big East A10, Ivy, NEC and Patrot. FWIW, you can't have both Geno and Jabir contending for this particular award.

However, this is only one of several coaches awards.