NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association Selects 2010 Coaches and Players of the Year
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association has announced this year's NJCAA Coach and Player of the Year Selections for the 2009-2010 seasons in each division of play.
This year the Coach of the Year accolades go to Mark Adams of Howard College (Texas), Kirk Whiteman of Lincoln College (Ill.), and Joe Kuhn of Joliet Junior College (Ill.).
The 2010 Player of the Year awards go to Jae Crowder of Howard College (Texas), Brian Word of Brown Mackie College (Kan.), and Brian Bradley of Joliet Junior College (Ill.).
All six individuals will be presented their awards at the NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association Banquet on Friday, April 30 at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev. The event is open to the public and is part of a weekend that will include two NJCAA All-Star Games on April 30 and May 1. Click here for more information on these events.
Division I Coach of the Year
In his sixth year at Howard College, head coach Mark Adams brought the men's basketball team to its second appearance in the national tournament and was able to guide the Hawks to a No. 2 ranking in the final NJCAA DI Poll along with a Region 5 title. Howard then went on to Hutchinson, Kan., and won the school's first national championship in men's basketball.
On their way to a national title, Howard won their first two games in Hutchinson against Southeastern Illinois and Walters State (Tenn.) by an average of 14.5 points. However, in the semifinal round, the Hawks found themselves in some trouble with four minutes remaining and a deficit of 16 points against College of Eastern Utah. Adams and the Hawks overcame by locking down on defense and causing six turnovers and eventually defeating CEU 68-64.
In the championship game against Three Rivers (Mo.), Howard was down by 10 with less than five minutes to go, but was again able to overcome the adversity by going on a 16-5 run to force overtime. In the extra period, the Hawks would not be denied the title and won by a score of 85-80. Howard finished the season with a 33-2 record.
In his six years at Howard, Adams has been awarded the Region 5 Coach of the Year and the WJCAC Coach of the Year twice each, and has put together a remarkable 171-29 record.
Division II Coach of the Year
Kirk Whiteman guided the Lincoln College (Ill.) men's basketball team to their first ever NJCAA Championship in school history in just his second year as head coach. In his first year, Whiteman came up just short with a third place finish in the 2009 national tournament.
After finishing the regular season unranked in the NJCAA DII Poll, Lincoln had something to prove. They did so by defeating Shawnee (Ill.) with a score of 86-74 in the Region 24A Championship to become the District 13 Champions and punch their ticket to the national tournament.
On their way to the title game, Lincoln defeated Pima (Ariz.), Kishwaukee (Ill.), and the #2 overall seed Kirkwood (Iowa). In the championship game, the Lynx squared off against Cincinnati State (Ohio) and came out with a 71-60 victory - earning Lincoln the title of NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Champions and a final overall record of 30-6.
Whiteman served as the assistant coach at Lincoln for seven years under BJ McCullum before taking the reins in 2008. In Whiteman's two years as head coach the Lynx are 57-16.
Division III Coach of the Year
Entering his 13th year as head coach at Joliet, Joe Kuhn brought home his first NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship and the school's second overall with a 94-82 victory over Rochester (Minn.). The Wolves finished the regular season ranked No. 7 in the NJCAA DIII Poll and finished the 2009-10 year with an overall record of 30-5.
Before defeating Rochester, the District 2 Champions started the tournament with an 87-71 victory over Herkimer County (N.Y.). In the semifinal, the Wolves handled Roxbury (Mass.) by a score of 80-74.
Coach Kuhn has been named NJCAA District Coach of the Year seven times and has taken the Wolves to five national tournament appearances (98', 04', 05', 08', 10') including three trips to the national championship game (05', 08', 10'). During his tenure, Kuhn has compiled an overall record of 293-137.
Division I Player of the Year
Jae Crowder (6'6" forward) earned First-Team NJCAA All-America Division I honors this year after leading the Howard (Texas) Hawks to their first ever NJCAA Men's Basketball Championship. This is his second season earning All-American honors as he was recognized as a Second-Team All-American his freshman year.
Crowder led the Hawks this season in a number of different categories including scoring, with 18.9 points per game (624), rebounds, with 9.0 per game (298), and steals, with 2.36 per game (78). The sophomore recorded an incredible 12 double-double's this season, including the national championship game where he reigned in 27 points and grabbed 12 off the glass. The offense ran through Crowder all year as he scored in double figures in 32-of-33 games this year. Crowder's highest scoring performance of the season came on Feb. 15, against the No. 1 team in the nation, Midland (Texas), netting 37 points and complimented that by pulling down 14 rebounds in a 57-53 Hawk victory.
At the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Championship Tournament in Hutchinson, Crowder averaged 19.8 points and scored 79 total points to earn All-Tournament honors.
Crowder is Big East bound as he has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for former Navarro College (Texas) student assistant Buzz Williams (1990-92) next year at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisc.
Division II Player of the Year
Brian Word (6'4" forward) had a standout year for Brown Mackie (Kan.), who finished fifth ath this year's DII national tournament with a 22-13 overall record. Word was selected as an NJCAA DII First-Team All-American this year as well as being selected to the All-Tournament team for his efforts.
The Baltimore, Md., native played strong for the Lions all season as he scored in double figures in every game but two and recorded two double-doubles. Word's highest scoring performance came on March 20 in his final game, against Kishwaukee (Ill.), where he put in 28 against the Kougars in an overtime victory.
Word led the Lions in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per contest (593) and was second in assists with 3.7 (126). At the national tournament in Danville, Ill., Word averaged 19.3 points per game with 7.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Division III Player of the Year
Brian Bradley (6'3" guard) earns the Division III Player of the Year honor for his premier playing throughout the season that led the Joliet (Ill.) Wolves to an NJCAA Division III Championship. For his production on the court, Bradley was named NJCAA a First-Team All-American and was the MVP of the 2010 Tournament in Delhi, N.Y.
In the tournament, Bradley was huge for the Wolves as he averaged 22.3 points (67) with 8.0 rebounds (24) and 3.0 assists (9) per contest.
During the regular season Bradley scored in double figures in every regular game but three, and recorded two double-doubles against Daley College (Ill.) with 11 rebounds and 10 assists and in the tournament semifinal against Roxbury (Mass) he provided 28 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore's highest scoring performance came on Jan. 9, against Harper (Ill.) where he was unstoppable, scoring 41 points on the way to a 100-62 victory.
Throughout the year, Bradley led the team in both scoring and steals with 22.4 points per game (784) and 2.1 steals (73), and was second on the team in assists with 3.7 per contest (130).