Tag: Naismith Coach of the Year

Dawn Staley, Aliyah Boston take home Coach of the Year and Player of the Year ahead of Friday’s Final Four

Dawn Staley and Aliyah Boston are big winners on Wednsday!

The Gamecocks had a few major wins on Wednesday.

Both standout center Aliyah Boston and head coach Dawn Staley received some recognition for their contributions to South Carolina’s 33-2 season.

Boston was named the 2022 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year after averaging 16.8 points and 12.2 rebounds. Boston’s POTY campaign was not only highlighted by her SEC record-breaking 27 consecutive double-doubles but also her 2.5 blocks per game and effectiveness on the defensive end. So, you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that Boston also earned the 2022 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year honor.

While Boston took home the on-the-court awards, Staley was there to grab the accolades that recognize those on the sideline. She was named the 2022 Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year after leading the Gamecocks to the Final Four as they went through the entire season without relinquishing their No. 1 spot in the rankings.

The COTY award is her second.

Surely the 2022 award winners are thrilled to be recognized for their success. I’d bet there’s another honor that both Boston and Staley are greedy for — being crowned national champions.

The Gamecocks had the shortest championship odds (+162 at Tipico) entering the NCAA Tournament and remain the favorites to win it all.

Can they avenge their 2021 Final Four heartbreak?

[mm-video type=video id=01fze67fn95nt4sgwsh4 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fze67fn95nt4sgwsh4/01fze67fn95nt4sgwsh4-8adfbf8d344c9b300e4bea2bcfd4ccb8.jpg]
[listicle id=1867771]

Chris Holtmann named Naismith Coach of the Year finalist

Ohio State basketball head coach Chris Holtmann was named one of ten finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year Friday.

Despite a current losing streak of three games, it’s been a season of exceeded expectations for Ohio State during the 2020-2021 season. With that, usually accolades and awards follow for the man steering the ship, and that would be head coach Chris Holtmann in this case.

And sure enough, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Holtmann as one of ten finalists for the Naismith Coach of the Year on Friday. The news follows the Buckeye head coach first being named to the late-season Naismith Coach of the Year watchlist back in mid-February.

Ohio State, picked by many to finish in the middle of the Big Ten conference at best, had been near the top of the league until recently. It still sits in fifth place in the conference but is on pace to receive a top-three seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Holtmann has already taken home several coach of the year awards in his career. He won the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2018, Big East Coach of the Year in 2017 at Butler,  and Big South Coach of the Year in 2013 at Gardner-Webb.

The other ten coaches that are up for the award are Darian DeVries of Drake, Baylor’s Scott Drew, Mark Few of Gonzaga, Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton, Juwan Howard of Michigan, West Virginia’s Bob Huggins, Porter Moser of Loyola Chicago, Arkansas’ Eric Musselman, and Nate Oats of Alabama.

Ohio State basketball NCAA Tournament History

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.