March 02, 2005
Texas A&M men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie is one of 20 finalists named for the Naismith Award presented by Coca-Cola, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. The Naismith Award is one of the most prestigious national awards presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball coaches of the year.
"The Naismith Award is the preeminent honor in college basketball," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "Each of these coaches has left a lasting impact on the lives and careers of his players and is beyond worthy of taking home the trophy in April."
The top 20 list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The board based its criteria on coaching performance this season.
These coaches will go to the final ballot in March, when the Board will select the coach who has distinguished himself as the best collegiate coach in the nation. The Coach of the Year will be recognized at the Naismith Awards Banquet on April 8 in Atlanta.
"College coaches play such an important role in fueling the excitement of NCAA basketball," said Valerie Manis, senior manager, Coca-Cola North America. "As an official NCAA Corporate Champion, Coca-Cola congratulates each of these deserving men for their outstanding work."
Gillispie is in his first season at Texas A&M and has engineered an 11-win improvement which is tied for best in the country heading into Wednesday night's Oklahoma State contest in Stillwater. The Aggies are 18-7 and 7-7 in Big 12 play. Texas A&M finished the 2003-04 season with a record of 7-21 and 0-16 in Big 12 action.
This past week, Gillispie was named National Coach of the Week by ESPN's Dick Vitale after the Aggies beat Iowa State, 75-59, to end the Cyclones' seven-game Big 12 win streak and the Aggies beat No. 25-ranked Texas Tech, 85-63, last Saturday.
After the OSU game (Mar. 2), the Aggies finish the Big 12 regular season with a road game at Baylor (Mar. 5).
Only three other teams in NCAA history have won seven or more conference games after going winless in league action the previous year. Miami (Fla.) went from 0-18 to 9-9 in Big East play in 1994-95; Louisiana Tech went from 0-18 to 9-9 in Sun Belt action in 1994-95; and Southern Illinois went from 0-16 to 7-9 in Missouri Valley tilts in 1981-82.
Gillispie's first-year record of 18-7 ties Shelby Metcalf (1963-64) for the best start by a first-year Aggie head coach.
Last season, Coach Gillispie enjoyed the largest attendance increase in college basketball averaging 10,282 fans per game at UTEP. This season in Aggieland, the Aggies have increased average attendance 28.7% to 7,849 fans per game. In Big 12 play, the Aggies have increased attendance 49.8% to 10,988 fans per contest.
The 20 finalists in alphabetical order are:
Coach School Rick Barnes Texas Jim Boeheim Syracuse Mark Few Gonzaga Ray Giacoletti Utah Billy Gillispie Texas A&M Frank Haith Miami (FL) Mike Krzyzewski Duke Lute Olson Arizona Rick Pitino Louisville Skip Prosser Wake Forest Lorenzo Romar Washington Bo Ryan Wisconsin Kelvin Sampson Oklahoma Bill Self Kansas Al Skinner Boston College Tubby Smith Kentucky Eddie Sutton Oklahoma State John Thompson III Georgetown Bruce Weber Illinois Roy Williams North Carolina