Volume 27, Number 1 October/November 2017 Player of the Year Preseason Preview 2017-18! Top 25 Predictions Preseason Top 10: 1. Northwest Missouri 2. Queens (NC) 3. St. Thomas Aquinas 4. Shippensburg 5. Chico State 6. Bellarmine 7. Lincoln Memorial 8. Indiana (Pa.) 9. Colorado Mines 10. Rollins Page 5 Justin Pitts, NW Missouri Coaching Changes Page 3 1991 27th Season 2018 Conference Previews Page 6 2017 All-American Teams Page 11 Twitter: @SmallColHoops www.smallcollegehoops.com Editorial Welcome to the Preseason Preview Issue! Welcome to the 2017-18 Division II to the NCAA Bulletin Preseason Preview issue! We are tournament excited about this upcoming season and announce- Editor & Publisher glad to have you join us for what should ment. Gary S. Rubin ■ be a terrific campaign. This year, This past offseason, I read two good the process Art Director books that both related to college basket- of compil- Steve Fisher ball. The first wasShoe Dog, the memoir ing the Top from Nike founder Phil Knight. Without 25 was pretty Business & Editorial Office question, Nike altered the college basket- straightfor- GSR Communications ball landscape and it was interesting to ward. The Email: [email protected] read how Knight took his own idea and No. 1 ranking grew it into one of the world’s largest this preseason Division II Bulletin is published 14 companies. Of course, I read the book goes to defending national champion times from October to April by GSR before the recent bribery scandal that is Northwest Missouri, which has three Communications. Subscription price: rocking college basketball and it’s not starters and a host of veterans back from $54 per season. © Copyright 2017 by hard to understand how we got here. It its national title team. Reigning DIIB GSR Communications. POSTMAS- will be interesting to see how this plays Player of the Year Justin Pitts (20.9 ppg, TER: Send all change of address out in the months to come. 5 apg) leads the Bearcats and also head- requests to above address. Come the NABC Convention in lines the Super 16 All-Americans listed April, I am interested to see how the on page 11. Printed in USA shoe companies represent themselves A number of teams, including Queens at the gathering. Will the lavish parties (NC), St. Thomas Aquinas, Shippensburg www.smallcollegehoops.com still be on the agenda, or will it be more and Chico State are close behind for the Twitter: SmallColHoops subdued? I can still remember attending top spot so it should be a competitive Member: USBWA several shoe company parties at the Final season. Four and walking away with some pretty I want to thank our corporate partner impressive gifts. for being part of our publication. SNA How do you think things will change, Sports is back as the title sponsor of the and will Division II coaches be impacted? Division II Bulletin Coach of the Year and Drop me a line with your thoughts. the Coach of the Month award as well. Publishing Schedule The second book was Coach Wooden The company is a big supporter of small Division II Bulletin will publish 14 and Me by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s a college basketball and was great to work editions this season. Here’s a sched- touching story of a coach and his player with last year for our biggest award. I ule to keep track of the issues: and how their friendship lasted 50 years. hope you call on SNA Sports when your ● Preseason Preview If you’re a coach, I highly recommend equipment needs arise and thank them for ❍ this book and the lessons it teaches of their support of Division II basketball. December 6 the impact you have on your student Be sure to visit out our web site, www. ❍ December 13 athletes. smallcollegehoops.com, and follow us on ❍ December 20 Now, to the upcoming season. Twitter (@SmallColHoops) for updates ❍ January 3 To begin, you will see a number of new between our regular issues. ❍ January 10 coaches listed on the next page. This was Thanks for your support and we’ll see ❍ an active off-season for coaching moves you in December with the next edition. January 17 and we wish all the new floor generals ❍ January 24 luck this campaign. ❍ February 1 The publishing schedule will be famil- ❍ February 7 iar to our readers. Four years ago we ex- ❍ February 14 panded the schedule to 14 issues a season Gary Rubin ❍ and it was well received. We’re sticking to Editor & Publisher February 21 that again this year after the tremendous ❍ March 1 feedback. Basically, you’ll hear from us ❍ Postseason Review weekly in January and February during the heart of the season and the run-up 2 Division II Bulletin • October 2017 Newsroom Crutchfield Moves from WLU to Division II Coaching Changes Nova Southeastern School Coach FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University Cal St. Monterey Bay Isaac Williams announced the hiring of Jim Crutchfield as the next head coach. Cal St. San Marcos B.J. Foster Crutchfield takes over the Sharks men’s basketball program Fairmont State Joe Mazzulla after 13 seasons at NCAA Division II West Liberty. Flagler Chad Warner In 13 seasons with the West Liberty men’s basketball pro- Maryville Marc Stricker gram, Crutchfield built a high-profile Division II program. Newman R.J. Allen Having coached the Hilltoppers since 2004-05, he amassed Northeastern State Mark Downey a career record of 359-61 (.855), which is the highest career Northwest Nazarene Paul Rush winning percentage in college basketball history among all Nova SE Jim Crutchfield NCAA coaches who have spent at least 10 seasons as an San Francisco State Vince Inglima (int.) NCAA head coach. That places Crutchfield in an elite class Stanislaus State Paul Trevor of coaching legends that includes Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp Urbana Nick Dials (3rd all-time), UCLA’s John Wooden (7th) and Duke’s Mike Washburn Brett Ballard Krzyzewski (21st). West Liberty Ben Howlett West Virginia Wesleyan Jack Merriweather Mazzulla Hired at Fairmont State FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Fairmont State University Director of Athletics Tim McNeely announced that Joe Mazzulla has been named the program’s 12th head men’s basketball coach. A former West Virginia University standout, Mazzulla spent five years coaching at the NCAA Division II level, including three at Fairmont State, before serving as an assistant coach in the NBA Development league last year. Fairmont State head men’s basketball coach Jerrod Calhoun stepped down to accept the same position at Youngstown State University. Trevor Heads to Stanislaus State TURLOCK, Calif. — Stanislaus State announced the ap- pointment of Paul Trevor to the position of co-head coach of men’s basketball, joining Larry Reynolds at the helm of the Warriors. Northwest Missouri head coach Ben McCollum poses with The move to create a co-head coaching position was a mu- his 2017 SNA Sports/Division II Bulletin Coach of the Year tual decision of Reynolds and Matoso, constructed to ensure a award. The Bearcats won the 2017 national championship. smooth transition for the program. Reynolds has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “It is going to be a great opportunity for me to be working Great Alaska Shootout Ending with Coach Reynolds,” Trevor said. “He is extremely well- ANCHORAGE – The University of Alaska Anchorage an- respected throughout the coaching profession and has been a nounced that the 40th annual GCI Great Alaska Shootout will mentor for me throughout my career. I’m also fired-up to be be the final edition of the tournament. joining the Warrior family. Stan State is an exciting and growing “The Shootout has been an iconic event at UAA for 40 athletic department with fantastic facilities. The University has years, but unfortunately we cannot sustain our funding of this made a commitment to athletic excellence and I am looking tournament in the current budget climate,” said UAA chancel- forward to being part of it.” lor Sam Gingerich. Trevor, 48, comes to Turlock after raising the basketball Born in 1978 as the Sea Wolf Classic, the GCI Great Alaska program at San Francisco State to new heights. In seven years Shootout is currently the longest-running regular-season college as the Gators’ head coach he guided his teams to a 107-86 basketball tournament in the nation. record, including 80-68 in the California Collegiate Athletic Overall, the Shootout has hosted 30 of the 35 programs to win Association. He took the Gators to five CCAA Tournaments, an NCAA Div. I men’s basketball championship, while featur- and this past season, after a 10-0 start, SFSU spent back-to- ing 132 teams – an average of 3.4 per tournament – that went back weeks in the national top-25 rankings for the first time on to make the NCAA Tournament the following spring. in school history. 3 Division II Bulletin • October 2017 Newsroom • San Francisco State has pro- Washburn Hires Ballard CSU San Marcos moted assistant Vince Inglima to TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn Univer- Completes Transition interim men’s basketball coach sity men’s basketball will have a new SAN MARCOS, Calif. – California for the 2017-18 season. Inglima head coach on the sidelines for the first State University San Marcos has success- is already involved in all aspects time since the 1979-80 season as Brett of the men’s basketball program fully completed its transition to NCAA Ballard has been announced as the 15th Division II membership. including academics, recruiting, head coach in Ichabod program history strength and conditioning, travel, CSUSM President Karen Haynes by athletic director Loren Ferré.