Former Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie has been named National JUCO Coach of the Year by Hoopdirt.com after leading Ranger College to a 31-4 record and an appearance in NJCAA D1 National Championship game.
Here is a release from Hoopdirt.com:
Ranger College Head Basketball Coach Billy Gillispie has been named as the HoopDirt.com JUCO Coach of the Year presented by Just Play Solutions for the 2018-19 college basketball season. Gillispie qualified for the award by being named as the HoopDirt.com/Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week for Week 12 of the season.
This past season, Gillispie led Ranger to a 31-4 record, and an appearance in the NJCAA DI National Championship game. On their march to the title game, 8th seeded Ranger knocked off #1 Northwest Florida, and 4th ranked Coffeyville.
Gillispie’s squad also posted an impressive 13-1 home record, and went 13-1 in highly competitive Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference in Region V. Ranger also captured their second regular season conference title in the past three seasons. For his efforts, Gillispie was tabbed as the 2018-19 NTJCAC Coach of the Year.
The former head coach at Kentucky, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and UTEP, Gillispie returned to the sidelines this season after a kidney transplant.
Georgetown College head coach Chris Briggs earned NAIA Coach of the Year honors.
