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BOSTON, Mass. – University of Hartford men's basketball coach John Gallagher has been recognized as a finalist for the 2013 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, as announced by CollegeInsider.com on Tuesday afternoon. Gallagher has already collected one award from CollegeInsider.com as he was tabbed the 2012 America East Coach of the Year by the publication last week.
Coaching one of the youngest squads in the nation, Gallagher has led Hartford to 17 wins this season, matching the program record for regular-season victories. The only other time the Hawks have won 17 games in the regular season was in 1989-90, when Vin Baker was a freshman. In addition, Gallagher and his Hawks have the opportunity to tie the program's record in wins when they host the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament on Tuesday, March 19 (7:00 p.m.).
While showing success in the America East after finishing with the most wins in league play (10) since 2007-08 and posting signature wins over Boston University, Stony Brook and Vermont, Hartford was just as successful in its non-conference slate. The Hawks wrapped up their 13-game slate with a 7-6 record, marking the program's best mark in non-league games since 1996-97. Furthermore, it was just the fourth time in the program's 28-year Division I history that it posted a winning record in non-conference play.
Joining Gallagher on the list of finalists are John Beilein (Michigan), Tony Bennett (Virginia), Rick Byrd (Belmont), Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee), Billy Donlon (Wright State), Jim Engles (NJIT), Steve Fisher (San Diego State), Anthony Grant (Alabama), Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa), Jim Larranaga (Miami), Ryan Marks (UT-Pan American), Bob McKilop (Davidson), Joe Mihalich (Niagara), Dave Paulsen (Bucknell), Brett Reed (Lehigh), Zach Spiker (Army), Bob Thomason (Pacific), John Thompson III (Georgetown) and Bruce Weber (Kansas State).
The Skip Prosser Award was established in 2008 to honor those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity off of it as well. Prosser posted a career record of 291-146 in 14 seasons as a head coach. During his time at Wake Forest, his teams averaged 21 wins per season while playing in arguably the nation's most difficult league, the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The 2013 recipient will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in Atlanta, site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship. Jimmy Patsos, head coach of Loyola (MD), was the recipient of the 2012 award.
