Former University of Wyoming assistant coach and Gillette native Sundance Wicks was named the winner of the Joe B. Hall national coach of the year award Thursday morning.
The award honors the top first-year head coach in Division I college basketball in the country. Wicks, who took over at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay last offseason, injected energy into a downtrodden program, orchestrating an improvement of 15 wins from the previous season.
Green Bay finished 18-14 overall and 13-7 in the Horizon League, tying for third in the regular season. Wicks, 43, made seven coaching stops before landing in Green Bay, and in his first season with the Phoenix, all of his experience helped the team improve more than 100 spots in adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com, upgrading their overall rating from 361st to 230th.
“Sundance Wicks delivered in his first year in Green Bay,” said James Wilhelmi, an executive member of collegeinsider.com. “He orchestrated one of the best turnarounds in the history of the Horizon League. His unique approach and positive demeanor carried over to his players and the overall community, resulting in much bigger home crowds and the Phoenix winning 500% more games than the year before. He is very deserving of the Joe B. Hall national coach of the year award.”
The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
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