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Steve Donahue Named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year
Published:
This was deserved:
Honestly thought this was gonna go to St. Louis coach Josh Schertz, who went 27-4 with the Billikens and is now being linked to some of the big jobs out there, Syracuse, for instance. SLU was incredible for much of the season, though maybe the recent handful of losses hurt his case. Phil Martelli Jr. had a good shot at COTY as well, going 24-7 in year one with VCU and entering the A10 tournament as the #2 seed.
Donahue’s selection, however, was all about the circumstances. He wasn’t even supposed to coach this team, then Billy Lange left a few weeks before the season and he stepped in to coach a bunch of guys he didn’t recruit. Deuce Jones was gone after 10 games and the Hawks pressed on, going 21-10 overall and 13-5 in the conference, finishing with a six-game winning streak.
It’s been a good story. The Big 5 hasn’t had much to hang its collective hat on in recent years, but SJU, Villanova, and Penn had quality seasons.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com