Iona’s Tim Cluess Named Met Writers Division I Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year
EDISON, NJ – Iona College head coach Tim Cluess has been named the 2017-18 Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Division I Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year as announced by the organization on Monday.
Cluess guided the Gaels to their third-straight MAAC Championship. Iona became the third team in MAAC history to win three-straight titles, it joined Siena College (2008-10) and former member La Salle University (1988-90). Iona has won four of the last six MAAC Men’s Basketball Championships and a conference record 11 overall.
Coach Cluess has compiled a 182-92 recorded at Iona. He has tallied 112 wins in MAAC play over the course of his career in New Rochelle, the third-most by a coach in conference history behind Joe Mihalich (166) and Jimmy Patsos (132).
Cluess has collected a 19-4 record in the MAAC Championship and is 4-3 in the Championship final. Cluess’ four MAAC Championship titles are tied with La Salle’s Speedy Morris for the most by a head coach in league history.
This season, the Gaels ranked third in the MAAC in scoring offense (79.5 points per game), third in scoring margin (+2.9), first in free-throw percentage (73.8%), third in field goal percentage (46.1%), first in three-point field goals made per game (9.5), third in three-point field goal percentage (38.3%), second in assists per game (15.9), third in steals per game (6.7), third in turnover margin (+2.03), and first in assist/turnover ratio (1.4).
The eighth-year head coach recently agreed to a contract extension through the 2024-25 season
The All-Met First and Second Team players and coaches will be honored Wednesday, April 25, at the 85
th NIT/MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner at the Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown, NY.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.