Murray State University Athletics
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Prohm Named Inaugural Winner Of The Joe B. Hall Award
3/30/2012 3:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Joe B. Hall Award
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Murray State head men's basketball coach Steve Prohm was named the first winner of the Joe B. Hall award on Friday in New Orleans, La.
CollegeInsider.com held the luncheon during the NCAA Final Four weekend at the Marriott Convention Center Hotel where they presented numerous awards to commemorate the 2011-12 college basketball season.
The Joe B. Hall award is given to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.
Prohm became the 15th head coach in MSU history last May and was one of 52 first year head coaches in NCAA Division I and one of 24 making this their first season as a head coach. He had one of the best rookie seasons in the history of the game when he led Murray State to a 31-2 record and into the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Prohm's Racers were the last unbeaten team at 23-0 and were the only team in the nation to go undefeated on the road at 13-0. MSU tied the Ohio Valley Conference record with 31 wins in a single season and 23 straight wins set a league record.
The Racers gave Prohm plenty of firepower to work with led by seniors Ivan Aska, Jewuan Long and Donte Poole. Poole was an All-OVC First Team selection; Aska was All-OVC Second Team and Long was the OVC Defensive Player of the year. The Racers also had junior Isaiah Canaan who was the OVC's Player of the Year and All-America pick several times over.
When the Racers knocked off No. 20 Memphis (Dec. 11), it pushed them into the national rankings for the first time since 1998 and MSU stayed ranked through the rest of the regular season which was 13 weeks. MSU rose to their highest rankings in the 87-year history of the program when they were No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and No. 9 in the Associated Press Poll in the week of Feb. 9.
As the unbeaten streak grew, MSU became the media darling as they enjoyed national attention while their amazing season unfolded.
Fans flocked to MSU's home, The CFSB Center, in record numbers. The last six home games were sellouts and the 8,825 that watched the Racers defeat St. Mary's (Feb. 18) was a record in 14 seasons played in the arena. MSU averaged 6,144 per home game, much higher than the previous highest average of 5,130 when the building opened in 1998.
Prohm led MSU to the OVC regular season and tournament titles and was part of a long line of coaches that have given the Racers 25 straight winning seasons. MSU trails only Syracuse, Kansas and Arizona in this area.
To name this award after Joe B. Hall is natural. He was a rookie head coach at Kentucky in 1972 when he followed legend Adolph Rupp. Hall won two thirds of his games from 1972 to 1985 (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year awards and won a National Championship (1978). Hall also guided UK to a runner-up finish in the 1975 NCAA tournament, made a Final Four appearance in 1984 and won an NIT championship in 1976. Hall won eight SEC championships and one tournament championship. He is one of only three men to win an NCAA championship as a player (1949- Kentucky) and coach (1978- Kentucky). The only others to achieve this feat are Bob Knight and Dean Smith.
CollegeInsider.com Home
Murray State head men's basketball coach Steve Prohm was named the first winner of the Joe B. Hall award on Friday in New Orleans, La.
CollegeInsider.com held the luncheon during the NCAA Final Four weekend at the Marriott Convention Center Hotel where they presented numerous awards to commemorate the 2011-12 college basketball season.
The Joe B. Hall award is given to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.
Prohm became the 15th head coach in MSU history last May and was one of 52 first year head coaches in NCAA Division I and one of 24 making this their first season as a head coach. He had one of the best rookie seasons in the history of the game when he led Murray State to a 31-2 record and into the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Prohm's Racers were the last unbeaten team at 23-0 and were the only team in the nation to go undefeated on the road at 13-0. MSU tied the Ohio Valley Conference record with 31 wins in a single season and 23 straight wins set a league record.
The Racers gave Prohm plenty of firepower to work with led by seniors Ivan Aska, Jewuan Long and Donte Poole. Poole was an All-OVC First Team selection; Aska was All-OVC Second Team and Long was the OVC Defensive Player of the year. The Racers also had junior Isaiah Canaan who was the OVC's Player of the Year and All-America pick several times over.
When the Racers knocked off No. 20 Memphis (Dec. 11), it pushed them into the national rankings for the first time since 1998 and MSU stayed ranked through the rest of the regular season which was 13 weeks. MSU rose to their highest rankings in the 87-year history of the program when they were No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and No. 9 in the Associated Press Poll in the week of Feb. 9.
As the unbeaten streak grew, MSU became the media darling as they enjoyed national attention while their amazing season unfolded.
Fans flocked to MSU's home, The CFSB Center, in record numbers. The last six home games were sellouts and the 8,825 that watched the Racers defeat St. Mary's (Feb. 18) was a record in 14 seasons played in the arena. MSU averaged 6,144 per home game, much higher than the previous highest average of 5,130 when the building opened in 1998.
Prohm led MSU to the OVC regular season and tournament titles and was part of a long line of coaches that have given the Racers 25 straight winning seasons. MSU trails only Syracuse, Kansas and Arizona in this area.
To name this award after Joe B. Hall is natural. He was a rookie head coach at Kentucky in 1972 when he followed legend Adolph Rupp. Hall won two thirds of his games from 1972 to 1985 (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year awards and won a National Championship (1978). Hall also guided UK to a runner-up finish in the 1975 NCAA tournament, made a Final Four appearance in 1984 and won an NIT championship in 1976. Hall won eight SEC championships and one tournament championship. He is one of only three men to win an NCAA championship as a player (1949- Kentucky) and coach (1978- Kentucky). The only others to achieve this feat are Bob Knight and Dean Smith.
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