• Hugh Durham Award Website | Skip Prosser Award Website
Belmont men's basketball head coach
Casey Alexander and Murray State coach
Matt McMahon were named finalists for the Hugh Durham Coach of the Year Award and Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award by CollegeInsider.com.
The Hugh Durham Award is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball while the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award is presented annually to a head coach who achieves success on the court and displays moral integrity off the court.
Alexander led Belmont to Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles, and the program's ninth NCAA Tournament bid since 2006. Inheriting the Bruin program from hall of fame coach Rick Byrd, Alexander's 26 victories represented the most by any first-year head coach in NCAA Division I this season. When coupled with his final two seasons at Lipscomb, Alexander is one of only seven NCAA Division I head coaches outside the power five to amass at least 78 victories over the last three seasons. Belmont ranked first nationally in assists (18.3/game), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54), 11th in scoring margin (+11.7 points/game), 14th in scoring (79.6 points/game), 15th in field goal percentage (47.5%) and 16th in 3-pointers made/game (9.7).
A year after losing Ja Morant to the NBA Draft (where he was the No. 2 overall pick), McMahon guided his team its third-straight (and 27th overall) OVC regular season championship with a 15-3 Conference mark and 23-9 overall record. The Racers are the first OVC program to win three-straight titles since 2010-12 (when Murray State also accomplished the feat). McMahon has guided the team to three-straight 20-win seasons, becoming just the third coach in MSU history to achieve that feat. Murray State ranked 14th nationally in field goal percentage (47.6%), 20th in rebounding margin (+6.4/game), 21st in scoring margin (+10.7 points/game) and 31st in 3-point percentage (36.9%).
ETSU head coach Steve Forbes was named the winner of the Durham Award while Western Carolina's Mark Prosser was named the recipient of the Prosser Award.