BOSTON – Appalachian State University men's basketball head coach Jim Fox has been named as one of 10 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award, given annually to the top first-year coach in college basketball. The announcement was made on Friday by CollegeInsider.com.
In his first season at the helm of the Mountaineers, Fox led his squad to an overall record 12-17 and a 9-11 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. Appalachian finished sixth in the Sun Belt after being selected to finish last in the 11-team league in the preseason coaches poll.
In addition, Appalachian State's win total easily surpassed that from a year ago (9) and all of the Mountaineers' wins in 2014-15 came against NCAA Division I competition, compared to just five from the previous season.
Fox led his squad to upsets over Sun Belt frontrunners Georgia State and UL Monroe during conference play. He also led the Mountaineers to a 65-63 win at Virginia Tech on Nov. 22, the team's first win over a high-major squad since 2007.
The 2014-15 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award also include Jon Coffman (IPFW), Dennis Cutts (UC Riverside), Travis DeCuire (Montana), Chris Jans (Bowling Green), Kevin Keatts (UNC Wilmington), Scott Padgett (Samford), David Richman (North Dakota State), Craig Smith (South Dakota), Keith Walker (Delaware State)
The award is named in the honor of Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp. In his first season at the University of Kentucky, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
The recipient of the 2015 award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet on April 3 in Indianapolis, site of the 2015 men's division I basketball championship.
