Barclay Radebaugh named Big South Conference Coach of the Year
3/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the second time in four years, Charleston Southern head coach Barclay Radebaugh has been named the Big South Conference Coach of the Year, the league office announced on Monday. Radebaugh directed the Bucs to the winningest regular season in the program's 50-year history en route to claiming a second Big South title in three years.
Complete 2014-15 Big South Men's Basketball Award Winners
2015 VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Men's Basketball Championship Bracket
Radebaugh and CSU clinched a share of the regular season conference championship with a thrilling 97-93 triple overtime win over High Point on Saturday. CSU's 19 overall regular season wins and 13 Big South wins are both program records. The Bucs have secured the Big South's automatic bid to the NIT.
The winningest coach in program history, Radebaugh becomes the eighth coach in the Big South's 31-year history to collect multiple Coach of the Year honors. He also earned the accolade following the 2011-12 season.
"First, we all know that the Coach of the Year Award is a recognition of a collective effort by an entire athletic department," Radebaugh said. "We have so many incredible people in our athletic department that work tirelessly so that our basketball program has a chance to shine. I thank you all."
"Second, our assistant coaches and staff are beyond amazing," continued Radebaugh, who is in his tenth season at CSU. "It is no coincidence that we started to make big strides in our recruiting and on-court success when BJ (McKie) and Ahmad (Smith) arrived at CSU. BJ and Ahmad are incredibly gifted, selfless and loyal coaches. Tyler Murray has been a tremendous addition and is one of the most talented young coaches and recruiters I have ever met. Josh (Snyder), Thomas (Butters), Ishmael (Turner) and Trey (Johnson) work long, hard hours to make our operation run smoothly. I am very thankful for the many contributions they make."
CSU's 70 victories over the last four years are the second most in any four-year stretch in the program's 50-year history. The Bucs had one national postseason bid in the program's first 47 seasons, and are now assured of a second in three years.
Picked to finish fifth in the Big South Preseason Poll, Radebaugh and CSU put together a pair of five-game winning streaks to power their way to the conference title. CSU led the Big South in conference games in five different statistical categories – scoring offense (76.5), free-throw percentage (75.0), turnover margin (+3.39), offensive rebounds (12.89) and three-pointers per game (9.83).
For the season, CSU ranks among the nation's top-50 in three-pointers per game (10th), offensive rebounds per game (19th), scoring offense (31st), total rebounds per game (35th), turnover margin (43rd) and turnovers per game (49th).
CSU went 13-2 at home, extending its record at the Buc Dome since 2009 to 67-18. The Bucs' six road wins match their most during Radebaugh's tenure. CSU went 5-4 on the road in league play, and was just one of two teams to defeat 10 of the 11 Big South members this season. Radebaugh piloted CSU to an 11-1 record when making ten or more threes in a game, and a 7-1 mark when holding opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.
Radebaugh and the Bucs opened the season with a bang, defeating Ole Miss in overtime, 66-65. CSU held Ole Miss to 5-of-28 shooting in the first half of that game and 30 percent overall and out-rebounded the bigger Rebels, 54-50, including 19-16 on the offensive glass. The victory was just the second in CSU history over an opponent from one of the Power 5 conferences.
CSU ran off a pair of five-game winning streaks in conference play to finish at the top in a Big South that featured a seven-way tie for first on February 6. The Bucs' 8-1 home record in conference games was the best in the circuit.
CSU enters the VisitMyrtleBeach.com Big South Basketball Championships as the No. 1 seed, and meets No. 9 Longwood in Friday's quarterfinal round. Tipoff at the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. is set for 12 noon, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
