Chicago State head men's basketball coach
Gerald Gillion was named one of 15 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award today, presented annually by CollegeInsider.com to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.
Gillion was named head men's basketball coach at Chicago State on July 19, 2021 and earned his first collegiate victory with a season-opening win over St. Thomas, snapping a 28-game Cougars losing streak. CSU opened the season with their first two-game win streak over Division I opponents since the 2014-15 season and won three straight home games for the first time since 2018-19. Chicago State then earned a road win over IUPUI, snapping a 24-game road losing streak. Stepping into conference play, the Cougars earned their first Western Athletic Conference victory since March 2018 with a 58-56 win over California Baptist, their first league road win since 2017 with a 67-56 win at Lamar and pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season with a 61-59 win over eventual WAC regular season and tournament champion New Mexico State.
The 2022 Joe B. Hall award winner will be announced on April 1 in New Orleans, site of the Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
The following is a complete list of the finalists.
2021-22 JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS
Speedy Claxton, Hofstra
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Gerald Gillion, Chicago State
Kevin Kruger, UNLV
Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Steve Lutz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Tony Madlock, South Carolina State
Jordan Mincy, Jacksonville
Kyle Neptune, Fordham
David Riley, Eastern Washington
Levell Sanders, Binghamton
Brette Tanner, Abilene Christian
Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago
Chris Victor, Seattle
Mike Woodson, Indiana
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. In 1991, the Chicago State women's tennis team became the first all-black college team to amass an unbeaten season at the NCAA level. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title, also making an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet. Chicago State volleyball recorded a historic season in 2021, with Yanlis Feliz becoming CSU's first volleyball All-American and head coach
Tony Trifonov earning selection as WAC Coach of the Year. During that same season, three different CSU teams earned victories over Big Ten opponents with men's soccer beating Northwestern, women's basketball upending Wisconsin and volleyball, which established a school record 17 wins and hosted a post-season volleyball tournament for the first time in program history, swept Indiana in Bloomington.
Follow the Cougars
For complete coverage of Chicago State University athletics, follow us on social media @ChiStateCougars (Twitter), @ChiStateCougars (Instagram), /ChiStateCougars (Facebook), or visit the official home of Chicago State athletics at GoCSUCougars.com.Â
Â
