May 8, 2010
The list of postseason awards for the IUP men's basketball team continued with the selection of Joe Lombardi as the Division II Coach of the Year by the Basketball Times.
In his fourth season as head coach at IUP, Lombardi guided the Crimson Hawks to a school-record 33 wins against only three losses, the PSAC and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championship and a first-ever berth in the national championship game.
IUP defeated Valdosta State and St. Cloud State in the opening two rounds of the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., the Division II equivalent of the Final Four, before losing to Cal Poly Pomona in the championship game that was televised nationally on CBS.
The Crimson Hawks, who finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the nation by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, were making their second straight NCAA tournament appearance under Lombardi and are 55-11 over the past two seasons.
IUP is one of only two teams from the PSAC to play in the Division II national championship game and first since Cheyney in 1978. In addition to setting the school record for overall wins, the Crimson Hawks also broke the mark for PSAC West wins with 13 in 14 conference games.
"It's nice for our program to be recognized by such a publication," Lombardi said. "The Basketball Times has been considered an expert in college basketball for the past 30 years. I feel it's more of a coaching staff of the year and team of the year award than a coach of the year award.
"I think without a doubt I have the best assistant coaches in the country this year. Chris Fite and Kranthi Senadhi really did a great job, they complement each other very well, and they were to important pieces of a successful puzzle."
Over the past four years, Lombardi has overseen the return of the IUP men's basketball program to the top of the PSAC and Atlantic Region. He took over a program that was wracked by NCAA probation in 2006 and increased the team's win total from six his first year to 13 and then 22 in 2008-09 before the record-setting 33 this season.
"I think it's a testimony to the team to actually say we're the team of the year in my mind," Lombardi said. "We finished with more wins that anybody in Division II and finished second in the country in a 64-team tournament.
"The national exposure bodes well for the program in the future because it lends credibility and respect to IUP basketball."
