Witherspoon Named NABC District 14 Coach of the Year

10-year head coach led Bulls to 21-win season

Reggie Witherspoon

KANSAS CITY, MO – University at Buffalo men's basketball head coach Reggie Witherspoon has been named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 14 Coach of the Year. District 14 consists of schools from the Mid-American Conference and the award is voted on by fellow coaches.

Witherspoon took a team that was picked to finish last in the preseason poll to 21 wins - the second most in school history. The Bulls earned a share of the MAC regular season title and advanced to the championship game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. In addition, Buffalo was invited to play in the College Basketball Invitational, marking only its second postseason appearance as a Division I program.

The Bulls started strong out of the gate, claiming the Rainbow Classic tournament in Hawaii for their first in-season tournament championship in nearly 15 years.

Witherspoon made several key personnel moves entering the season, but none paid off more than moving Rodney Pierce to the off-guard position where he averaged 14.3 points per game and was one of the strongest players down the stretch in the league, earning first-team All-MAC honors. Another key decision was moving Greg Gamble to the point guard spot. Gamble averaged 8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game and was named All-MAC Honorable Mention.

Witherspoon also made ample use of the Bulls' interior strengths as Buffalo topped the MAC in rebounding for the third straight season and far outdistanced any other MAC squad in rebounding margin.

Witherspoon also earned MAC Coach of the Year honors by MAC Report Online.