April 9, 2008
Press Release Courtesy of NABC
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - After leading Oklahoma City University to back-to-back national titles, head coach Ray Harper has been named The UPS Store/NABC NAIA National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, announced April 6.
Harper received his award at the AT&T/NABC Guardians of the Game awards show on Sunday, April 6, in San Antonio.
After starting the season with a 9-5 record, Harper led the Stars to a 31-7 record and a second straight championship. It is the sixth in school history and the most ever in NAIA competition.
Only John Wooden led his school to more consecutive NCAA championship game appearances (seven) than Harper. He has made eight total appearances throughout his career including six straight while at Kentucky Wesleyan, winning titles in 1999 and 2001.
In 2003, Harper was an assistant coach for the USA Basketball men's junior world championship team, helping them to a 7-1 record and a fifth-place finish at the FIBA World Championships in Greece. In 2002 he set an NCAA record with five consecutive 30-win seasons.
Senior forward Ryan Fiegi of Oregon Institute of Technology ended an exciting tournament run by being named the 2008 State Farm / NAIA Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
A native of Medford, Oregon, Fiegi received his award at the AT&T/NABC Guardians of the Game awards show on Sunday, April 6, in San Antonio.
Fiegi led the Owls (31-6) to a NAIA Division II national championship as an 11-seed by defeating second- seeded MidAmerica Nazarene and the top seed, Bellevue (Neb.), in the semifinals and finals, respectively. He scored 22 points in the championship game and was named Tournament MVP for his efforts.
In only three seasons at Oregon Tech, Fiegi finished second on the Owls' all-time scoring list with 1,924 points. He is also seventh in assists and 10th in career rebounds.
Fiegi averaged 20.1 points per game this season, 18.3 for his career, and was named the 2008 Cascade Conference Player of the Year. He has been named to the Academic All-America team and the all-conference team each of the last two seasons.
About the National Association of Basketball Coaches
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Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently claims nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.
About State Farm
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