COLUMBUS, Ohio — If Vic Schaefer had his way, he would split the plaque he received Friday afternoon for being named United States Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year into multiple pieces.
By doing so, Schaefer could give parts of the award to associate head coach Johnnie Harris and assistant coaches Dionnah Jackson-Durrett and Carly Thibault-DuDonis.
“I think they all deserve a piece of it,” Schaefer said. “They’re all a part of it. We’re so fortunate at Mississippi State to have the staff that we have coaching the kids, mentoring the kids, and being role models for our student-athletes.”
Schaefer likely also would parcel out pieces of the trophy to director of operations Maryann Baker, director of scouting/video coordinator Skylar Collins, and student assistant coach Dominique Dillingham.
But Schaefer will have to wait to do that because the plaque he received had his name misspelled. That mistake puts him in elite company with former Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt, whose name was misspelled on the trophy in 1998, and Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, whose name was misspelled a couple of years after that.
The award is the third national honor and fourth coach of the year recognition Schaefer has received this season. The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and College Sports Madness also recognized him for their national awards. The Southeastern Conference also named Schaefer as its top coach.
“I am very honored and humbled,” Schaefer said. “There are so many great coaches throughout the country. So much goes into this for me, and it starts with our staff — Johnnie and Carly and Dionnah, how much impact they have had on this ward and on our team.
“I can’t do it by myself, and I have the best staff in the country without a doubt.”
Schaefer also thanked his wife, Holly, and his son, Logan, as well as his daughter, Blair, a senior guard on MSU’s 36-1 team.
The award was presented three hours prior to the start of MSU’s game against Louisville in the national semifinals. Schaefer left the ceremony right after receiving his award to finalize preparations for the matchup.
South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson and Texas A&M’s Chennedy Carter were named USBWA Player and Freshman of the Year.
Saint Joseph’s Avery Marz won the USBWA’s Pat Summitt Most Courageous Athlete Award.
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair was on hand for the ceremony. Schaefer, who worked for Blair for 15 years as an assistant and as an associate head coach at Arkansas and Texas A&M, thanked Blair for his help throughout the years. He said in his remarks he has learned so many things from Blair and that he continues to learn from him.
Blair said Schaefer’s approach to his work has helped him be so successful.
“He always has been the type that is willing to share,” Blair said. “It isn’t all about Vic. He knows how to involve so many people, particularly his family. That family of his is pretty special.”
Schaefer led MSU to the program’s first SEC regular-season championship, the first for any women’s program at MSU, and a school wins record for the fourth-straight year. MSU’s 36 wins are tied for most in the nation this season.
MSU won its first 32 games, which is the second-longest winning streak in SEC history. The Bulldogs also went 30-0 in the regular season to become the first SEC team to accomplish that feat in 20 years.
Blair recalled being apprehensive about hiring Vic as an assistant coach at Arkansas because he was a good friend. He said he didn’t want a “bobble head” or someone who was going to agree with everything he said. Blair said Schaefer never was that and always told him what he needed to hear.
“I am so proud when I hear him speak that the ‘I’ isn’t in his forehead and that it is the ‘we’,” Blair said.
This is the second-consecutive year MSU has advanced to the Final Four. MSU earned its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament this season.
“I really count it as a real blessing from the Lord,” Schaefer said. “I am thankful for a university where women’s basketball is very important.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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