The finalists for the Ben Jobe Award were announced earlier this week.
Presented to the top Division I minority basketball coach, the award is named in honor of one of the coaching legends of HBCU basketball.
Ben Jobe coached at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, South Carolina State, Talladega College, and South Carolina State but is best known for his time at Southern University.
Jobe spent 12 seasons at the helm of the Jaguars basketball program, compiling a 209-141 record and leading them to three SWAC regular season crowns and four tournament wins. Jobe guided Southern to four NCAA tournaments and one NIT appearance, with his most notable postseason victory as a no.15 seed defeating no.2 Georgia Tech 93-78 in 1993.
This year’s field of 25 finalists consists of six coaches from HBCUs.
Landon Bussie – Alcorn State University
Coach Bussie has led the Braves to an 18-12 overall and 15-3 mark in the SWAC. Alcorn State won a consecutive SWAC regular season championship, sharing this year’s crown with Grambling, and is the no.1 seed in the conference tournament.
Kenneth Blackeney – Howard University
The Bison racked up a 19-12 regular season and stampeded to an 11-3 conference and their first outright MEAC regular season in 1987.
Jason Crafton – University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Maryland Eastern Shore improved from 11-16 and 6-8 in the MEAC a season ago to 17-12 overall and a 9-5 conference record, and a top-4 seed in the MEAC Tournament.
Donte’ Jackson – Grambling State University
The Tigers experienced a ten-game improvement in their win-loss total from the previous season, going from 12-20 (9-9 SWAC) in 2021-22 to 22-8 (15-3 SWAC) this season. Jackson led the Tigers to a share of the regular season SWAC title, splitting the honors with Alcorn State. The 22 wins marked the first time in program history the program eclipsed the 20-win mark.
Robert Jones – Norfolk State University
The Spartans were once again amongst the class of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, posting a 20-10 overall record, 9-5 in the MEAC, and earning a No.3 seed in the MEAC Tournament. Jones and the Spartans aim to win their third consecutive conference tournament, a feat that has not been achieved since 2000.
LeVelle Moton- North Carolina Central University
In a season in which the program was rocked by multiple tragedies, Coach Moton was a steady hand, helping to guide the Eagles to a 17-11 overall record (10-4 MEAC). North Carolina Central sits at the No. 2 seed in the MEAC Tournament.
The award will be announced later in March in Houston, the location of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
