NCAA coaching legend Jim Crutchfield will begin his seventh year and sixth season at the helm of the Nova Southeastern men's basketball program in 2022-23.
Crutchfield was hired on March 21, 2017, following a historical stint at West Liberty, and quickly introduced a pressing, uptempo style of play that the Shark faithful had never been accustomed to. His recipe for success that had worked during the previous 13 years in the state of West Virginia transformed a 6-20 program into a Sunshine State Conference contender less than 12 months on the job.
During his short tenure at NSU, Crutchfield has produced six future professional players, had players earn a combined nine All-America honors, coached four CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, one D2CCA National Player of the Year, seven First Team All-SSC performers, three SSC Newcomers of the Year, two SSC Freshmen of the Year, two SSC Players of the Year, one D2CCA South Region Player of the Year, and one NABC National Player of the Year.
The Sharks continued their dominance during the 2023-24 season, as Crutchfield guided NSU to a 32-3 record, winning the program's third consecutive Sunshine State Conference regular season and SSC tournament championships, and also third straight NCAA South Region title. Crutchfield recorded the 500th win of his career against Lynn on November 29th, while also leading the Nova Southeastern Men's Basketball program to a NCAA Division II record 62 consecutive regular season victories (Nov. 13, 2021 - Jan. 3, 2024). NSU closed the regular season with 12 consecutive wins, entering the SSC tournament as the top-seed with the league's regular season crown. The Sharks continued their roll into the SSC tournament, defeating Eckerd, Lynn, and Barry to win the league title once again. In the South Region tournament, the Sharks rolled Benedict, Embry-Riddle and Florida Southern, advancing to the Elite Eight for the program's third consecutive season, the fourth straight in competition and fourth in program history. Nova Southeastern ended the season as NCAA Division II national finalists, advancing to the national title for the second straight season.
The 2022-23 was storybook from start to finish for the Sharks and Crutchfield, as Nova Southeastern became the sixth team in NCAA Division II history to finish as undefeated national champions. Crutchfield's Sharks were dominant throughout the season, leading the nation in points-per-game (102.5) and scoring margin (+25.7). NSU finished the season with a 36-0, 20-0 SSC record. Nova Southeastern became the second team in the history of the Sunshine State Conference to go undefeated in league play, matching the feat of Crutchfield's 2021-22 Sharks. Nova Southeastern was named the top-ranked team in the country on February 14. NSU swept the Sunshine State Conference tournament - for the program's second consecutive crown - and hosted the NCAA South Region Tournament, winning the program's third tournament crown and advanced to the Elite Eight for the third-time in program history. During the Elite Eight, NSU defeated Missouri-St. Louis, Cal. State San Bernardino and faced West Liberty in the National Championship. Crutchfield's Sharks defeated West Liberty 111-101, setting the record for points in an NCAA Championship game, winning the first title in NSU Men's Basketball history. Crutchfield coached RJ Sunahara to SSC, D2CCA South Region and NABC Player of the Year honors, as well as the Bevo Francis Award, while Will Yoakum set the program record for points in a season (727). Crutchfield was honored as the Sunshine State Conference, Clarance Gaines and NABC Coach of the Year.
The 2021-22 season was another incredible year for the Sharks and Crutchfield, as NSU further established itself on the national landscape. The Sharks, for the second-time in program history, earned the number one ranking in the country, carrying that ranking into the postseason. Nova Southeastern went a perfect 25-0 through the regular season, including 20-0 in Sunshine State Conference play, en route to the program's first Sunshine State Conference title. In the postseason, the Sharks dominated the SSC tournament, going a perfect 3-0 at the Rick Case Arena to become the first SSC program to go undefeated iin league action in the regular season and postseason. The Sharks hosted the NCAA South Region tournament and won two thrilling contests to earn the program's second NCAA South Region title and advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. Nova Southeastern finished the season with a 31-1 record, placing three on the All-Sunshine State Conference teams, while earning his second Sunshine State Coach of the Year award.
How were the Sharks going to follow up their South Region Championship from the year prior? Well, Crutchfield and company added 23 more wins in 2019-20, and in doing so, climbed all the way to the top of the college basketball rankings in the month of December for the first time in program history. By year's end, NSU returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, while finishing No. 2 in the country in scoring with an average of 101.8 points per game.
Crutchfield guided NSU into unchartered territory in 2018-19, earning Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year honors in the process. Following an 11-win increase in year one with the program, Crutchfield reset the bar once more in his second season in Fort Lauderdale, leading the Sharks to an unprecedented 29-4 record that included numerous program firsts. Ascending as high as No. 3 in the national polls, NSU eventually collected its first-ever SSC regular season title before earning the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth as the NCAA South Region's top seed. Following wins over both Miles and West Alabama to reach the Sweet 16, Crutchfield and company beat a ranked Lynn team for the third time on the year to capture the NCAA South Region Championship en route to the Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.
Both David Dennis and Mark Matthews were selected as All-Americans by season's end, becoming the first All-Americans of any sort since the program made the jump to NCAA Division II in 2002-03.
In year one of the New Era, Crutchfield guided Nova Southeastern to a perfect 6-0 start on its way to cracking the national poll for the first time in program history. The Sharks rolled through non-conference play undefeated before taking the league by storm by averaging a SSC-best 90.1 points per game, a mark that also ranked among the Top-5 in all of NCAA Division II.
Nova Southeastern caught fire midway through SSC play with five consecutive victories, including a 73-68 triumph over Eckerd that secured the season sweep of the eventual SSC Tournament Champion. The pair of notable wins against the Tritons would propel the Sharks to the fifth-largest turnaround in the nation in 2017-18 with a final record of 17-10.
Crutchfield's system also churned out a number of individual postseason accolades, as point guard David Dennis would close the year with both all-south region and SSC Newcomer of the Year honors, while Malik Hardy became the first NSU player to capture the league's Freshman of the Year award since 2010.
Prior to his arrival in Fort Lauderdale, Crutchfield built arguably the most high-profile Division II program in the nation during 13 seasons with West Liberty. Having coached the Hilltoppers since 2004-17, he amassed a career record of 359-61 (.855), which was the highest career winning percentage in college basketball history among
ALL NCAA coaches who had spent at least 10 seasons as an NCAA head coach. That places Crutchfield in an elite class of coaching legends that includes Kentucky's Adolph Rupp (3
rd all-time), UCLA's John Wooden (7
th) and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (21
st).
For Crutchfield, winning just follows. After taking over the West Liberty program in 2004, the Hilltoppers posted thirteen 20-plus win seasons, five 30-plus win seasons and were a fixture at or near the top of the NCAA Division II Coaches' top 25. Since Feb. 2, 2010, Crutchfield's teams were ranked in the top 25 for 112 straight weeks, the longest run in the history of NCAA Division II polls and 45 No. 1 rankings over that span are the most of any Division II program. In 2016-17, his team finished 28-4, won the Mountain East Conference Tournament and advanced to their eighth straight NCAA tournament appearance.
After taking over the Hilltopper program, West Liberty was the only team in the country to advance to the Elite Eight four consecutive years since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. If that wasn't enough, his 24-9 NCAA tournament record marked the highest all-time winning percentage among all active NCAA Division II schools in the country. Under his guidance, West Liberty ranked among the top-four in points per game in each of his 13 seasons, averaged more than 30 wins a season over his final eight years and won five of the last seven Atlantic Region titles. His teams also played in three of four NCAA Division II Finals Fours at one point and made the Sweet Sixteen seven straight seasons.
Career Coaching Record
| Season |
Program |
W |
L |
W% |
Con.W |
Con. L |
W% |
Notables |
| 2004-05 |
West Liberty |
21 |
10 |
0.677 |
|
|
|
|
| 2005-06 |
West Liberty |
21 |
8 |
0.724 |
|
|
|
|
| 2006-07 |
West Liberty |
25 |
5 |
0.833 |
|
|
|
|
| 2007-08 |
West Liberty |
23 |
6 |
0.793 |
|
|
|
|
| 2008-09 |
West Liberty |
23 |
7 |
0.767 |
|
|
|
|
| 2009-10 |
West Liberty |
29 |
3 |
0.906 |
|
|
|
|
| 2010-11 |
West Liberty |
33 |
1 |
0.971 |
22 |
0 |
1.000 |
Advanced to Final Four |
| 2011-12 |
West Liberty |
32 |
3 |
0.914 |
21 |
1 |
0.955 |
Advanced to Elite Eight |
| 2012-13 |
West Liberty |
34 |
2 |
0.944 |
21 |
1 |
0.955 |
Advanced to Final Four |
| 2013-14 |
West Liberty |
31 |
4 |
0.886 |
20 |
2 |
0.909 |
NCAA National Finalist |
| 2014-15 |
West Liberty |
28 |
4 |
0.875 |
20 |
2 |
0.909 |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2015-16 |
West Liberty |
31 |
4 |
0.886 |
20 |
3 |
0.870 |
Advanced to Final Four |
| 2016-17 |
West Liberty |
28 |
4 |
0.875 |
19 |
3 |
0.864 |
NCAA Tournament berth |
| 2017-18 |
NSU |
17 |
10 |
0.630 |
11 |
9 |
0.550 |
|
| 2018-19* |
NSU |
29 |
4 |
0.879 |
18 |
2 |
0.900 |
First SSC Regular Season Title in program history; First Elite Eight Trip in program history |
| 2019-20 |
NSU |
23 |
6 |
0.793 |
15 |
5 |
0.750 |
NCAA Tournament canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2020-21 |
NSU |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Season Canceled due to COVID 19 |
| 2021-22* |
NSU |
31 |
1 |
|
20 |
0 |
1.000 |
SSC Regular Season Champions, SSC Tournament Champions; First SSC MBB team to go undefeated in league play; NCAA South Region Champions; |
| 2022-23* |
NSU |
36 |
0 |
1.000 |
20 |
0 |
1.000 |
NCAA Division II National Champion;
Sixth team in NCAA Division II history to go undefeated; SSC, Clarance Gaines, NABC Coach of the Year |
| 2023-24 |
NSU |
32 |
3 |
0.914 |
18 |
2 |
0.900 |
NCAA Division II National Finalists; NCAA South Region Champions; Sunshine State Conference Regular Season & Tournament Champions |
| Career Record |
West Liberty |
359 |
61 |
0.855 |
|
|
|
|
|
NSU |
168 |
24 |
0.875 |
102 |
18 |
0.850 |
|
|
|
527 |
85 |
0.861 |
|
|
|
|
More on Crutchfield…
- 527-85 career record (.861)
- NCAA DII National Champion (2023)
- NABC National Coach of the Year (2023)
- Two-time National Coach of the Year (Basketball Times – 2012, 2013)
- Three-time Atlantic Region Coach of the Year (NABC – 2011, 2012, 2013)
- Seven-time Conference Coach of the Year (2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023)
- Four-time Furfari Award Winner for top college coach in the state of West Virginia for all sports (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014).
- CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Non-Division I Coaches in the nation (2011)
- Jack Bennett Award recipient (2019)
- Clarance Gaines Coach of the Year (2023)
