ST. LOUIS (USBWA) The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has announced finalists for the 2009 Rawlings Henry Iba Award, to be presented to the association's national coach of the year.
A trio of Big 12 coaches Missouri's Mike Anderson, Oklahoma's Jeff Capel and Kansas' Bill Self · are among the 10 coaches selected as finalists. None of the finalists has ever won the award.
The presentation of this year's award will take place on Friday, April 3 at the USBWA's annual awards breakfast at the downtown Detroit Athletic Club in conjunction with the Men's Final Four. The breakfast will also honor the winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy, the association's player of the year, as well as the 1979 Michigan State national championship team that was led by Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
The Rawlings Henry Iba Award is voted on by the entire membership of the association, which consists of nearly 800 journalists. The ballot will be distributed to the membership later today.
The following coaches are finalists for the Henry Iba Award:
The Henry Iba Award is awarded to the USBWA's Coach of the Year. The award has also been presented since 1959 and is named for the legendary Oklahoma State coach.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its awards, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-421-0339.
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Henry Iba Award