Gallagher Named AE Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com

John Gallagher

In his third year as head coach of the University of Hartford men's basketball team, John Gallagher has been tabbed the America East Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com as announced on Tuesday morning.

"We as a basketball community have to be impressed and pleased with not only the performance of our teams on the court, but the quality of our student-athletes off the court,” declared Director of Athletics Pat Meiser. “Our team's accomplishments and this award reflect the effort that Coach Gallagher has put into building this program."

After finishing the 2011-12 season with a record of 9-22, including an 0-13 start, Gallagher and the Hawks have made noise throughout the America East Conference and the Nutmeg State. Coaching one of the youngest squads in the nation, Gallagher has led Hartford to 17 wins this season, matching the program record for regular-season victories. The only other time the Hawks won 17 games in the regular season was in 1989-90, when Vin Baker was a freshman.

In addition, Hartford earned 10 wins in league play, the most since the 2007-08 campaign, a year that Gallagher served on the Hawks' coaching staff as an assistant coach. That season, the Hawks earned a trip to the America East title game at UMBC, where they fell short of earning their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Hawks have several signature wins this year as well, snapping an 11-year winless drought at Boston University earlier in league play before ending a nine-game losing streak to Stony Brook last month. Most recently, Hartford defeated Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium, a feat that had not been accomplished since 2006. 

Gallagher's squad ranks at the top of the America East in steals (8.2 per game) and turnover margin (+1.72) and is third in scoring defense, conceding 60.9 points per game.

Having earned its highest seed since 2007-08, Hartford enters the 2013 America East Championship as the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 6 UMBC in the quarterfinals Saturday at SEFCU Arena on the University at Albany campus at approximately 2 p.m. All games throughout the tournament will be aired live on ESPN3.