The National Association of Basketball Coaches will present its 13th annual Outstanding Service Award at the Division III meeting of this year�s NABC Convention in Detroit, Michigan on April 4, 2009. The award has been presented annually since 1997 and is given to coaches whose actions �inside and outside the lines� of coaching have distinguished them as valuable members of their communities
This year�s honorees are Mike Turner recently retired head basketball coach at Albion, Jim Smith, longtime head coach at St. John�s and Bo Ryan, head coach at UW-Madison.
Ryan is synonymous with basketball in Wisconsin. He has spent 32 years coaching in the University of Wisconsin system, 15 at UW-Platteville, two at UW-Milwaukee and 15 at UW-Madison. This was his eighth season as head coach of the Badgers. On Jan. 27, 2007 the University officially honored Ryan's 15-year tenure at Platteville by naming their basketball court Bo Ryan Court.
It was during his 15-year tenure at UW-Platteville (1984-99) that Ryan firmly established himself as one of the country�s top coaches. He guided the school to a phenomenal 353-76 (.822) overall record and, in his final 12 seasons, the Pioneers:
� Won four national championships (1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999)
� Compiled a 314-37 (.895) record
� Won eight WIAC titles
� Had the winningest NCAA men�s basketball team of the 1990s (all divisions) with a 266-26 (.908) record
� Compiled a 30-5 NCAA Division III tournament mark in his nine appearances.
� Never won fewer than 23 games
� Compiled a 157-7 (.957) record on their home floor
� Set the all-time single-season Division III scoring defense mark (47.5 ppg) in 1996-97
Ryan was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division III Coach of the Year four times. In addition he was tabbed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference�s Coach of the Year on six occasions
At the 2004 Final Four, he was honored with the NABC Guardians of the Game Award for Service. The goal of the Guardians of the Game program is to focus attention on the positive aspects of basketball and the role coaches play in the lives of student-athletes, in addition to the contributions coaches make to their communities. Ryan is also Past President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and is also one of four head coaches on the NCAA Division I Men�s Basketball Issues Committee.
Turner has a combined 72 seasons of head coaching experience at Albion, including 34 in men�s basketball, 30 in men's golf, four in men's soccer, and four in men's tennis.
A 1969 graduate of the college, Turner became an assistant coach for men's basketball in 1970, taking over as head coach in 1974. Since then, the Britons have posted a record of 527-319 (.623 winning percentage) and have competed in four NCAA Tournaments. Turner currently ranks 10th among active Division III coaches in career victories.
Turner's teams earned five MIAA basketball championships, including NCAA Tournament appearances in 1978, 1979, 1998, and 2005. The 1978 squad finished third in the nation and the 2005 team reached the Elite Eight. The Britons posted four consecutive 20-win seasons from 2003 to 2006, including two league championships. Turner has been active with numerous national and regional basketball committees -- most notably; he was chairman of the NCAA Division III National Basketball Tournament Committee for three years.
Smith is the winningest collegiate basketball coach in Minnesota. The Saint John's coach ended his 45th season as a collegiate head coach with a 699-487 career record (.589).
Smith has led his teams to seven MIAC titles, five MIAC playoff titles, nine trips to the NAIA tournament and eight trips to the Division III NCAA Tournament. Smith has won MIAC titles in each of the past five decades. Since 1964, SJU has enjoyed 30 winning seasons under Smith's direction.
Besides ranking first among college coaches in Minnesota, Smith is also second among active NCAA Division III coaches for most victories, second all-time in Division III basketball history and 27th all-time in all divisions of collegiate basketball. Jim also has the distinction of coaching one of his sons and one of his grandsons.