Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire is the recipient of the 2019-20 Ben Jobe Award, which is presented annually to the top minority coach at the Division I level.
Picked to finish eighth in the preseason WCC poll, Stoudamire led Pacific to tying Saint Mary’s for third place in the final conference standings. Overall, the Tigers finished 23-10, including an impressive 11-5 in conference play. Notably, it was the first time UOP had notched 11 WCC victories since Tiger legend Dick Edwards guided Pacific to a 12-2 finish in 1970-71.
Earning a top-four seed in the WCC tournament since rejoining the conference in 2013-14, Stoudamire was also named the 2019-20 WCC Coach of the Year after building a strong defensive identity for the Tigers. Ultimately, UOP led the conference in scoring defense (64.3 ppg) while also placing No. 42 nationally in this category. Pacific also spent time ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
On the court, senior Jahlil Tripp became the second Tiger in three years to be named WCC Defensive Player of the Year, while also earning a spot on the First Team. Additionally, the Brooklyn, N.Y. native was a Lou Henson Award Midseason Nominee while also recently earning a spot on the NABC District 9 All-Second Team. Showing out in his first year in Stockton, freshman Daniss Jenkins was also a WCC All-Freshman Team selection.
Historically, coach Ben Jobe was an icon in the basketball communities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Overall, Jobe was best known as the head coach of the Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee and South Carolina State.
At the end of his career, his record at Southern stood at 209-141, including four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. One of the most memorable moments of his tenure was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. To this day, it is still one of the most recognized upsets in the history of the tournament.
2020 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS:
Tommy Amaker, Harvard
Brian Collins, Tennessee State
Ed Cooley, Providence
Anthony Grant, Dayton
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
Shaheen Holloway, Saint Peter’s
Michael Huger, Bowling Green
James Jones, Yale
Joe Jones, Boston University
Mike Jones, Radford
Willie Jones, North Carolina A&T
LaVall Jordan, Butler
Shantay Legans, Eastern Washington
Anthony Latina, Sacred Heart
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Mark Montgomery, Northern Illinois
LeVelle Moton, North Carolina Central
David Patrick, UC Riverside
Richie Riley, South Alabama
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Ron Sanchez, Charlotte
Byron Smith, Prairie View A&M
Damon Stoudamire, Pacific
Darrell Walker, Little Rock
Sean Woods, Southern
For the full release, please visit www.benjobeaward.com.
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