After leading Kirkwood Community College to a third place finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II national championship tournament, Doug Wagemester has been named the 2010 UPS NABC NJCAA Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Wagemester has completed his twelfth season as Kirkwood’s head men’s basketball coach with a combined record of 332-83. He is also the college athletic director.
Wagemester guided the Eagles to a 28-8 record in 2009-10. At the NJCAA National Tournament in Danville, Ill., Kirkwood lost to eventual champion Lincoln College in the semifinals, then came back to win a double overtime thriller over Lewis & Clark, 81-72, to claim third place. The Eagles had six games go to overtime this season–and won all six. Wagemester’s teams have appeared in eight national tournaments, finishing second three times.
Kirkwood Vice President of Enrollment and Communication Services Kristie Fisher praised Wagemester’s “inspiring style” and the national award.
“Doug is very deserving of this honor. He not only gets the best out of his athletes on the floor, but he expects the best from them off the court as well. He leads by example and every athlete he encounters is better for the time they have spent under Coach Wagemester,” Fisher said.
Doug Wagemester came to Kirkwood from Grand View College in Des Moines. In his first season as a head coach, his team finished the year with a 25-9 mark and set a school record for wins in a season. He has previously served as an assistant coach at Coffeyville Community College (KS), University of Redlands (CA) and Colorado College (CO).
A native of Clinton County, Iowa, Wagemester played his collegiate basketball at Loras College in Dubuque from 1986-1990. He played for Mike Jaskulski, current assistant at Central Florida University and Brad Soderberg, former head coach at St. Louis University. Doug was a three-year starter and served as a captain his senior season. Wagemester graduated from Loras in 1990 with a BA in Physical Education and received his MA in Education from the University of Redlands in 1994.
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About the National Association of Basketball Coaches
Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently claims nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches.