Jeter To Be Honored By Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association

Sept. 26, 2006

Milwaukee, Wis. - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball coach Rob Jeter will be honored by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches' Association this weekend as its Division I State Coach of the Year.

Jeter will officially receive the award Saturday at the WBCA's Hall of Fame Banquet in Middleton.

Jeter made his mark on the Panthers in just his first year as head coach. He led UWM to Horizon League regular season and tournament titles before guiding Milwaukee to a win over Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In the process, Jeter recorded more wins than any other first-year head coach in UWM's 110-year basketball history and was one of just four first-year coaches to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament. His 22 wins wound up tied for the second-most among all first-year head coaches nationally.

"It is truly an honor to be recognized by the WBCA and its membership,"Jeter said. "A lot of the credit needs to go to my staff and to the student-athletes who worked very hard in achieving our success. This award is also recognition of the great basketball played in the state of Wisconsin, because many of our key performers were from the state. Our team faced extremely high expectations, and I thought they performed admirably under the weight of those expectations. I am very proud of this team and this program, and it is great to get this type of recognition in a year where the state again excelled in college basketball."

"There's no question Rob is one of the youngest and brightest coaching stars in America right now and we're very happy to have him in the state of Wisconsin," WBCA Executive Director Jerry Petitgoue said. "He did a great job this season and has a great coaching background. Plus, he is a great person. We're really happy for him and thrilled to be honoring him."

The competition for the award this season was stiff as three of Wisconsin's Division I men's basketball teams made the NCAA Tournament, but UWM was the only team to advance to the second round. Wisconsin's Bo Ryan won the award last season.

Story provided by UW-Milwaukee Office of Sports Information