Wingate’s Barbara Nelson Finalist For USOC Coach Of The Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) unveiled the finalists for the 2011 USOC Coach of the Year awards today and 2010 USA Basketball U17 World Championship team head coach Barbara Nelson (Wingate University) was among the three finalists for the USOC's Developmental Coach of the Year.

From the three finalists for National Coach of the Year, Paralympic Coach of the Year, Developmental Coach of the Year, Volunteer Coach of the Year and the "Doc" Councilman Science Award, the recipients in each category will be announced during a dinner on Friday, June 24, as part of the 2011 National Coaching Conference in Colorado Springs, Colo.

U.S. Olympic and Pan American sports organizations selected their 2010 Coaches of the Year as part of the USOC Coach of the Year Recognition Program. The finalists in each category were chosen by a panel of coaching and sport education professionals.

The 2010 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year, Nelson turned in an impressive coaching performance for USA Basketball this past summer, leading the USA women to a gold medal and perfect 8-0 record in the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship July 16-25 in France. On its way to the gold medal, the USA scored an average of 94.8 points per game and won its eight games by a whopping average of 37.4 points.

The red, white and blue dominated the tournament statistics, leading the 12-team field in 16 of 21 team statistical categories, including points scored (758), field goal percentage (.497), three-point field goal percentage (.408), rebounding (53.0 rebounds per game), assists (18.9 assists per game) and blocked shots (7.4 blocked shots per game).

In her fourth season as head women's basketball coach at Wingate, Nelson's teams have compiled an overall record of 71-39 (36-24 in the South Atlantic Conference). Wingate's 106-98 double-overtime triumph over King (Tenn.) College on Dec. 18, 2010 gave Nelson 500 career victories (high school and college).

Bulldog fans will long remember Nelson's first season as head coach for the Wingate women's basketball team. The Bulldogs advanced to the 2007-08 NCAA Division II Elite Eight as champions of the South Atlantic Region. Wingate (26-8 overall) completed the 2007-08 season as the 10th-ranked team in the country, according to the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA NCAA Division II top 25 Coaches' Poll. Wingate also won the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament on the way to the Elite Eight.

Nelson helped USA Basketball qualify for the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship with a 5-0 record and gold-medal performance in the inaugural FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Mexico City in 2009. She has been coaching basketball since 1986, including time at the high school and AAU levels.

The USOC Coach of the Year award was initiated in 1996. The program was developed using the philosophy that, to succeed in Olympic sport, athletes must strive for excellence almost from the moment they begin to compete. At every stage of their careers, coaches empower athletes to rise to the next competitive level of sport. If coaches do their job well, their athletes ultimately will receive the highest accolades for their achievements and become better human beings along the way.

The USOC Coaching Committee developed the criteria for each Olympic sports organization to follow in selecting a Coach of the Year in both the elite and developmental categories. The volunteer category was added in 2003.