Boylen receives coaching honor

A lot of folks thought Utah coach Jim Boylen got the shaft by not being named Mountain West Conference coach of the year last month. But the second-year coach sort of made up for it by being named National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 17 Coach of the Year.
Boylen led the Utes to a MWC regular-season and conference championship with an overall record of 24-10 and a 12-4 mark in league play. While the Utes went on to win the tournament title with three victories, New Mexico lost in the first round under MWC coach of the year Steve Alford.
I know Boylen was disappointed not to win the MWC coach award, but this honor voted on by his peers, means a lot to him. The various district awards came out in late March, but this one slipped under the radar. Earlier in March, Luke Nevill was named the District 17 player of the year. There are 24 districts around the country and District 17 is made up largely of Mountain West Conference schools.