FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Validated by the on-court success, and now by the backing of Silver Waves Media, the Nova Southeastern men’s basketball coaching staff has proven itself to be among the nation’s very best, as the basketball-focused organization selected Jim Crutchfield as one of 50 Impactful Division II/NAIA Head Coaches and Jordan Fee as one of 50 Impactful Division II Assistant Coaches in its recently announced lists.
Despite an abbreviated season, Crutchfield worked his magic once again in 2019-20, directing the program to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance – and second all-time for that matter – following an impressive 23-6 campaign in which the Sharks climbed as high as No. 1 in the national poll. Per usual, his club had little trouble on the offensive end of the floor, finishing second in the country in scoring (101.8 ppg) with a high-powered lineup that boasted seven players averaging at least 8.8 points-per-game.
Upon his arrival, Crutchfield inherited a program fresh off a 6-20 season, and in three short years has transformed the Sharks into one of Division II’s best by compiling a combined record of 69-20 (.775) that includes a trip to the Elite Eight in 2018-19. Throughout his entire 16-year coaching career, he has posted an overall mark of 428-81 (.841), which ranks as the highest career winning percentage in college basketball history among all NCAA coaches at any level who had spent at least 10 seasons as an NCAA head coach.
Fee, meanwhile, has shown an innate ability to recruit both locally and throughout the northeast, and deserves much of the credit for NSU’s recruiting efforts prior to Crutchfield’s hire, keeping intact a group that eventually helped propel the program to its 17-10 turnaround-season back in 2017-18. Since then, the former West Liberty guard under Crutchfield, has only seen his resume explode. In the past two seasons alone, Fee has coached the Sharks to a pair of NCAA Tournaments, an NCAA South Region Championship and a Sunshine State Conference Regular Season Championship. Under his direction, NSU has also earned five All-America honors and has seen five players go on to sign professional contracts.
To stay up-to-date with the Sharks throughout the offseason, follow them on Instagram and Twitter @NSU_MBasketball.
