THE 2020-21 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS | THE 2020-21 JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS
 
BOSTON, Mass. – Following his impressive first season leading the Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team, LMU Head Coach Stan Johnson has been named a finalist for the 2021 Ben Jobe Award on Monday. On Tuesday, Johnson has been named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award.
 
Johnson's Lions finished with the third-best record in the West Coast Conference in 2020-21 after being picked by the league's head coaches to finish seventh prior to the season.
 
Johnson guided the Lions to a winning record in WCC play for the first time since 2011-12 and top three in the league for the first time since 2005-06. Johnson mentored four All-WCC selections including First Team member Eli Scott, All-Freshman Team performer Jalin Anderson, and honorable mention picks Dameane Douglas and Keli Leaupepe.
 
LMU won three games by over 20 points for the first time since the 1990-91 season, and Johnson because the first first-year head coach to lead the Lions to a win in the WCC Tournament since Rodney Tention in 2006.
 
The Ben Jobe Award, which is presented annually to the top Division I minority coach, is named in honor of one of the finest men to ever college basketball. 
 
Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of the Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee and South Carolina State.
 
His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event.

The Joe B. Hall award is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball. 

A longtime Kentucky assistant, Joe B. Hall was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals. 

Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He won two-thirds of his games (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year honors and won a National Championship in 1978. He also steered the program to two other Final Fours, won eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984). 

The recipient of both of these 2021 awards will be announced on April 1.
 
For more information on LMU men's basketball, follow the program on Twitter, like the Lions on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "lmulionsmbb."
 
Follow Coach Johnson on twitter at @LMUCoachJohnson and on Instagram at @coachstanjohnson.