BEDFORD PARK, Ill. – Illinois State's Dan Muller is an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) NCAA Division I Coach of the Year honoree, as announced by the IBCA. Muller shares the statewide award with Northwestern head coach Chris Collins, the son of Redbird great Doug Collins.
In his fifth season as head coach, Muller led the 2016-17 Redbirds to a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, which was their first since Muller helped ISU win the Valley championship as a player in 1998. Illinois State finished the season at 28-7 overall and 17-1 in the MVC to establish program records for total wins (28), regular-season victories (25) and league triumphs (17).
ISU earned a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), and the Redbirds won their first-round matchup before bowing out in the second round. Illinois State ended the season with a program-record defensive field-goal percentage of 37.9 percent, which ranked fifth nationally. ISU also led the MVC and ranked seventh nationally with a scoring defense of 61.3 points allowed per game.
Along with Illinois State's team success, ISU earned 11 individual MVC postseason honors under Muller's guidance in 2016-17. Senior guard Paris Lee was named the Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year and MVC Defensive Player of the Year. Lee also garnered All-MVC First Team, MVC All-Defensive Team and MVC All-Tournament Team accolades. Additionally, Muller was named MVC Coach of the Year.
Through his first five seasons, Muller has amassed a 104-65 record and coached the Redbirds to four victories over Top-25 programs, three postseason appearances (2017 National Invitation Tournament, 2015 NIT and 2014 College Basketball Invitational), four postseason wins, and victories against the Big Ten, the BIG EAST and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Muller has led Illinois State to a better MVC record and higher conference finish each year since being named ISU's head coach in 2012.
All of the IBCA's Coach of the Year selections will be formally announced at the IBCA Hall of Fame Banquet scheduled for May 6 at Illinois State's Redbird Arena.
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