Feature Friday: Coach Spotlight - Scott Hemer, Geneseo
Courtesy of Geneseo Sports Information Department
CORTLAND, N.Y. - With basketball season underway, the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has decided to do a coach spotlight on the head coach of the Geneseo women's basketball team and four-time SUNYAC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year winner, Scott Hemer, for our Feature Friday article.
Scott Hemer enters his 11th season leading the Geneseo women's basketball program in 2017-18. The 2016 Pat Summit Trophy winner as the United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division III National Coach of the Year and four-time State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coach of the Year, Hemer returns after leading the Knights to their third-straight NCAA Division III Tournament apperance as well as their sixth SUNYAC Championship game showing in the last seven years.
Hemer led the 2016-17 Knights to an incredible run as the team posted the second undefeated regular season record in program history. Finishing with a record of 28-2, Hemer's team set the program record for most wins in a season, topping the 1992-93 squad's mark of 27-1. The Knights hosted an NCAA Tournament pod, overcoming a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat Muhlenberg, 65-53, in the first round and ousting local rival Rochester, 78-72, in the second round. Reaching its fourth NCAA Round of 16 in program history, Geneseo fell to host Ohio Northern, 72-55, to end its postseason run. Coach Hemer was named D3hoops.com East Region Coach of the Year while Kara Houppert '17 was named D3hoops.com All-Region. Houppert was joined as an All-SUNYAC selection by teammates Katie Durand '17, Bridgit Ryan '17 and McKenna Brooks '19.
The owner of a 193-86 record at Geneseo, including six 20-win seasons in the last seven years, Hemer's 2014-15 Knights put together 19-straight victories that included a 61-54 victory over Cortland in the SUNYAC Tournament Championship game that clinched the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The streak continued with home victories over Castleton (Vt.), 84-40, and Muhlenberg (Pa.), 69-54, as Geneseo advanced to the team's first appearance in the Sectional Semifinals in 20 years. The Knights' run came to an end versus defending national champion FDU-Florham, 68-54, in a game hosted by Tufts (Mass.), ending the season with a 25-5 mark for the fourth-highest win total in program history.
Shannon McGinnis '15 capped her standout career in Blue and White by being voted only the second Women's Basketball Coach's Association (WBCA) First-Team All-American in program history, while also being named third-team All-America by D3hoops.com. Finishing as the first player in program history to break both the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound plateaus, she finished third on Geneseo's career scoring list with 1,473 points and first with 1,011 rebounds on her way to being selected the 2015 SUNYAC Player of the Year and a four-time All-SUNYAC honoree.
In 2015-16, Geneseo played to a 21-8 mark that included a 51-45 victory over FDU-Florham in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Allison McKenna '16 garnered honorable-mention All-America honors following a career that included finishing eigth all-time with 1,219 points and fourth with 785 rebounds to become only the third 1,200-point/700-rebound player in program history. She also established a new program standard with 238 career blocks, finishing as the first Knight ever to accumulate over 200.
In 2013-14, Hemer guided the squad to a 21-7 record for its third 20-win season in four years, including a 13-5 SUNYAC mark that clinched the third seed for the conference tournament. Following a 55-52 win over Fredonia in the quarterfinals, the Knights upset second-seeded Buffalo State, 75-58, in the semis to advance to their second-straight SUNYAC final, where they fell to Plattsburgh, 57-52, in a back-and-forth title tilt. Hemer earned his 100th career victory with a 74-59 victory over Willamette (Ore.), a day after upsetting host and No. 17-ranked Lewis & Clark, 63-62, in a pair of games played in Portland, Ore. to open the season.
Hemer's 2012-13 squad compiled a 20-7 record that included a 14-4 league mark en route to the second seed and a first-round bye for the SUNYAC Tournament. Geneseo defeated Oswego, 67-51, in the semis before playing to a 64-53 setback to New Paltz in the final.
In 2010-11, the Knights raced to a 26-4 mark, the SUNYAC regular season crown with a 17-1 record and the top seed for the conference tournament. Following wins over Brockport (73-33) and Cortland (69-55) in the first two rounds, Hemer pushed Geneseo to its first SUNYAC Championship since 1996 with a 55-48 victory over Oneonta, while also punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. For his efforts, Hemer was voted SUNYAC, Division III Region 2 and Basketball Association of New York Coach of the Year.
