STEVE BAIK AND TOM GONSALVES RECEIVE 2016 NAISMITH HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS
ATLANTA (March 9, 2016) – The Atlanta Tipoff Club today announced the winners of the 2016 Naismith High School Coach of the Year. Steve Baik of Chino Hills High School in Chino, California, was named Boy’s Coach of the Year, and Tom Gonsalves of St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, California, was named Girl’s Coach of the Year.
Baik has directed the nation’s top-ranked Huskies to a 31-0 record and the school’s first CIF Southern Section Open Division championship. The team won its four playoff games by a total of 419-281, an average margin of victory of 34.5 points per game. Chino Hills now moves on to play in the Open Division bracket of the CIF state playoffs.
“I am truly humbled and incredibly honored to be selected for the prestigious Naismith Award,” said Baik. “This award is really about all of the amazing people in my life that have given me so much, from my wife and sons, who have sacrificed so much for me to pour into my players, to all of my past and present coaches and players, who have given their very best effort on the court.”
Gonsalves has coached St. Mary’s to a 27-0 record thus far and the Rams are currently the top-ranked girls’ team in the nation. They look to continue the perfect season as they start the California State Championships Open Division tournament this weekend. The Rams have won 57 straight games dating back to December 2014.
“Receiving the Naismith Award for being the top girl’s high school coach in the country is a very humbling experience for me,” said Gonsalves. “I take coaching very seriously and have spent my adult life working to perfect my craft. My level of passion and work ethic has enabled me to enjoy tremendous successes, like winning this prestigious award.”
“Both of these men model the very best in high school coaching,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Through strong leadership and steady guidance, they have coached their teams to great success and have had a lasting positive impact on the young men and women on their teams.”
First given out in 2008, the Naismith Trophy High School Coach of the Year is awarded by a select group of basketball journalists from around the country who form the Naismith Awards national high school voting academy. The selections were based on outstanding coaching performances during the 2015- 2016 high school basketball season.
For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB Founded during the 1956-57 season, the Atlanta Tipoff Club is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, which have become the most prestigious national honors in all of college basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the Naismith Trophy recognizes the top Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Players of the Year. Other Naismith Awards are presented to the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coaches of the Year, Boy’s and Girl’s high school basketball players and coaches of the year, basketball officials and overall contributors to the game. The Naismith Trophy was first presented to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in 1969. Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983. # # # Media Contact: Traci Messier Jackson Spalding for the Atlanta Tipoff Club tmessier@jacksonspalding.com 404-214-3596