Coach of the Month
March 2023
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Logan Stutz has been named Coach of the Month for March 2023. This is Logan Stutz' first Coach of the Month award, and the second award for a Sudbury Five coach (Elliott Etherington won Coach of the Month in April 2022).
During the month of March, the Sudbury Five put together a 6-1 record, rising to the top of the NBL Canada standings. The Five averaged 119.1 points per game, highest among all NBL Canada teams for March.
During that March run, the Sudbury Five were led in scoring by AJ Mosby and Jeremy Harris, who averaged 24.0 ppg and 23.3 ppg, respectively. Haroun Mohamed pulled down 8.7 rebounds per contest in that run, while Curtis Hollis garnered two steals per game in the seven contests.
February 2023
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Doug Plumb of the London Lightning has been named Coach of the Month for February 2023. This is Coach Plumb’s second Coach of the Month honours; he previously received the award in March 2022.
During Coach Plumb’s run with the team, London achieved a 7-1 win-loss record, giving them a standings-high 11-2 won-loss mark. He has 64 coaching wins
in NBL Canada history, good for 7th place all-time, only four victories away from tying Kyle Julius for 6th place with 68 regular-season coaching victories.
April 2022
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Elliott Etherington of the Sudbury Five has been named Coach of the Month for April 2022.
Etherington coached the Five to a 6-2 record in April, the best record for any team in the NBL during that span. This is Etherington's first Coach of the Month appearance, as well as it being the first Coach of the Month honors for the Sudbury Five organization.
March 2022
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Doug Plumb of the London Lightning has been named Coach of the Month for March 2022.
Plumb led the Lightning to an 11-1 record, including notching 11 straight wins to start the season, matching London's best-ever starting season record.
February 2020
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Joe Salerno of the Moncton Magic has been named Coach of the Month for February 2020. This is the second time this season that Salerno has earned this honour.
Under Salerno's watch, the Magic assembled a league-best 8-2 winning record, holding their opponents to a 97.9 scoring average, the best defensive average of all eight teams for the month of February.
January 2020
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Joe Salerno of the Moncton Magic has been named Coach of the Month for January 2020. This is the fifth time in Coach Salerno's tenure in the NBL that he has earned this honour.
Salerno has guided his team to a 9-2 record over the period of December 2019-January 2020. Under his tutelage, the Magic have affixed themselves to the top of the NBL's Atlantic Division.
March 2019
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Joe Salerno of the Moncton Magic has been named Coach of the Month for March 2019. This is the second time this season that Salerno has earned Coach of the Month honours.
Salerno's Magic completed a 7-3 record in March, and garnered the Magic the #1 overall seed in the NBL Canada playoffs, and with that, home-court advantage in the Avenir Centre throughout the postseason.
February 2019
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Mike Leslie of the Halifax Hurricanes has been named NBL Canada Coach of the Month for February 2019. This is Leslie's fourth time receiving this honour.
As coach of the Hurricanes, Leslie guided his team to an unbeaten 7-0 record and the Hurricanes' fourth consecutive postseason berth.
January 2019
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Bill Jones of the Windsor Express has been named Coach of the Month for January 2019. This is the fourth time that Jones has earned this honour; he was previously Coach of the Month in March 2013, December 2013, and November 2014.
Under Jones' tutelage, the Windsor Express compiled a 9-2 record, moving from the bottom of the standings to near the top. The Express also garnered a 7-game winning streak, including two overtime victories.
During January, when Coach Jones had to step aside for a medical issue, assistant coach Aaron McDonald continued the Express' winning ways, guiding Windsor to a 2-1 record to finish the month.
December 2018
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Cape Breton Highlanders head coach Bernado Fitz-Gonzalez has been named NBL Canada Coach of the Month for December 2018.
During December, Fitz-Gonzalez guided Cape Breton to a 7-2 record, including a team-record seven-game winning streak.
Fitz-Gonzalez, originally from Bogota, Columbia, is a FIBA head coach in South America who has competed at a high level internationally in the Liga de Las Americas against top teams in South and Central America. He has the best record in the Colombian Professional League, including leading his team to the most wins in a season in the history of Colombian basketball. He has also been Assistant Coach at East Los Angeles College.
November 2018
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Joe Salerno of the Moncton Magic has been named Coach of the Month for November 2018. This is Salerno's third Coach of the Month honours, as he joins Halifax's Mike Leslie and Windsor's Bill Jones as current coaches with three-time career Coach of the Month achievements
Salerno and the Moncton Magic finished November with a 6-0 regular season record, the best start for any New Brunswick-based NBL Canada team in league history. Only the 2012-13 London Lightning has a longer winning streak to start an NBL Canada season.
"Coach Salerno's hard work and dedication to this league have paid off this season," said Chuck Miller, NBL Canada Director of League Statistics. "He has a good solid balance of veteran talent and new faces, and the end result is a fast start to his eighth season in the league."
March 2018
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Mike Leslie of the Halifax Hurricanes has been named NBL Canada Coach of the Month for March 2018. This is the second time that Leslie has earned this honour this season.
During the month of March, Leslie guided the Hurricanes to an 8-3 record, best in the NBL. The Hurricanes have also claimed their third straight Atlantic Division regular season title, as well as home-court advantage throughout the entire 2018 NBL Canada playoffs.
February 2018
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Mike Leslie of the Halifax Hurricanes has been named NBL Canada Coach of the Month for February 2018. Leslie previously earned Coach of the Month honors in January 2017.
Coach Leslie led the Canes to an 8-1 record in February which included a 6-game winning streak from February 10th to February 27th. Player of the Week honours were also earned three times by his players (Billy White [2x] & Mike Poole).
"Coach Leslie really did a great job getting his guys game ready over the course of the last month and it was his strong preparation and attention to detail which resulted in some important wins over divisional opponents," said deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson.
"Those wins will prove to be important down the stretch as the Hurricanes look to secure home court advantage in the playoffs which is something Mike and his squad certainly recognize the importance of."
January 2018
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Keith Vassell of the London Lightning has been named Coach of the Month for January 2018. This is the first time that Vassell has earned this honour.
Coach Vassell led the Bolts to a 7-2 record for January which included a 12-game winning streak that covered a span of a month (December 17th through January 19th). Player of the Week honours were also earned twice by his players (Mo Bolden and Royce White).
"Stepping into an environment where championship aspirations are high and the expectation to win exists even in the toughest of circumstances is no easy feat. It's for this reason why I'm so impressed at the way Coach Vassell guided the Lightning to their most impressive win streak of the season," said deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson.
"After an uncharacteristically slow start, the Lightning went on an incredible run that included three OT games and one contest that went into 2OT. Coach Vassell had his club prepared to compete on a nightly basis which in turn made them an extremely fun team to watch."
December 2017
The National Basketball League of Canada is pleased to announce that Jeff Dunlap of the St. John's Edge has been named Coach of the Month for December 2017. This is the first time that Dunlap has earned this honour.
Encompassing all games played in the last two weeks of November and all of December, the Edge have generated an 8-4 record, the best winning percentage in the NBL. Player of the Week honours were also earned three times by his players (Charles Hinkle twice, and Carl English).