The Ohio athletic department has experienced a lot of success during the sports season, but only two coaches took their teams to the NCAA Tournament.
Geoff Carlston and Tim O'Shea led their squads, volleyball and basketball, respectively, to Mid-American Conference Tournament championships. Their success has led them to being named as The Post's Co-Coaches of The Year.
In basketball, O'Shea led a team that was picked to finish last in the MAC East Division and molded them into the best team in the conference by March. When you have a young team
what you strive for is that you have a lot of room to get better O'Shea said. We had a really young team with two freshmen and Mychal Green
who hadn't played Division I basketball. I felt the talent was there
we just needed to give it some space
and let it grow and get better to where guys felt confident.
The volleyball team won a MAC championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2003. But the 2004 squad found a way to improve. Ohio went undefeated in conference play and beat Pittsburgh in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
As a coach
it's really humbling to be a part of something like this
Carlston said. The players we have
across the board
have just worked so hard. As a coach you hope your players get it and will work hard. I couldn't be more thrilled with the growth this group has.
The Bobcats have boasted MAC Players of the Year Laura Hageman in 2003 and Briana Adamovsky in 2004. Despite the high level of talent, Carlston said the hard work is what made the teams great.
I've seen some huge changes just in personalities and our player becoming more students of the game
watching video tape
