Finalist - 2009 Coaches of the Year powered by Critical Reload

Mike Neighbors recently completed his second year as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Xavier University.  Neighbors has established himself as a defensive specialist with a heavy emphasis on opponent scouting and team preparation.  He also focuses on early evaluation of prospective recruits and player development of current team.

In Neighbors’ two seasons at XU, the Musketeers have put together a 49-16 overall record and a 24-4 mark in Atlantic 10 play.  Neighbors has helped Xavier to a pair of Atlantic 10 Championships (2008 Tournament and 2008-09 Regular Season) and NCAA Tournament berths in each of the last two seasons.

The 2008-09 campaign was one of the most successful in school history as the Musketeers tied a record with 25 regular-season wins and finished first in the nation in field goal percentage defense (35.2).  XU also finished third nationally in rebounding margin (+11.2) and ninth in scoring defense (53.8).

Following a highly successful stint as a high school head coach, Neighbors first role in the college game was at his alma mater, the University of Arkansas, as Dir. of Basketball Operations.  He joined head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller’s staff at Tulsa in 2002 and then went with her to the University of Colorado in 2005.  The next year, Neighbors had an opportunity to go back to Arkansas as an assistant.  The opportunity to coach with head coach Kevin McGuff lured him up to Xavier in 2007.