SCOTT ALLEN
COACH OF THE YEAR
School: Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) Details: Coached his team to a 33-1 record, its 10th consecutive Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association title and third consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title. Has been coaching 14 years at Paul VI. His overall record is 349-119. Has coached more than 25 players who have gone on to play college basketball.
Season highlight: We won the WCAC, the state title and the Naples Shootout. Winning championships are great, but the joy and care that you see on the players’ faces for each other at the end of the season was the highlight. They loved being around each other and they loved playing together, and they didn’t care who got the credit.
First car I drove: A 1989 Ford
Ranger
Biggest surprise: The players were almost too unselfish. The chemistry clicked right away.
First coaching job: In 1994 as an assistant for my high school in Fair Haven (Vt.). My first head coaching job was in 1996 as the JV boys coach at Fair Haven.
Second-favorite sport: NASCAR. My dad was a race car driver, so I spent weekends going to local dirt tracks and to more than 20 Daytona 500s, plus several other NASCAR/dirt races during the years. Dream car and color: A black Chevy Camaro
Musician: Eric Church People confuse me with: The guy from “Friends,” Ross.
Hidden talent: Broadcasting. We stream all of our games live, so I get to do play-by-play for the JV games and I’ve done the boys games. I love doing it.
Basketball mentors: Bob Prenevost is my mentor to this day as he was my basketball coach (at Fair Haven). He taught me how to run an overall basketball program. He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. Also, the late coach Don Meyer of Lipscomb University and Northern State. He cared so much about helping younger coaches like myself and definitely left a huge impact on my coaching philosophy and running a complete program.