ROCK HILL, S.C. – University of Iowa men’s basketball assistant coach Sherman Dillard has been named to the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2024, presented by Worth Advisors, it was announced Wednesday.
The class will be inducted into the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 2024 class also includes Tempie Brown (Stanford), Andrew Calder (North Carolina), Stephanie Norman (Oklahoma), Kurtis Townsend (Kansas) and Jason Williford (Virginia).
In 2019, A STEP UP, Inc. became the first to exclusively recognize NCAA men and women ‘assistant’ basketball college coaches with the distinction of the Hall of Fame honor at the inaugural induction ceremony in Atlanta.
Dillard is in his 14th year as an assistant coach under Fran McCaffery at the University of Iowa. He has assisted in the rise of the Hawkeye basketball program back to national prominence since 2012. Iowa’s coaching staff has guided the Hawkeyes to 20 or more wins in eight of the last 11 years. Dillard and the Hawkeyes have placed fifth or better in the Big Ten standings seven of the last 10 seasons, including a third place showing in 2021.
In 2022, the Hawkeyes won four games in four days to capture the Big Ten Tournament title, their third in program history, which ties as third most in the league. Iowa finished fourth in the conference standings and won 26 games; the second highest single season win total in program history. Dillard was recognized as one of the Most Impactful High Major Assistant Coaches in Division I Men’s Basketball following the season by Silver Waves Media.
Iowa has had one of the most dominating players in college basketball each of the past four seasons. Luka Garza was twice named National Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American in 2020 and 2021. Keegan Murray was a finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy, earned consensus first-team All-America laurels and was named the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year in 2022. Kris Murray was voted consensus third-team All-America, was a finalist for the Karl Malone Award and a semifinalist for the Wooden and Naismith awards.
Dillard and the Hawkeye staff have recruited and coached a first-team All-Big Ten honoree eight of the last 11 years.
Over the last five seasons, Iowa combined to win 105 games, finished fifth place or better in the Big Ten standings in four of the five years, won a Big Ten Tournament title (2022), competed in the last three NCAA Tournaments, and won 21 games over AP Top 25 opponents. Additionally, Iowa has had the Big Ten scoring champion three consecutive seasons (2020-22) – a feat that hadn’t been accomplished by any team in the league in over 50 years.
In 2021, Iowa won 14 Big Ten regular season games, its highest total since 1987. The Hawkeyes earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, tying its highest ever seed in the tournament.
The past 13 years at Iowa, Dillard helped coach 19 Hawkeyes to professional contracts, including Keegan Murray, Kris Murry, Joe Wieskamp and Garza. Keegan Murray was selected with the fourth overall selection of the 2022 NBA Draft, the highest a Hawkeye has ever been picked, and Kris was a first round selection the following season. Wieskamp and Garza were both selected in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Dillard has helped mentor 12 Hawkeyes to All-Big Ten status during his tenure, including seven first team honorees: Roy Devyn Marble (2014), Aaron White (2015), Jarrod Uthoff (2016), Peter Jok (2017), Luka Garza (2020 & 2021), Keegan Murray (2022) and Kris Murray (2023). In addition to the all-conference accolades, Garza (twice), Keegan Murray, Kris Murray, Uthoff and Jok were All-Americans.
Dillard spent six seasons with Maryland (1979-1985) on the sidelines with coaching legend head coach Lefty Driesell resulting in five NCAA berths and one ACC Championship. He helped guide Georgia Tech (1988-1994) to play in five NCAA Tournaments, including the Final Four (1990) and Sweet 16 (1992). During his tenure at James Madison (1997-2004) he earned CAA Coach of the Year and NABC District Coach of the Year laurels.
Dillard is a cum laude James Madison graduate and he’s a member of the school’s athletics Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Dena, have two sons, Ben and Langston.
The A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Selection Committee reviewed recommendations from coaches, media and sports professionals. Selection criteria includes being a current or former NCAA Division I, II or III college basketball assistant coach or a respected retired college assistant coach; must be respected among colleagues for high moral character and integrity; must have made significant contributions to the game and/or teams coaches and been a part of winning championship caliber programs.
