SAN ANGELO, Texas — After speaking to players on the team, they shared a similar viewpoint on their head coach, Vinay Patel.
"Hands down, best D-II coach in the country," forward Shemar Smith said.
That claim has evidence to back it up, as Patel was named the HoopDirt D-II "Coach of the Week" for week 12 of the college basketball season.
The honor, in Patel's eyes, was not just about him. The Rams were without five rotational players last week, but despite the roadblocks, Patel and the Rams, powered through with two wins in conference play.
"To win two conference games with that many pieces out says it is not just me. It says a lot about our staff, our team, and our program," Patel said.
"Coach V", as his players call him, was slow to give himself praise after adding another award to his collection. He credits his family and the university for the success and says it makes him feel "lucky".
"I feel like I am the luckiest person in America. My parents retired here and built a house in San Angelo five weeks before I got the job. I had no clue how this was all going to come together. For it to fall the way it did and for me to have the opportunity to come here and be somewhere all my family is, it has been really special for me," Patel said.
Typically, luck runs out over time. Patel's Rams were 26-7 last year and made it to the NCAA D-II semifinals, and this year, they are firmly in third place in terms of winning percentage in the Lone Star Conference. While Patel could smell the roses after a recognition of this caliber, and the wins he and his staff have stacked on top of one another, he elects not to.
"We are always going to have the mindset that if you put the work in, you will find success. If you ask my staff, they will say the same thing. This journey has got me right where I want to be, and where I want to go, and the recognitions like these are a testament to Angelo State and are bigger than just one person," Patel said.
The Angelo State University Rams, led by Patel, now have their sights on New Mexico, as they take on Eastern and Western New Mexico universities Thursday and Saturday.