Tim Cluess
Timothy Michael Cluess (born March 9, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who most recently was the head men's basketball coach at Iona College; a position he took over from Kevin Willard on April 8, 2010.[1] He is also a former coach of Long Island University–C.W. Post.
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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 9, 1959 Queens, New York |
| Playing career | |
| 1979–1981 | St. John's |
| 1982–1983 | Hofstra |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1991–2005 | Saint Mary's HS |
| 2005–2006 | Suffolk CC |
| 2006–2010 | LIU Post |
| 2010–2020 | Iona |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 300–138 (college) 22–10 (junior college) 265–78 (high school) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 3 ECC regular season (2008–2010) 2 ECC Tournament (2008, 2009) 4 MAAC regular season (2012, 2014, 2015, 2019) 5 MAAC Tournament (2013, 2016–2019) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× MAAC Coach of the Year (2014, 2019) | |
Cluess posted a 120–33 record in five seasons as a head coach at the college level at both C.W. Post and Suffolk County Community College. He led the C.W. Post Pioneers to three straight first-place finishes in the East Coast Conference including two tournament titles in 2007–08 and 2008–09. The Pioneers held a perfect 24–0 regular season record in 2008–09 en route to an NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament appearance and a 30–1 final record.
Prior to his collegiate experience, Cluess was the head coach of Saint Mary's High School in Manhasset, New York for 14 seasons. Cluess's Gaels won four Class A New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (NYSCHSAA) championships and two New York State Federation of Secondary Schools Athletic Associations (NYSFSSA) championships. However the team, who played in the Class A Division, failed to advance past the New York City representative from the much stronger Class AA Division each time they attempted to advance in the Class AA Division for the right to play in the NYS Class AA Federation Tournament.
In 2004–05, Saint Mary's posted a 25–1 overall record. The lone loss came against a New York City team, Xaverian, from the class AA Division as St. Mary's once again failed to advance past New York City in the Class AA Division.
Born in Queens, New York, Cluess played college basketball at St. John's (1979–81)[2] and Hofstra (1982–83)[3] before embarking on professional stints in Europe and Australia.
Head coaching record
Junior college
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk Sharks (Region XV) (2005–2006) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Suffolk | 22–10 | |||||||
| Suffolk: | 22–10 (.688) | ||||||||
| Total: | 22–10 (.688) | ||||||||
College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIU Post Pioneers (East Coast Conference) (2006–2010) | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | LIU Post | 19–11 | 13–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 2007–08 | LIU Post | 26–5 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II Regionals | ||||
| 2008–09 | LIU Post | 30–1 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Division II Elite Eight | ||||
| 2009–10 | LIU Post | 23–6 | 18–3 | T–1st | |||||
| LIU Post: | 98–23 (.810) | 67–12 (.848) | |||||||
| Iona Gaels (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2010–2020) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Iona | 25–12 | 13–5 | 2nd | CIT Runner-up | ||||
| 2011–12 | Iona | 25–8 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I First Four | ||||
| 2012–13 | Iona | 20–14 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Iona | 22–11 | 17–3 | 1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2014–15 | Iona | 26–9 | 17–3 | 1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2015–16 | Iona | 22–11 | 16–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2016–17 | Iona | 22–13 | 12–8 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Iona | 20–14 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Iona | 17–16 | 12–6 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Iona | 12–17 | 9–11 | T-6th | |||||
| Iona: | 211–125 (.628) | 133–57 (.700) | |||||||
| Total: | 309–148 (.676) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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