Quick Facts
Biography
Tim Cluess (born March 9, 1959) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Iona College, and former coach of Long Island University–C.W. Post. He took over Iona from Kevin Willard on April 8, 2010.
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. Among his 50+ players at Saint Mary's to earn an athletic scholarship to play collegiate basketball was former University of North Carolina standout and current San Antonio Spurs swingman Danny Green.
In 2004–05, Saint Mary's posted a 25–1 overall record. Notable players on the team were Danny Green (NBA's Spurs), Rashad Green (San Francisco), Tyrone Hanson (Jackson State), Tyson Johnson (Wyoming, now playing professionally overseas), Gilbert Montalvo (C.W. Post) and Aleek Pauline (Norfolk State).
From 1999 to 2001, Tim Cluess' St. Mary's club boasted dominant teams and plenty of notable players, including Joel Suarez (Hofstra University), Ilian "Shoush" Evtimov (NC State University, France Pro League for Proteas EKA AEL), Kenny Grant (Davidson College, Sweden National Team, Sweden Pro League for Nancy), Matt Preston (Columbia University, Dutch Pro League for Omniworld Almere), Dwayne Byfield (Monmouth University, Poland Pro League for Slask Wroclaw) and Mamadou Diakhate (Fairfield University).
Born in Queens, New York, Cluess played professionally in Europe and Australia after a collegiate career at both St. John's (1978–81) and Hofstra (1982–83).
Head coaching record
NJCAA
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk Community College (Region XV) (2005–2006) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Suffolk C.C. | 22–10 | |||||||
| Suffolk C.C.: | 22–10 (.688) | ||||||||
| Total: | 22–10 (.688) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
NCAA DII
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.W. Post (East Coast Conference) (2006–2010) | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | C.W. Post | 19–11 | 13–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 2007–08 | C.W. Post | 26–5 | 18–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II Regionals | ||||
| 2008–09 | C.W. Post | 30–1 | 18–0 | 1st | NCAA Division II Elite Eight | ||||
| 2009–10 | C.W. Post | 23–6 | 18–3 | T–1st | |||||
| C.W. Post: | 98–23 (.810) | 67–12 (.848) | |||||||
| Total: | 98–23 (.810) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
NCAA DI
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iona College (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2010–present) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Iona | 25–12 | 13–5 | 2nd | CIT Runner–Up | ||||
| 2011–12 | Iona | 25–8 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA First Four | ||||
| 2012–13 | Iona | 20–14 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 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 First Round | ||||
| 2016–17 | Iona | 13–8 | 6–4 | ||||||
| Iona College: | 153–73 (.677) | 95–29 (.766) | |||||||
| Total: | 153–73 (.677) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||