KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) announced today major awards for two-year colleges with Brett Putz of Des Moines Area Community College (Iowa) earning NABC Two-Year College Coach of the Year honors presented by Wilson, while Malevy Leons of Mineral Area College (Mo.) was selected as the NABC Two-Year College Player of the Year powered by ShotTracker for the 2020-2021 season.
In his first season as a head coach, Putz guided his team to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II championship, as DMACC defeated Davidson-Davie Community College (N.C.), 86-75 in the championship game in Danville, Ill. The Bears finished the season with a 21-5 won-lost record.
A four-year starter at St. Cloud State, Putz began his coaching career at his alma mater and then moved on with stops at Wayne State, Omaha and Chicago State.
Leons, a sophomore, helped Mineral Area to a 24-1 record this season with the only loss in the third round of the NJCAA Division I national tournament. The 6-9 forward averaged 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds this season and has signed a letter of intent to continue his career at Bradley University in the Missouri Valley Conference.
