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Hank Plona

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hank Plona
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamWestern Kentucky
ConferenceConference USA
Record2–2 (.500)
Biographical details
Born (1985-09-30) September 30, 1985 (age 39)
Avon, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma materProvidence ('07)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2007–2009Providence (GA)
2009–2010Arkansas–Fort Smith (assistant)
2010–2011Indian Hills CC (assistant)
2011–2015South Plains JC (assistant)
2015–2023Indian Hills CC
2023–2024Western Kentucky (assistant)
2024–presentWestern Kentucky
Head coaching record
Overall2–2 (.500) (NCAA)
225–35 (.865) (NJCAA)

Hank Plona (born September 30, 1985) is an American basketball coach who is the current head coach at Western Kentucky. He has previously coached at Providence, Arkansas–Fort Smith, Indian Hills Community College and South Plains College.

Early life

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Plona grew up in Avon, Connecticut, and graduated from Avon High School in 2003.[1] He then attended Providence College in Rhode Island, where he received a bachelor's degree in 2007 and master's degree two years later.[2]

Coaching career

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Plona started his coaching career at Providence, serving from 2007 to 2009 as a student manager and graduate assistant.[3] He then assisted the Arkansas–Fort Smith Lions in the 2009–10 season and followed it up with one year as an assistant in 2010–11 at Indian Hills Community College.[3] Afterwards, Plona assisted at South Plains College from 2011 to 2015, helping them compile an overall record of 116–21 in his tenure which included an undefeated national championship season in 2011–12 and another appearance in the title game in 2014–15.[4]

Plona was hired as the head coach at Indian Hills in 2015.[5] He served eight years there and had an 86.6% winning percentage, helping them win the conference regular season title eight straight times, the conference postseason championship six times and appear in the NJCAA Tournament in all but one of his seasons.[3] He was selected the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Coach of the Year four times and was the NJCAA District Coach of the Year five times, with 12 of his players being named All-American, 42 being named All-Region, and 59 ultimately playing at the NCAA Division I level.[3] In all but one week in his entire tenure at Indian Hills, Plona's team was in the national rankings, which included being ranked No. 1 on six different occasions.[3]

Plona resigned from Indian Hills to become an assistant for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in 2023, having won 225 games there.[6] After one season as an assistant, he was announced as the team's new head coach on April 2, 2024.[7]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Indian Hills Community College[8] (Iowa Community College Athletic Conference) (2015–2023)
2015-16 Indian Hills CC 29–5 7–1 1st NJCAA 1st Round
2016-17 Indian Hills CC 29–5 7–1 1st NJCAA 1st Round
2017-18 Indian Hills CC 33–1 8–0 1st NJCAA 1st Round
2018-19 Indian Hills CC 27–7 7–1 1st NJCAA 2nd Round
2019-20 Indian Hills CC 30–3 7–1 1st Postseason Cancelled
2020-21 Indian Hills CC 21–3 19–2 1st District Champions
2021-22 Indian Hills CC 27–6 3–1 1st NJCAA 1st Round
2022-23 Indian Hills CC 29–5 4–0 1st NJCAA 3rd Round
Indian Hills CC: 225–35 (.865) 62–7 (.899)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Conference USA) (2024–Present)
2024–25 Western Kentucky 2-2 0–0
Western Kentucky: 2–2 (.500) 0–0 (–)
Total: 227–37 (.860)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Hank Plona". Arkansas–Fort Smith Lions.
  2. ^ McNamara, Kevin (April 19, 2016). "College Basketball Journal: Ex-Hoosier picks Providence". The Providence Journal.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Top assistant Hank Plona named WKU's new head basketball coach". Bowling Green Daily News. April 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "Plona Returns to Indian Hills as Head Coach". KTVO. April 13, 2015.
  5. ^ Jackson, Scott (April 17, 2015). "Hank Is Here! Plona back on IHCC campus as new head men's basketball coach". Ottumwa Courier.
  6. ^ Jackson, Scott (May 3, 2023). "A fitting farewell". Ottumwa Courier.
  7. ^ "Hank Plona Named Western Kentucky Head Men's Basketball Coach". Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. April 2, 2024.
  8. ^ "IHCC Men's Basketball Record Book". Indian Hills Community College. April 3, 2024.
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