Tuskegee coach Leon Douglas named Clarence "Big House" Gaines Coach of the Year

Leon Douglas 03.26.2014

Tuskegee head coach Leon Douglas shouts out instructions to his players as they take on Metro State during the first half of the NCAA Div. II quarterfinals of the Elite Eight men's basketball tournament at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind., Wednesday, March 26, 2014. (AP Photo/The Evansville Courier & Press, Jason Clark)

After leading Tuskegee to its finest finish in school history, Golden Tigers coach Leon Douglas is set to pick up some national hardware.

The University of Alabama product and former NBA player, guided Tuskegee to a 21-12 record, a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and its first ever appearance in the Division II Elite Eight this past season.

Today,

. Named after Gaines, who won more than 800 games in a 47-year, hall-of-fame career at Winston-Salem State (N.C.), the award honors the nation's top minority coaches in both Division I and Division II each year.

Douglas was also a finalist for CollegeInsider.com's award named after Gaines, which honors the nation's top Division II men's basketball coach. That distinction went to East Stroudsburg's Jeff Wilson.

"That's powerful because not only was he a coach, he was a mentor," Douglas said of Gaines. "As a coach, when you look at the old-school coaches, not this era, not the modern AAU types and all these new coaches, those guys that were trailblazers, they were father figures. That's what I try to emulate. I try to be more than just a coach. I try to be a change agent in a young man's life."

Douglas pointed to NBA great "The Pearl" Monroe who played for Gaines as a model of the type player and person, a coach/mentor can help to produce.

"Earl is doing more than just being involved with basketball," Douglas said. "He's a philanthropist. He's doing a lot of wonderful things in New York. So, you look at a guy like Big House and the type of seeds that he planted in his young men. That's the impact of this thing. To fall in that vain, it's powerful."

It was the Golden Tigers' fourth SIAC title under Douglas, who began his coaching career at Stillman College in 2004 and went on to bring a league title and an appearance in the Division II Big Dance to Tuscaloosa.

"When you're on a journey in life, you want to leave footprints," Douglas said. "That's what I try to get my young men to understand that. Within those four years, they have to do something that will create a legacy so that when they come back they will not be remembered as just a normal person. They will be remembered as someone that did something that changed history."

Douglas will be presented with the award at the 55th Annual NSSA banquet at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. on June 9.

Eighth-year Delaware coach Monte Ross, who played for Gaines at WSSU, was the Division I recipient of the Gaines award. He led the Blue Hens to a 25-10 record, a Colonial Athletic Association and their first trip to the NCAA tournament in 15 years.

UPDATED: There are two awards named after Gaines. CollegeInsider.com's award honors the top Division II men's basketball coach each year.

. The NSSA's honors the top minority men's basketball coaches in Divisions I and II.  (10:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 9)

Check out the list of previous winners of the NSSA award below.