Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades Men's Basketball

Michaels inherited a team that went 5-23 the previous year.  Prior to his arrival, Williamson had 7 straight losing seasons and only 2 winning seasons in the previous 15 years.  Due to his July hiring, Coach Michaels had no chance to recruit and was forced to play with the hand that was dealt him in his first season.  All he did was lead the team to an 18-6 record and into the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division II National Tournament where Williamson managed to shock the basketball world and finish 3 in the nation! As if his first year accomplishments were not enough, Coach Michaels topped his incredible first year performance by leading Williamson to the USCAA Division II National Championship game in 2004 where the team eventually lost to Arkansas Baptist University.  Though the team slipped to just 7 wins in 2004-05 due to personnel and injury issues, Coach Michaels had Williamson right back in the national picture in 2005-06 as the Mechanics not only qualified for the USCAA Division II National Tournament once again but they upset the #1 seeded team in the 1 round en route to another national 3 place finish. The 2006-07 team started slow but managed to come on strong in the 2 semester.  Williamson was ranked as high as #6 in the nation and managed to finish 2 in the inaugural Eastern Atlantic Conference tournament before a late season collapse left them just short of a national tournament bid for the 4 time in 5 years. The 2007-08 season was one like no other in the history of Williamson.  After losing their starting center prior to the start of the season and then 2 key bench players shortly after the season began, few people expected Williamson to have a winning record-let alone compete for a national championship.  And yet, that is exactly what Williamson did. After finishing 20-8 during the regular season, they received a bid to the 2008 USCAA Division II national championships where they upset 3 schools, including both the 2007 and 2006 national champions, on the way to winning the first national championship in any sport in school history. As if the 2007-08 season was not enough, the 2008-09 team started the season ranked #1 in the nation in the USCAA Division II national poll and they remained in the #1 spot in the rankings the entire year.  Seeded #1 at the USCAA national tournament, the Mechanics ran the table, defeating Penn State Beaver 59-51 in the national championship final to win their 2 straight national championship.  The team finished the year with a 30-2 overall record setting the school record for wins by a team in a single season.  The team's only 2 losses were against NCAA foes. The 2009-10 season once again saw Williamson start the year as the #1 ranked team in the nation.  An early loss dropped them in the polls however they continued winning and regained the top spot in December and held the #1 ranking the rest of the regular season.  The team made it all the way to their 3 straight national final but fell just short in losing to World Harvest Bible College, 54-51, in the national championship game. While Coach Michaels had unparalleled success prior to last season, the 2010-11 season just might have been hi finest coaching effort of them all.  Facing a team with just a single starter returning from the previous year, a roster made up of 3 seniors and 8 freshmen and no one taller than 6'3", few people expected Williamson to have a winning record last year-let alone qualify for the national tournament.  Yet all Williamson did was win its first 10 games, make it all the way to the #1 ranking in the USCAA Division II polls by late January and finish 7 overall at the USCAA Division II national tournament! In February of 2009, Coach Michaels made Williamson history as he became the school's all-time leader in coaching victories after earning his 138 career win while at Williamson.  In December of 2010, Williamson honored him for his 150 career win at the school. During his 9 previous seasons at Williamson, Michaels' teams have led the nation in team defense 6 times.  He has coached Williamson into the USCAA national tournament 7 times with Williamson finishing no lower than 3 each time prior to last year when the school finished 7 (2 national championships, 2 runner-ups and 2 third place finishes).  He has coached 6 All-Americans as well as 3 Academic All-Americans as well as five 1,000 point scorers. Coach Michaels began his coaching career at Herndon High School in Virginia in 1993 where he was the freshman basketball coach as well as an assistant for the football and baseball teams. After 2 years at Herndon, he then moved back to his hometown area to become an assistant basketball and football coach at Farrell High School. While at Farrell, Coach Michaels was part of a football staff that won back-to-back state championships.  In 1998 he accepted the position of Head Boy's Basketball Coach at the school and put together two of the best seasons in school history.  His record over that 2-year period was 51-10.  His teams won back-to-back Sectional titles and made Elite 8 appearances in each year as well.  His also guided the 1999-2000 team to their first District championship appearance in 10 years.  For his efforts, Coach Michaels was named 1999-2000 Sectional and District VII Coach of the Year. In 2000, Coach Michaels moved on once again, this time to become the Head Boy's Basketball Coach at Norristown High School.  He guided the team, facing a tough rebuilding campaign, to a winning season in his only season. After a year at Norristown, Coach Michaels then accepted an invitation to join the Neumann College basketball staff as an Assistant Coach.  In his only year on staff at Neumann, he helped guide the Knights to a 21-7 overall record, the best record in school history. A 1993 graduate of Mercyhurst College, Coach Michaels is currently the Lead Teacher at Norristown High School.  He and his wife Cara reside in Norristown, PA   Head Men's Basketball Coach (193-104 record,   USCAA national tournament appearances (7), USCAA Division II Men's National Champions 2008 and 2009, National runner-ups 2003 and 2010)                A 2003 graduate of Williamson out of the Painting and Coverings program, Coach Brown has had a significant impact on Williamson's basketball program as both a player and a coach.      During his Williamson career Kevin was just one of a select few in school history to amass over 700 career points and 700 career rebounds.  His outstanding play his senior year helped lead Williamson to an 18-6 record and a 3 place finish at the 2003 USCAA Division II National Championships.  For his outstanding play at Nationals, Kevin was named to the 2003 All-Tournament team.       A year after graduating, Kevin returned to Williamson as a member of the basketball coaching staff.  His work with Williamson's forwards and centers had an immediate impact then and he has had that same kind of impact over the entire program since coming on staff and his coaching had a dramatic effect on Williamson's 2008 and 2009 USCAA Division II national championship teams.      For his dedication and hard work toward Williamson and the basketball program, Coach Brown was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2010.         New to the Williamson staff in 2009-10, Coach Tate had an immediate impact on the increased success of the basketball program.  His work with the team's guards and forwards helped propel Williamson into one of the top shooting teams in the nation.       Prior to his arrival at Williamson, Coach Tate was a long-time assistant at Valley Forge Military College.  A former standout player at Mansfield University, Coach Tate has been an outstanding addition to the basketball program.