NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State men's basketball head coach Anthony Evans was named a finalist for the Jim Phelan Award recently by CollegeInsider.com. The award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I men's basketball coach.

The nomination comes after Evans was also named a finalist for the Ben Jobe and Hugh Durham Awards by CollegeInsider.com. The Ben Jobe Award is presented to the top minority coach in D-I, and the Hugh Durham Award is presented to the nation's top mid-major coach.

Evans was named the MEAC Coach of the Year after leading the Spartans to an unblemished 16-0 record in the conference and a 21-11 overall mark, a year after losing four starters from NSU's first-ever MEAC Championship team. The Spartans face Virginia in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday, NSU's second-straight postseason appearance and just the second time in the Division I era the Spartans will take part in postseason play.

The other finalists for the Jim Phelan Award include Dana Altman (Oregon), John Beilein (Michigan), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Rick Byrd (Belmont), Jim Crews (Saint Louis), Keith Dambrot (Akron), Kermit Davis (Middle Tennessee), Billy Donovan (Florida), Anthony Evans (Norfolk State), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Travis Ford (Oklahoma State), Ben Howland (UCLA), Jim Larranaga (Miami), Rick Pitino (Louisville), Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), Bill Self (Kansas), John Thompson III (Georgetown), Bruce Weber (Kansas State), Buzz Williams (Marquette), Jay Wright (Villanova).

The award is named after Jim Phelan, who coached for 49 at Mount Saint Mary's. He finished with an overall record of 830-524 and led the Mountaineers to the NCAA Division II Championship and 19 20-win seasons.

Evans is the only coach to be named a finalist for all three awards.

The 2013 Jim Phelan Award recipient will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in Atlanta, site of the 2013 NCAA Championship.