Tim Cluess

Timothy Michael Cluess (born March 9, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who most recently was the head men's basketball coach at Iona College. He is also a former head coach of Long Island University–C.W. Post.

Tim Cluess
Biographical details
Born (1959-03-09) March 9, 1959
Queens, New York, U.S.
Playing career
1979–1981St. John's
1982–1983Hofstra
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–2005Saint Mary's HS
2005–2006Suffolk CC
2006–2010LIU Post
2010–2019Iona
Head coaching record
Overall297–131 (college)
22–10 (junior college)
265–78 (high school)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

College playing career

Born in Queens, New York, Cluess played college basketball at St. John's (1979–81)[1][2] and Hofstra (1982–83).[3]

Professional playing career

Cluess played professionally in Europe and Australia.

Coaching career

High school

Cluess was the head coach of Saint Mary's High School in Manhasset, New York for 14 seasons (1991–2005). Cluess's Gaels won four Class A New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (NYSCHSAA) championships and two New York State Federation of Secondary Schools Athletic Associations (NYSFSSA) championships. However, St. Mary's played in the Class A Division, and failed to advance past the New York City representative of much stronger Class AA Division each time they attempted to advance for the right to play in the New York State Class AA Federation Tournament.

In 2004–05, Saint Mary's posted a 25–1 overall record. The lone loss came against a New York City team, Xaverian, from the class AA Division as St. Mary's once again failed to advance past New York City in the Class AA Division.

College

Cluess’ first college coaching job was the 2005–06 Suffolk County Community College team that finished with a regular season record of 20–9. They appeared in their first NJCAA Division III tournament that year, winning their first two games before being eliminated in their third game and finishing the season at 22–10.[4]

After one year at the junior college level, Cluess became the head coach for the Long Island University C.W. Post Campus Pioneers. He led the team to three straight first-place finishes in the East Coast Conference, including two conference tournament titles in 2007–08 and 2008–09. In four seasons at LIU-Post, Cluess led the team to two NCAA Division II men's basketball tournaments in 2008 and 2009. The 2008–09 squad finished the regular season with a record of 24–0, in route to an NCAA Division II Elite Eight tournament appearance and a 30–1 final record.[5]

In April 2010 Cluess replaced Kevin Willard as the head men's basketball coach at Iona College.[6] Cluess' record in nine seasons at Iona was 199–108.

Just before the 2019–20 pre-season, Cluess took a leave of absence to deal with personal health issues. Associate head coach Tra Arnold took over head coaching duties for the remainder of the season.[7]

On March 13, 2020, Cluess stepped down from Iona due to his health issues.[8] Rick Pitino was named to replace Cluess as head coach the next day.[9]

Head coaching record

Junior college
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Suffolk Pioneers (Region XV) (2005–2006)
2005–06 Suffolk 22–1020–92–1
Suffolk: 22–10 (.688)
Total:22–10 (.688)

College
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
LIU Post Pioneers (East Coast Conference) (2006–2010)
2006–07 LIU Post 19–1113–73rd
2007–08 LIU Post 26–518–21stNCAA Division II Regionals
2008–09 LIU Post 30–118–01stNCAA Division II Elite Eight
2009–10 LIU Post 23–618–3T–1st
LIU Post: 98–23 (.810)67–12 (.848)
Iona Gaels (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (2010–2020)
2010–11 Iona 25–1213–52ndCIT Runner-up
2011–12 Iona 25–815–31stNCAA Division I First Four
2012–13 Iona 20–1411–74thNCAA Division I Round of 64
2013–14 Iona 22–1117–31stNIT first round
2014–15 Iona 26–917–31stNIT first round
2015–16 Iona 22–1116–42ndNCAA Division I Round of 64
2016–17 Iona 22–1312–8T–3rdNCAA Division I Round of 64
2017–18 Iona 20–1411–74thNCAA Division I Round of 64
2018–19 Iona 17–1612–61stNCAA Division I Round of 64
Iona: 199–108 (.648)124–46 (.729)
Total:297–131 (.694)

      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
  1. "1979–80 St. John's (NY) Red Storm Roster and Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  2. "1980–81 St. John's (NY) Red Storm Roster and Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  3. "1982–83 Hofstra Pride Roster and Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  4. "2006 NJCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Preview". njcaa.org. March 13, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  5. "LIU Post Men's Basketball History and Record Books". post.liuathletics.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  6. Kramer, Jesse (April 7, 2010). "Iona Hoops Hires Successful D-II Coach Tim Cluess To Replace Kevin Willard". bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  7. Thomson, Josh (January 3, 2020). "Men's basketball: Tim Cluess' absence to continue when Iona opens MAAC play". Rockland/Westchester Journal News. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  8. Beyrer, Brian (March 13, 2020). "Tim Cluess Steps Down As MBB Head Coach". Iona College Athletics. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  9. Beyrer, Brian (March 14, 2020). "Iona College Names Hall of Famer Rick Pitino as Men's Head Basketball Coach". Iona College Athletics. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
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