Tim Cluess

Title

Head Coach
Alma Mater

Hofstra '83
Experience

10th season in 2019-20
E-Mail

tcluess@iona.edu
Phone

(914) 633-2304

Tim Cluess was named 12th head coach of the Iona College men’s basketball program on April 8, 2010 and returns for his 10th season with the Gaels in 2019-20.
Came to New Rochelle with an impressive 20-year coaching resume after spending four seasons as head coach at LIU Post in Brookville, NY.
One thing can be said, he is a winner. After spending 14 years as head coach at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, NY, he spent the five years prior to arriving at Iona in the college ranks at Suffolk Community College and LIU Post.
He amassed a 120-33 record and had unprecedented success at both schools.
When combining his high school record, Cluess has won nearly 75 percent of his games coached.
Has led the Gaels to 20+ wins in eight of his first nine seasons in New Rochelle. The only season the Maroon & Gold didn't win at least 20 games was 2018-19. The Gaels won 25 games in three of them.
Iona has appeared in nine straight postseason tournaments including a CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament championship game appearance in 2011, the NCAA First Round in 2012 with the MAAC’s second ever at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, the 2013 NCAA Second Round, the 2014 and 2015 National Invitation Tournaments before returning to the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments.
The Gaels were crowned MAAC Tournament Champions in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and MAAC Regular Season Champions in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2019. The Cluess-led program set a school record with 17 conference wins in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Cluess has been named MAAC Coach of the Year twice for the 2013-14 and 2018-19 campaigns. He was also named the New York Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year following 2017-18.
Under Cluess, Iona has consistently been among the top scoring teams in the nation. The Gaels finished 13th in 2010-11, first in both 2011-12 and 2012-13, fourth in 2013-14, fifth in 2014-15 and 27th in 2015-16.
In each of his eight of his first nine seasons at Iona, the team’s scoring averages rank in the Top-12 in school history including a school record 83.6 points per game during the 2013-14 season.

IONA SCORING UNDER TIM CLUESS
Year	PPG	NCAA Rank	Iona Rank
2010-11	79.0	13th	12th
2011-12	82.9	1st	3rd
2013-14	80.4	1st	T-5th
2013-14	83.6	4th	1st
2014-15	79.5	5th	T-10th
2015-16	79.6	27th	9th
2016-17	80.4	33rd	T-5th
2017-18	79.5	53rd	T-10th
2018-19	76.7	T-71st

In addition to being the 2011-12 and 2012-13 NCAA scoring champions, the Gaels were NCAA statistical champs in total three-point field goals made in 2014-15 (344), three-point field goals per game (10.2/g) in 2013-14 and assists per game (19.3/g) in 2011-12.
Other Top-10 NCAA statistical marks include fourth in assists in 2010-11 (17.4/g), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54:1) and third in field goal percentage (50.8%) in 2011-12, second in free throw percentage (78.1%) in 2012-13 and third in assists (17.5/g), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.65:1) in 2013-14 and fourth in scoring (79.5/g), fifth in 3FG per game (9.8/g) and seventh in assists (16.4/g) in 2014-15.

NCAA TOP 10 STATISTICS UNDER CLUESS
Year	Stat	NCAA Rank	Stat
2015-16	3FG per game	10th	9.9
2014-15	3FG made	1st	344
	Scoring	4th	79.5
	3FG per game	5th	9.8
	Assists per game	7th	16.4
2013-14	3FG per game	1st	10.2
	Assists per game	3rd	17.5
	Ast/TO ratio	4th	1.65:1
2012-13	Scoring	1st	80.4
	FT Percentage	2nd	.781
2011-12	Scoring	1st	82.9
	Assists per game	1st	19.3
	Ast/TO ratio	2nd	1.54:1
	FG Percentage	3rd	.508
2010-11	Assists per game	4th	17.4

Cluess has mentored three MAAC Players of the Year and two Haggerty Award Winners. Scott Machado (2012), Lamont Jones (2013) and David Laury (2015) earned the MAAC’s top honor while Machado and Jones also were the fifth and sixth players in Iona basketball history to earn the New York Metropolitan Area’s Player of the Year honor.
Iona has seen 11 different student-athletes earn 21 All-MAAC honors including 11 on the first team. Jones (2013), Machado (2011, 2012), Laury (2015), Mike Glover (2011, 2012), Sean Armand (2014), A.J. English (2014, 2015, 2016), Jordan Washington (2017), Rickey McGill (2019) and E.J. Crawford (2019) have all been All-MAAC First Team performers in nine seasons under head coach Tim Cluess. The nine Gaels mentioned were also All-Met First Team performers.
In 2018, Iona snapped a MAAC record for consecutive seasons with a player on the All-MAAC First Team, spanning seven years.
Under Cluess' tutelage, the Maroon & Gold's 13 All-Met First Team selections is four more than Seton Hall and five more than St. John's, the two Big East representatives in the Metropolitan Area. LIU Brooklyn is third on the list with six and Stony Brook fourth with four. Iona is the only program with eight straight All-Met First team selections.

ALL-MAAC/ALL-MET HISTORY UNDER CLUESS
Year	Player	All-MAAC	All-Met
2010-11	Mike Glover	1st	1st
	Scott Machado	1st	1st
2011-12	Mike Glover	1st	1st
	Scott Machado	1st*	1st*
	Lamont Jones	2nd	3rd
2012-13	Lamont Jones	1st*	1st*
	Sean Armand	2nd	1st
	David Laury	3rd
2013-14	Sean Armand	1st	1st
	A.J. English	1st	2nd
	David Laury	2nd	3rd
2014-15	A.J. English	1st	1st
	David Laury	1st	1st
	Schadrac Casimir	2nd
2015-16	A.J. English	1st	1st
	Jordan Washington	2nd	3rd
2016-17	Jordan Washington	1st	1st
2017-18	Rickey McGill	2nd	2nd
2018-19	E.J. Crawford	1st	1st
	Rickey McGill	1st	1st
	Tajuan Agee	2nd	3rd
* - Player of the Year

Iona has reached the semifinal round of the MAAC Championship in each of the last nine seasons, the longest stretch in school history and second most in league history. The Gaels seven straight championship game appearances from 2013-18 is a MAAC record.
Through eight seasons at Iona, Cluess ranks No. 2 on Iona’s all time wins list behind Goal Club Hall of Famer Jim McDermott and ahead of three others in Jeff Ruland, Pat Kennedy and Jim Valvano.

IONA’S ALL-TIME COACHING LIST (BY WINS)
Coach	Years	W	L	PCT
Jim McDermott	1948-73 (25 years)	319	253	.558
Tim Cluess	2010-pres (9 years)	199	108	.648
Jeff Ruland	1998-07 (9 years)	139	135	.507
Pat Kennedy	1980-86 (6 years)	124	60	.674
Jim Valvano	1975-80 (5 years)	95	46	.674
Gary Brokaw	1986-91 (5 years)	72	74	.493
Tim Welsh	1995-98 (3 years)	70	22	.761
Br. Arthur Loftus	1941-42, 46 (3 years)	50	18	.735
Jerry Welsh	1991-95 (4 years)	47	63	.427
Kevin Willard	2007-10 (3 years)	45	49	.479
Gene Roberti	1973-75 (2 years)	15	32	.319
Pete Caruso	1947 (1 year)	15	8	.652

The Gaels have also won more games than any other team in the NY Metropolitan area with Cluess at the helm. Iona’s 182 wins from 2010-2018 are 32 more than Seton Hall, the No. 2 team on the list among the 15 Division I programs located less than 30 miles from the center of NY college basketball Madison Square Garden.

TOP NEW YORK METRO TEAMS (2010-18)
	2010- 2018		1995- 2018
Team	W-L	Pct	W-L	Pct.
Iona College	199-108	.648	453-314	.591
Wagner	161-119	.575	364-351	.509
Seton Hall	170-128	.570	409-345	.542
LIU Brooklyn	163-127	.562	347-374	.481
NJIT	145-134	.520	297-380	.439
Hofstra	153-142	.519	425-331	.562
St. John's	151-144	.512	392-362	.520
* - only teams with .500 or better record since 2010

Scott Machado, who was also coached by Cluess during his freshman season at St. Mary’s High School, appeared in six regular season games in the NBA with the Houston Rockets and five postseason games with the Golden State Warriors in 2012-13. Machado also played in four games for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-19.
Machado is one of several Iona Gaels to have played for Cluess to continue their playing careers in the professional ranks including: Sean Armand, Vangelis Bebis, Taylor Bessick, Tre Bowman, Sam Cassell Jr., Randy Dezouvre, TK Edogi, A.J. English, Mike Glover, Jayon James, Ra’Shad James, Lamont Jones, David Laury, Zach Lewis, Deyshonee Much, Ibn Muhammad, Chris Pelcher, Taaj Ridley, Alejo Rodriguez, Aaron Rountree, Jon Severe, Jan Svandrlik, Jordan Washington, and Isaiah Williams.
Prior to Iona, Cluess’ LIU Post Pioneers earned a 23-6 overall record in his last season, earning victories in 19 of their last 21 contests. The squad earned its fourth straight berth in the East Coast Conference championship game. Cluess was named the ECC Co-Coach of the Year for the third straight time.
In 2008-09, LIU Post had its finest season in history, setting a school record with 30 victories. Standing among the top-10 teams in the nation from January through March in 2009, the Pioneers were ranked as high as No. 2 that year.
The squad posted an undefeated regular season, winning all 24 games for the first time in school history. LIU Post won its second straight ECC regular season and tournament championship titles and defeated Bentley in overtime in front of thousands on their home court to win the NCAA East Region Championship title and advance to the Elite Eight Tournament in Springfield, Mass.
For his outstanding efforts, Cluess was named the Basketball Times Division II Co-Coach of the Year as well as Metropolitan Bask1etball Writers Association Division II Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
The 2007-08 season saw Cluess’ squad post a 26-5 overall record, including an 18-2 clip in the conference. LIU Post claimed its first regular season and conference titles since the 2003-04 season with a 60-57 win to advance to the NCAA Northeast Regional at Bentley College. He was voted the ECC Coach of the Year by his peers, and was named the MWBA Division II Coach of the Year.
In 2006-07, his first year at the helm, Cluess guided the Pioneers to a 19-11 record and an appearance in the ECC Championship game. He improved the team’s win total by six from the season before he took over the program.
Cluess was named the eighth head men’s basketball coach in the 50-year history of the Pioneers’ program in April of 2006, after spending the 2005-06 campaign as the head men’s basketball coach at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, NY. He led a team of eight players to a 22-10 record overall, as well as a Region XV championship and a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA Division III Tournament. The trip to the national tournament was the first in the Sharks’ history, and Cluess was tabbed the District 5 Coach of the Year.
Prior to his ascent to the college ranks, Cluess was a standout head coach at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, NY from 1991-05, where the Gaels went a remarkable 264-78 (.772) during his tenure.
St. Mary’s won a record eight consecutive Nassau-Suffolk CHSAA league championships from 1997-98 to 2004-05. In that final season with Cluess as their mentor, the Gaels went 25-1 and finished the season ranked in the Top-20 nationally after holding the No. 1 ranking for eight weeks of the campaign.
Cluess helped develop more than 50 players who moved on to the collegiate and professional ranks at St. Mary’s including former North Carolina standout and current Toronto Raptor Danny Green.
He won four state titles and two Federation championships at the Manhasset school. Cluess was a seven-time coach of the year in the high school ranks and earned tournament wins in national tournaments such as the Beach Ball Classic and the Las Vegas Prep Classic.
Cluess played professional basketball in Europe and Australia after a collegiate career at both St. John’s and Hofstra.
He attended St. John’s from 1978-81, before completing his coursework at Hofstra from 1982-83.
Cluess holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Hofstra and currently resides in Floral Park, N.Y. with his wife, Karen, and their two children – Kevin, 22 and T.J., 20.


THE CLUESS FILE
Year at Iona Tenth Season Birth Date March 9, 1959 Age 59 Hometown West Hempstead, N.Y. Wife Karen Children Kevin (23), T.J. (21) High School St. Agnes HS - Rockville Centre, N.Y. College BA, Hofstra University, 1983

ATHLETIC PLAYING BACKGROUND
St. Agnes High School Rockville Centre, N.Y. St. John’s University Jamaica, N.Y. Hofstra University Hempstead, N.Y. Professional Basketball Europe and Australia

BASKETBALL COACHING EXPERIENCE
1991-2005 - Head Coach St. Mary’s High School, Manhasset, NY 2005-2006 - Head Coach Suffolk Community College 2006-2010 - Head Coach Long Island University - C.W. Post 2010-present - Head Coach Iona College

AWARDS/ACCOLADES AT IONA
MAAC Regular Season Championships 2011-12 \| 2013-14 \| 2014-15 \| 2018-19 MAAC Tournament Championships 2013 \| 2016 \| 2017 \| 2018 \| 2019 Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year 2017-18 MAAC Coach of the Year 2013-14, 2018-19 NCAA Championship Appearances 2012 \| 2013 \| 2016 \| 2017 \| 2018 \| 2019 NIT Appearances 2014 \| 2015

CAREER COACHING RECORD (THRU 2018-19)
Year	School	W-L
1991-05	St. Mary’s HS	265-78
2005-06	Suffolk CC	22-10
2006-07	C.W. Post	19-11
2007-08	C.W. Post	26-5
2008-09	C.W. Post	30-1
2009-10	C.W. Post	23-6
2010-11	Iona	25-12
2011-12	Iona	25-8
2012-13	Iona	20-14
2013-14	Iona	22-11
2014-15	Iona	26-9
2015-16	Iona	22-11
2016-17	Iona	22-13
2017-18	Iona	20-14
2018-19	Iona	19-17
Head Coach, Iona (9 yrs.)		199-108 (.650)
Head Coach, NCAA (12 yrs.)		299-132 (.694)
Career Head Coach (27 yrs.)		586-220 (.727)

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