BEST adj.
/best/
superlative of GOOD

1: excelling all others

2: most productive of good: offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction

3: most, largest

(Source: Merriam-Webster)

Best of Lacrosse 2018 Finalists
Men’s Player | Women’s Player
Men’s Coach | Women’s Coach
Men’s Breakthrough | Women’s Breakthrough
Men’s Performance | Women’s Performance
Game | Moment

As the lacrosse calendar turns from 2018 to 2019 and we reflect on one of the most riveting years in recent memory, US Lacrosse Magazine is taking to Twitter for the fans’ perspective on what made it so. We’ve identified four finalists each in 10 categories in preparation for our annual “Best of Lacrosse” edition.

Below, we present the finalists for Best Men’s Coach.

John Danowski (@DukeMLAX / @USAMLax), Peter Milliman (@CornellLacrosse), Andy Shay (@YaleLacrosse) and Kevin Warne (@HoyasMLacrosse) have been named #BestOfLax finalists for Best Men's Coach of 2018.

VOTE

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) October 17, 2018

John Danowski
Duke/USA

While Danowski never expressed any doubts to his players about the U.S. national team’s ability to regain the gold medal, privately, he had his reservations — especially after seeing bad habits resurface in a loss to the MLL All-Stars to conclude training camp. Those uncertainties were eradicated in Israel, and the three-time NCAA championship-winning coach’s approach to teambuilding was validated. In just seven weekends sprinkled over the course of two-and-a-half years, Danowski constructed a world champion. Oh, and he also guided his Blue Devils back to championship weekend for the first time since 2013. Quite a year for Dino.

Peter Milliman
Cornell

Coaching with the interim tag after Matt Kerwick resigned in the wake of the Big Red’s first back-to-back losing seasons since the 1990s, Milliman admirably led a Cornell team that exceeded all expectations. The Big Red, who started the season unranked and were picked to finish fifth in the Ivy League, went 13-5 and marched all the way to the NCAA quarterfinals. Jeff Teat, whom he recruited, had a lot to do with that, leading the country with 62 assists to go with 37 goals and putting himself squarely in the national player of the year conversation. It didn’t take long for Cornell to lift the interim tag and reward Milliman with the full-time position.

Andy Shay
Yale

“We’re national champs, dude!” That moment, when Shay fixed his eyes on the scoreboard at Gillette Stadium and allowed it to soak in that the Bulldogs had just defeated Duke to claim their first NCAA title, will forever be linked to 2018 — a year in which five of the six NCAA champions were crowned for the first time in their program’s history. (Yale last won a championship way before the NCAA era in 1883.) Shay’s decisions in the last five years — from the recruits (like Tewaaraton winner Ben Reeves) he brought on campus to the blue-collar culture he instilled and the team’s borderline psychotic commitment to strength and conditioning — all led up to that memorable exchange with ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra.

Kevin Warne
Georgetown

An equally emotional state of disbelief could be found on the face of Warne after the Big East championship game after his Hoyas stunned Denver. The Long Island tough guy who always has worn his emotions on his sleeve — remember the sideline mosh pits during his days as a defensive coordinator at Maryland? — broke down in tears after the 8-3 victory that sent Georgetown to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007. Moreover, the Hoyas, who were coming off a 4-10 and 2-12 seasons in 2017 and 2016, respectively, had Johns Hopkins on the ropes in the first round before falling 10-9 in overtime at historic Homewood Field.