[03/08/01] James Green is overshadowed by plenty of big-name coaches in Conference USA. There’s Cincinnati’s Bob Huggins, Louisville’s Denny Crum and Memphis’ John Calipari.

But Green, coaching in the relative obscurity of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, was recognized by his peers as the best in the conference this season.

Green, 40, was voted C-USA’s men’s basketball coach of the year on Wednesday after leading his Golden Eagles to a 21-7 regular-season record and a share of their first title in 10 years. USM was picked to finish fourth in the National Division.

“You kind of want to be recognized for it, but it means even more to me when the coaches say you do a great job and get the most out of your team,” said Green, an Ingomar native who played at Ole Miss.

USM bounced back from three straight double-digit losses to win its last five in a row to take the National title. That winning streak has USM on the brink of its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991.

“Everybody wrote us off at that time, but for us to reach down to say that we’re going to make it happen, that’s the type of basketball team I want every year,” said Green, 86-61 in five seasons at USM.

The Eagles open C-USA tournament play Thursday against Saint Louis (17-13), last year’s upset winner in the title game.

Southern Miss has had winning records under Green three of the last four years as he struggles to put the Golden Eagles on the map despite facilities and a recruiting budget that doesn’t come close to matching most in the league.

“It was harder than I thought it would be,” he admitted. “There were a lot of things about our program that I didn’t know from the outside.”