Ben Braun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (March 2008)
Ben Braun

Title Head coach
College Rice
Sport Basketball
Place of birth Flag of the United States Chicago, Illinois
Career highlights
Overall 535-373 (.589)
Championships
MAC Tournament Championship (1988, 1991, 1996)
MAC Regular Season Championship (1988, 1991, 1996)
NIT Championship (1999)
Awards
MAC Coach of the Year (1988, 1991, 1996)
Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1997)
Playing career
1972–1975 Wisconsin
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1977–1985
1985–1986
1986–1996
1996–2008
2008-present		 Siena Heights
Eastern Michigan (asst.)
Eastern Michigan
California
Rice

Ben Braun is the men's college basketball coach at Rice University. He previously spent 12 years with the California Golden Bears program.

Contents

[edit] Coaching History

After graduating from Wisconsin in 1975, Braun began his career as an assistant coach at Park High School in Racine, Wisconsin. After two years of coaching high school basketball, he accepted the head coaching job at Siena Heights University. Braun coached Siena Heights for eight years taking the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school to a 148-103 record and five postseason tournaments.

Prior to the 1985-86 season, Braun took on the position of associate head coach at Eastern Michigan. Midway through the year, on Jan. 15, 1986, he was elevated to interim head coach. Within two years his Eagles were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. During his 11 years at Eastern Michigan, he guided the Eagles to four postseason berths, including three NCAA appearances. Braun accumulated a record of 185-132 and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year three times.

Braun replaced Todd Bozeman as the head coach at Cal prior to the 1996-1997 season. Expectations were low as Golden Bears were predicted to finish in the bottom half of the conference. However, the team finished tied for second in the conference and reached the NCAA Sweet 16. The team finished the season 23-9 and gave Braun a school record for most wins by a Bear coach in his first year with the program. Ben Braun went on to win the Pac-10 Coach of the Year - the first Cal coach to ever receive the award.

In the 1998-1999 season, Braun's club defeated North Carolina, UCLA, and Arizona during the course of the year to become the first team ever at Cal to beat three Top 10 schools in the same season. Then after entering the NIT, the Bears, led by Geno Carlisle, won five consecutive postseason games to capture the NIT title - Cal's first postseason tournament championship since the Bears won the 1959 NCAA title. Cal finished the 1998-99 campaign with a 22-11 record.

In 2000-01, the Bears returned to the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 20-11 record, and Sean Lampley - Braun's first recruit at Cal after NCAA sanctions were lifted from Bozeman's tenure - became the school's all-time leading scorer late in his senior campaign, finishing with 1,776 points.

In 2001-02, the Bears again went 23-9 and tied for second in the Pac-10 stadings. Cal earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA playoffs, where the Bears toppled Penn before falling to Pittsburgh in the second round.

In 2002-03, Cal again reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament behind All-Pac-10 forwards Joe Shipp and Amit Tamir. Shipp ended his career with the No. 3 position on the Bears' all-time scoring list, while teammate Brian Wethers finished in the No. 15 position.

In 2005-06, Cal defeated USC and Oregon to reach the Pac-10 Tournament final for the first time ever. Leon Powe and the Bears then earned a No. 7 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished the year with a 20-11 mark. On Nov. 21, 2005, Cal defeated Long Beach State, 88-69, to give Braun his 500th career win.

During his tenure at Cal, Braun has directed the Bears to more postseason appearances and more postseason victories than any coach in school history. He finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 202-138 record with the Bears and a 29-year career mark of 535-373. He ranks second to Nibs Price (1925-54, 449-294) in both tenure and wins at Cal, while his Cal winning percentage (.606) is the best at the school since Hall of Famer Pete Newell guided the Bears to a 119-44 mark from 1955-60.

Two days after losing to Ohio State in the 2008 National Invitation Tournament, Braun was fired as head coach of the Golden Bears on March 26, 2008.[1] He is expected to take over at Rice for Willis Wilson.

[edit] Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Siena Heights (NAIA) (1977 — 1985)
1977–1978 Siena Heights 8-21
1978–1979 Siena Heights 24-6
1979–1980 Siena Heights 21-11
1980–1981 Siena Heights 22-11
1981–1982 Siena Heights 19-13
1982–1983 Siena Heights 21-12
1983–1984 Siena Heights 15-14
1984–1985 Siena Heights 18-15
Siena Heights: 148-103
Eastern Michigan (Mid-American Conference) (1986 — 1996)
1985–1986 Eastern Michigan 5-10 4-10 T-9th
1986–1987 Eastern Michigan 14-15 8-8 4th
1987–1988 Eastern Michigan 22-8 14-2 1st NCAA 1st Round
1988–1989 Eastern Michigan 17-12 8-8 4th
1989–1990 Eastern Michigan 19-13 8-8 5th
1990–1991 Eastern Michigan 26-7 13-3 1st NCAA Sweet 16
1991–1992 Eastern Michigan 9-22 4-12 8th
1992–1993 Eastern Michigan 13-17 8-10 6th
1993–1994 Eastern Michigan 15-12 10-8 T-5th
1994–1995 Eastern Michigan 20-10 12-6 3rd NIT 1st Round
1995–1996 Eastern Michigan 25-6 14-4 1st NCAA 2nd Round
Eastern Michigan: 185-132 103-79
California (Pacific Ten Conference) (1996 — present)
1996–1997 California 23-9 12-6 T-2nd NCAA Sweet 16
1997–1998 California 12-15 8-10 T-5th
1998–1999 California 22-11 8-10 T-5th NIT Champions
1999–2000 California 18-15 7-11 7th NIT Quarterfinals
2000–2001 California 20-11 11-7 T-4th NCAA 1st Round
2001–2002 California 23-9 12-6 T-2nd NCAA 2nd Round
2002–2003 California 22-9 13-5 3rd NCAA 2nd Round
2003–2004 California 13-15 9-9 T-4th
2004–2005 California 13-16 6-12 T-8th
2005–2006 California 20–11 12-6 3rd NCAA 1st Round
2006–2007 California 16-15 6-12 9th
2007–2008 California 17-16 6-12 9th NIT 2nd round
California: 219-152 110-16
Rice (Conference USA) (2008 — present)
2008–2009 Rice 0-0 0-0
Rice: 0-0 0-0
Total: 552-389

      National Champion         Conference Champion         Conference Tournament Champion


[edit] Personal life

He is a alumnus of New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois He and his wife, Jessica, are expecting their first child (as of April 2008).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cal coach Ben Braun fired after 12 seasons. Yahoo! Sports (2008-03-26). Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
v • d • e
Eastern Michigan Eagles Head Basketball Coaches

Whitcomb • Crook • Butler • Dick • Teetzel • Bowen • Hunter • Beyerman • Brown • Ransom • Mitchell • Rynearson • McCulloch • Rynearson • Ockerman • Rynearson • Worzniak • Stites • Rynearson • Stites • Crouch • Hollway • Skala • Adams • Dutcher • Freund • Scott • Boyce • Braun • Barnes • Boone • Ramsey
v • d • e
California Golden Bears Head Basketball Coaches

Kilduff • Cherrington • Christie • Hollender • Wright • Price • Newell • Herrerias • Padgett • Edwards • Kuchen • Campanelli • Bozeman • Braun • Montgomery
v • d • e
Rice Owls Head Basketball Coaches

Cummings • Tisdale • Mann • Cawthon • Yerges • Arbuckle • Ashcraft • Nicholson • Ashcraft • Daugherty • Kitts • Brannon • Davis • Brannon • Davis • Suman • Frankie • Carlisle • Knodel • Polk • Schuler • Walcavich • Thompson • Wilson • Braun