COA C HING STAFF 74 BRAUN PROFILE 78 REYNAUD PROFILE 79 MOUTON PROFILE 80 RO B ERT S PROFILE 81 STAFF PROFILE S 73 Ben Braun, who ranks among the winningest active Divi- to beat three Top 10 schools in the same season with victories sion I men’s basketball coaches, begins his first season as the over North Carolina, UCLA and Arizona during the course of the the head coach at Rice University. year. Then, after earning a bid to the NIT, the Bears went on a Braun brings more than 30 years of head coaching experi- 5-0 run to capture the title — Cal’s first postseason tournament ence to Rice and has had unequaled success everywhere he championship since the Bears won the 1959 NCAA crown. Cal has been. Prior to being named Rice University’s coach April 7, finished the 1998-99 campaign with a 22-11 record. 2008, Braun guided the University of California to more post- A year later, Braun took a freshman-dominated squad season appearances and postseason wins than any other bas- back to the postseason as the Bears reached the quarterfinals ketball coach in school history. of the NIT. On Jan. 15, 2000, he picked up his 400th career vic- During his 12-year tenure at Cal, Braun directed the Bears tory with a 71-65 win at Oregon State. In 2000-01, the Bears to five NCAA Tournament berths and three trips to the NIT. He returned to the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 20-11 led the 1998 Bears to a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16 and to an record. Lampley — Braun’s first recruit at Cal — became the NIT championship in 1999. school’s all-time leading scorer late in his senior campaign with Earlier this year, Braun coached Cal to the second round of 1,776 points. the NIT, losing on the road to eventual champion Ohio State. The Bears again won 23 games and tied for second in While at the University of California, two of his players the Pac-10 race in 2001-02. Cal reached the semifinals of earned Pac-10 Player of the Year honors — Ed Gray in 1997 the conference tournament by defeating UCLA in the opening and Sean Lampley in 2001 — while Leon Powe was the 2004 round and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA playoffs, where the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. Overall, Braun’s players re- Bears toppled Penn before falling to Pittsburgh. ceived All-Pac-10 status nine times, Pac-10 All-Freshman no- In 2003, Cal reached the second round of the NCAA Tour- Ben Braun’s Coaching Record tice on seven occasions and Pac-10 All-Academic accolades nament behind All-Pac-10 forwards Joe Shipp and Amit Tamir. Year Overall Pct. MAC Pct. Postseason 15 times. Shipp ended his career holding third place on the Bears’ all- Sienna Heights Year Overall Pct. Postseason 1994-95 20-10 .667 12-6/3rd .667 NIT Tournament As a result of his success, not only at Cal, but during pre- time scoring list, while teammate Brian Wethers finished in the 1977-78 8-21 .276 1995-96 25-6 .806 14-4/1st .778 MAC Champions, NCAA Tournament vious head coaching stops at Eastern Michigan and Siena No. 15 position. 1978-79 24-6 .800 MAC Coach of the Year Heights, Braun ranks 11th among all active Division I coaches Behind tournament MVP Leon Powe, Cal defeated USC 1979-80 21-11 .656 Totals 185-132 .583 103-79 .566 with 552 victories. He was 219-154 in his 12 seasons at Berk- and Oregon to reach the Pac-10 Tournament final for the first 1980-81 22-11 .667 ley and ranked second among active Pac-10 coaches in over- time ever in 2006. The Bears then earned a No. 7 regional seed 1981-82 19-13 .594 Michigan NAIA Coach of the Year California all wins and Pac-10 wins (110). in the NCAA Tournament and finished the year with a 20-11 1982-83 21-12 .637 Year Overall Pct. Pac-10 Pct. Postseason The 1997 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and a finalist for the mark. On Nov. 21, 2005, Cal defeated Long Beach State, 88- 1983-84 15-14 .517 1996-97 23-9 .719 12-6/T-2nd .667 NCAA Sweet 16 2003 Naismith National Coach of the Year, Braun has posted a 69, to give Braun his 500th career win. 1984-85 18-15 .545 Pac-10 Coach of the Year 552-389 career record. He finished his Cal career second only Braun’s 2007 Cal team fought off injuries to a pair of key Totals 148-103 .590 1997-98 12-15 .444 8-10/T-5th .444 to Nibs Price (1925-54, 449-294) in both longevity and wins post players to reach the semifinals of the Pac-10 Tournament 1998-99 22-11 .667 8-10/T-5th .444 NIT Champions and his Cal winning percentage of .587 was the best at the for the fourth time in six years. The Bears upset top-seed and Eastern Michigan 1999-00 18-15 .545 7-11/7th .389 NIT Quarterfinals school since Hall of Famer Pete Newell guided the Bears to a fourth-ranked UCLA, 76-69, in overtime in the quarterfinals, Year Overall Pct. MAC Pct. Postseason 2000-01 20-11 .645 11-7/T-4th .389 NCAA 1st Round 119-44 mark from 1955-60. and freshman Ryan Anderson was voted to the all-tournament 1985-86 5-10 .333 4-10/T-9th .286 Named interim coach, Jan. 15, 1986 2001-02 23-9 .719 12-6/T-2nd .667 NCAA 2nd Round 74 Generally regarded as one of college basketball’s top team. 1986-87 14-15 .483 8-8/4th .500 2002-03 22-9 .710 13-5/3rd .722 NCAA 2nd Round 75 teachers and strategists, Braun brought his energetic style of This past season, Cal reached the second round of the 1987-88 22-8 .733 14-2/1st .875 MAC champions, NCAA Tournament 2003-04 13-15 .464 9-9/T-4th .500 coaching to Cal in September, 1996. During his initial season, NIT before losing to eventual champion Ohio State. Twice in MAC Coach of the Year 2004-05 13-16 .448 6-12/T-8th .333 Braun took a team that was predicted to finish in the confer- the season, the Bears defeated nationally-ranked opponents, 1988-89 17-12 .586 8-8/4th .500 Coach of U.S. Maccabiah Games team 2005-06 20-11 .645 12-6/3rd .667 NCAA 1st Round ence’s lower half, molded it into one that tied for second in the including a 69-64 upset on the road of ninth-ranked Washing- 1989-90 19-13 .594 8-8/5th .500 2006-07 16-17 .485 6-12/8th .333 league and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 with tournament vic- ton State. Sophomore Ryan Anderson was an all Pac-10 selec- 1990-91 26-7 .788 13-3/1st .813 MAC champions, NCAA Sweet 16 2007-08 17-16 .515 6-12/9th .333 NIT 2nd Round tories over Princeton and Villanova. In addition, the 23-9 over- tion. MAC Coach of the Year Totals 219-154 .587 110-106 .509 all mark gave Braun a school record for most wins by a Bear At age 54, Braun already has 31 years of experience as 1991-92 9-22 .290 4-12/8th .250 All-Time Overall Pct. League Pct. Postseason coach in his first year with the program. a head coach, including 11 highly-successful years at East- 1992-93 13-17 .433 8-10/6th .444 552-389 .587 213-185 .535 7 NCAAs, 4 NITs In 1998-99, Braun’s club became the first Cal team ever Continued on Page 76 1993-94 15-12 .556 10-8/T-5th .556 Ben Braun Head Coach w Wisconsin, 1975 550+ Wins And Counting Winningest Active Division I Basketball Coaches by Victories Coach, Current School Wins 1. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke 803 2. Lute Olson, Arizona 780 3. Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 774 ern Michigan, where he guided the Eagles to four postseason Eastern Michigan prior to the start of the 1985-86 season, but 4. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 771 berths, including three NCAA appearances. During his tenure midway through the year, on Jan. 15, 1986, he was elevated to 5. Bob Huggins, West Virginia 616 there, Braun accumulated a record of 185-132, averaging al- interim head coach. Success came quickly and within two years 6. Tom Penders, Houston 608 most 18 wins per season, and was named Mid-American he had the Eagles in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Conference Coach of the Year three times. In addition, Braun school history. 7. Gary Williams, Maryland 604 coached at Siena Heights College for eight years and took the In 1989, Braun served as head coach of the U.S. men’s Braun Coaching Tree 8. Homer Drew, Valparaiso 593 NAIA school to a 148-103 record and five postseason tourna- basketball team at the Maccabiah Games. He took an interna- Keith Dambrot Head Coach, Akron ments. tionally-inexperienced squad to the championship round before 9. Roy Williams, North Carolina 560 Assistant under Braun at 77 76 Braun’s players proved to be successful both on the court bowing to the host Israeli team in the final. Eastern Michigan, 1986-89 10. Bo Ryan, Wisconsin 556 and in the classroom, with Golden Bears earning Pac-10 All- During his career, Braun has coached more than a dozen Academic recognition 15 times under his direction.