Deacon Coaching Staff
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DEACON COACHING STAFF THE JEFF BZDELIK FILE BACKGROUND • Born — December 1, 1952 • Hometown — Mount Prospect, Illinois FAMILY • Wife — Nina • Children — son Brett (24), daughter Courtney (21) BZDELIK EDUCATION • University of Illinois-Chicago — 1976 B.S. in Physical Education Head Coach • High School: Prospect HS (Mount Prospect, IL) PLAYING HISTORY 3rd Year • Illinois-Chicago, 1976 • University of Illinois-Chicago — 1972-76 Lettered four seasons at UIC, earning team MVP Lauded for his coaching ability on both the collegiate and In his final season in Boulder, Bzdelik coached Big 12 honors as a senior; holds the Flames’ the professional levels, Jeff Bzdelik is in his third season at Freshman of the Year Alec Burks, who became the first-ever single-season record for free throw percentage the helm of the Wake Forest basketball program and his 35th Buffs player to earn the conference honor. (88.1%) and ranks among the program’s all-time season overall in coaching. Bzdelik also was instrumental in developing the Colorado leading scorers. Bzdelik (pronounced “buzz-DELL-ick”) was named the program off the court. He helped raise the team’s grade 21st head coach in Wake Forest history on April 14, 2010. point average to 2.94, and a school-record three Buffaloes COACHING HISTORY In his second season at Wake Forest in 2011-12, Bzdelik’s were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team in 2009-10. • Davidson College — 1978-80 (2 seasons) team featured two all-ACC players in guard C.J. Harris (third With the program on the upswing, attendance at Assistant Coach team) and forward Travis McKie (honorable mention), both Colorado games soared 40 percent during Bzdelik’s tenure • Northwestern University —1981-86 (6 seasons) of whom had breakout seasons under Bzdelik. in Boulder. Assistant Coach Harris (16.7 ppg) and McKie (16.1 ppg) ranked in the top Prior to Colorado, Bzdelik served two seasons as the • Maryland-Baltimore County — 1987-88 (2 seasons) six in the ACC in scoring and enter the 2012-13 season as head coach at the Air Force Academy where he guided the Head Coach the ACC’s top two returning scorers. Falcons to a 50-16 record (.758 winning percentage) from • Washington Bullets — 1989-94 (6 seasons) Bzdelik’s squad led the ACC in free throw shooting with 2005-07. Assistant Coach a mark of 73.6 percent in all games. The Deacons also led The 50 wins marked the most successful two-year • New York Knicks — 1995 (1 season) in conference play with a free throw mark of 76.4 percent. period in school history. Bzdelik is the only coach in Academy Lead Scout Over his first two seasons at Wake Forest, Bzdelik’s teams history to have won 24 or more games in consecutive • Miami Heat — 1996-2001 (6 seasons) have shot a combined 74.1 percent at the line. seasons. Bzdelik also guided the Falcons to a 31-1 home Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting The 2011-12 squad also averaged just 12.7 turnovers record, including a 15-0 mark in 2005-06 and a 16-1 record • Denver Nuggets — 2002 (1 season) per game, which marked the team’s lowest total since the in 2006-07. Scout 2000-01 season. He returned to the college game in 2005-06 after 17 • Denver Nuggets — 2003-05 (3 seasons) The Deacons were one of the top shot-blocking teams seasons as a coach and scout in the NBA. Bzdelik made Head Coach in the league last season, averaging 5.1 blocks per game nine playoff appearances during his tenure in the league. • Air Force Academy — 2006-07 (2 seasons) during ACC play to rank second in the conference. Bzdelik’s success in the NBA translated immediately to Head Coach In his first season at the helm of the Deacons, Bzdelik the college game, as he led the Falcons to a 24-7 record • University of Colorado — 2008-10 (3 seasons) inherited the ACC’s youngest squad as seven of the team’s and the school’s fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA Head Coach 10 scholarship players were underclassmen. With as many Tournament in his first season in Colorado Springs. • Wake Forest — 2011-13 (3rd season) as three freshmen in its starting lineup, Wake Forest finished He also led the Falcons to a 12-4 record and second- Head Coach the year 8-24 overall. Despite the subpar record, there were place finish in the Mountain West Conference in 2005-06. a number of accomplishments worth noting. Air Force led the nation As a team, Wake Forest ranked second in the ACC and in scoring defense (54.7 16th nationally with 5.4 blocks per game. The Deacons’ 174 ppg) and finished in the total blocks is the fourth-highest total in school history and top five in the country just eight behind the school record of 182 set in 1997. in three-point field goal The Deacons were one of the best free throw shooting percentage (.404) and teams in the country, ranking second in the ACC and 32nd fewest turnovers per nationally with a mark of 74.6 percent from the line. It was game (10.8). the highest Wake Forest ranked in the ACC in free throw In his second year percentage since 2002-03. at Air Force in 2006-07, Bzdelik also mentored forward McKie, who turned in a Bzdelik led the Falcons to stellar freshman season. McKie led the team in both scoring a school-record 26 wins, and rebounding, becoming the 10th player in ACC history a top-25 national ranking and the fifth in school history to accomplish the feat. and a berth in the NIT Final Bzdelik has been involved in coaching college and Four. Air Force set school professional basketball since 1978, including seven seasons records for field goal as a college head coach and three seasons as the head percentage (.490) and coach of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. 3-point field goals (316) The Illinois native came to Wake Forest after spending and finished second in the three seasons as the head coach at the University of country in both scoring Colorado. Bzdelik inherited a 7-20 (3-13 Big 12) team and defense (56.0 ppg) and improved to a game under .500 at 15-16 (6-10) by his third in fewest turnovers per Jeff and Nina Bzdelik season with the Buffaloes. game (10.3). 22 2012-13 WAKE FOREST BASKETBALL DEACON COACHING STAFF 2012-13 DEACONS 2011-12 IN REVIEW BZDELIK YEAR-BY-YEAR 2012-13 - Head Coach Wake Forest 2011-12 - Head Coach Wake Forest 2010-11 - Head Coach Wake Forest 2009-10 - Head Coach, Colorado 2008-09 - Head Coach, Colorado 2007-08 - Head Coach, Colorado 2006-07 - Head Coach, Air Force 2005-06 - Head Coach, Air Force BASKETBALL STAFF 2004-05 - Head Coach, Denver Nuggets 2003-04 - Head Coach, Denver Nuggets 2002-03 - Head Coach, Denver Nuggets 2001-02 - Scout, Denver Nuggets 2000-01 - Asst. Coach/Dir. of Scouting, Miami Heat 1999-00 - Asst. Coach/Dir. of Scouting, Miami Heat 1998-99 - Assistant Coach, Miami Heat 1997-98 - Assistant Coach, Miami Heat 1996-97 - Assistant Coach, Miami Heat 1995-96 - Assistant Coach, Miami Heat 1994-95 - Lead Scout, New York Knicks 1993-94 - Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets 1992-93 - Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets Bzdelik coached the Falcons to nine wins of 30 points team was cited by the Sporting News as having “One of 1991-92 - Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets or greater to lead the country in that category in 2006-07. College’s Biggest Turnarounds.” In the two seasons prior Along the way, Air Force crafted double-digit victories over to Bzdelik’s arrival, UMBC went a combined 11-44 at the 1990-91 - Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets Colorado, George Washington, Stanford, Texas Tech and Division II level. He led the Retrievers to a 12-16 record in 1989-90 Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets Wake Forest. the school’s inaugural season in Division I and then went 1988-89 - Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets Prior to returning to the collegiate ranks, Bzdelik was the 13-15 in his second season in 1987-88. 1987-88 - Head Coach, Maryland-Baltimore County Denver Nuggets head coach for two-and-one-half seasons Bzdelik’s UMBC teams also excelled in the classroom, 1986-87 - Head Coach, Maryland-Baltimore County from 2002-05. He was named head coach in August of 2002 posting a 2.86 grade point average during his tenure. 1985-86 - Assistant Coach, Northwestern after spending one year as a scout for the Nuggets. After two seasons at UMBC, Bzdelik made the move 1984-85 - Assistant Coach, Northwestern Bzdelik engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in to the professional ranks, joining the Washington Bullets SERIES HISTORY RECORD BOOK BASKETBALL HISTORY NBA history during his second season in 2003-04, leading as an assistant coach under Wes Unseld. Bzdelik coached 1983-84 - Assistant Coach, Northwestern the Nuggets to the playoffs for the first time since 1994-95 the Bullets summer league team in 1988 and in 1994, and 1982-83 - Assistant Coach, Northwestern while posting a 43-39 record. The 26-game improvement served as Unseld’s lead assistant during his final season in 1981-82 - Assistant Coach, Northwestern over the previous year was the sixth-best turnaround in NBA Washington in 1993-94. 1980-81 - Assistant Coach, Northwestern history. Bzdelik joined Pat Riley’s New York Knicks staff for the 1979-80 - Assistant Coach, Davidson Bzdelik became the first coach in league history, since 1994-95 season, serving as the team’s lead scout.