Braun, Ben

Braun, considered one of the best young college coaches in the game, has turned the University of California-Berkeley program into one of the best in the tough Pac 10 conference. A winner wherever he has coached, Braun has led the Golden Bears to the postseason five times in seven seasons since arriving in 1996, winning the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) in 1999. An excellent recruiter and teacher of the game, Braun was the Pac 10 Coach of the Year in 1996. In 2004-05, Cal had a down year and finished the season with a record of 13-16 (6-12 in conference).

Birth and Death Dates:
unknown

Career Highlights:
Before becoming a coach, Braun played at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse for one season and then tranferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating in 1975, he began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Park High School in Racine, Wisconsin. Two years later, Braun became the head coach at Siena Heights College. After an 8-21 record his first year, he led his teams to a combined 140-82 record over the next seven seasons, including four 20-win years. He was the winningest head coach of all the four-year colleges and universities in Michigan during that span, was named NAIA Michigan Coach of the Year in 1982, and qualified for NAIA postseason tournaments five times. In 1999, Braun was inducted into the Siena Heights University Athletic Hall of Fame.

After joining Eastern Michigan as an assistant coach in 1985, Ben was named interim head coach in January, 1986. He quickly led the Eagles to the top of the Mid-American Athletic Conference. In 1988, Braun was named MAC Coach of the Year, as Eastern Michigan won the conference title and qualified for the NCAA tournament. Three years later, EMU again won the MAC (with Braun named MAC Coach of the Year) and shocked the nation by defeating Mississippi State and Penn State while advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. In 1996, Braun took EMU to its third MAC championship, garnered his third MAC Coach of the Year nod, and led his team to the NCAA tournament, where they defeated national powerhouse Duke.

In 1996, Braun left Eastern Michigan to become the head coach at the University of California. In his first season, he became the first Cal coach to earn Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors; he was also a National Coach of the Year finalist. Braun took a team predicted for mediocrity to a 23-9 record (second in the conference), and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen after victories over Princeton and Villanova.

In 1999, he led the Golden Bears to the NIT title. It was school's first postseason title since Cal won the 1959 NCAA tournament. With his 1999 NIT title, Braun became only the fourth Jewish coach in history to win the tournament. The others were CCNY coach Nat Holman in 1950, Temple University head man Harry Litwack in 1969, and Vanderbilt coach Eddie Fogler in 1989.

In 2000-01, the Golden Bears had a terrific season and finished with a record of 20-10. They played in the NCAA tournament, but lost, 82-70, to Fresno State in the first round. The following year, they finished 23-9 and Braun led the Bears to a No. 6 seed in the South Region of the NCAA tournament (Cal's second straight trip to the NCAA). Led by Braun's enthusiasm and optimism, Cal defeated Ivy League champion Pennsylvania in the first round (82-75) before losing to Pittsburgh in the second round, 63-50.

In 2002-03, Braun led Cal to its third consecutive 20-win season and they finished in third place in the conference the two previous seasons. The Bears finished the regular season ranked No. 23 in the country with a record of 21-8 (13-5, third in conference). In the NCAA tournament, the Bears were the No. 8 seed in East Region. In the first round, they defeated No. 9 seed North Carolina State, 76-74, in a thilling overtime game. In the second round, Cal played No. 1 seed Oklahoma and lost the match, 74-65. One of his top players during the 2003-04 season is Israeli center Amit Tamir.

Origin:
Chicago, Illinois

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