Braun named men's basketball coach

By Casey Michel     3/27/08 7:00pm

When the 2008-'09 men's basketball season opens, the renovated Autry Court will not be the only new sight for fans. On Sunday, Ben Braun was announced as the new head coach at Rice, replacing the departed Willis Wilson (Will Rice '82) who led the team for the past 16 seasons.Braun has an extensive resumé as a Division I coach, having helmed the men's basketball team at the University of California-Berkeley since 1997. The Chicago native led Cal to a 219-154 record in his 12 seasons to compile the second-highest number of wins in the school's history. However, Braun's teams have struggled of late, missing the postseason from 2005-'07 and falling to Ohio State University in the second round of this year's National Invitation Tournament.

In his first season with Cal, Braun led the Golden Bears to the Sweet 16, the first of his five NCAA Tournament appearances, and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Cal won the NIT Championship in 1999 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and '03.

With 552 career coaching victories - Braun went 148-103 at Siena Heights College from 1978-'85 and 185-132 at Eastern Michigan University from 1986-'96 - Braun is currently ranked 11th among active coaches.

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Braun also coached two Pac-10 Players of the Year: Ed Gray in 1997 and Sean Lampley in 2001.

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