Sixth-year Coach Bob Bender brought Washington a long way in a short time.

His fifth season produced the Huskies' first 20-win season since 1987, their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1986 and their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1984.

The 1998 Washington team posted a 20-10 record and advanced to postseason play for the third straight season. The UW reached the Sweet 16 with wins over Xavier and Richmond before suffering a heart-breaking last-second loss to Connecticut.

Washington concluded its finest campaign in 12 seasons ranked No. 23 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll, the school's first postseason ranking since 1984.

The Huskies finished fourth in the tough Pacific-10 Conference with an 11-7 record, including a late-season 95-94 upset of No. 18 UCLA that helped secure the NCAA berth.

In 1997, the Huskies finished with a 17-11 record and the team's second straight National Invitation Tournament berth.

Washington finished sixth in the Pac-10 with a 10-8 record, including a 92-88 upset over national champion Arizona. Attendance at Edmundson Pavilion during conference play averaged 6,555, the highest total in 10 years.

In 1996, Washington finished with a 16-12 record, its first winning season since 1987. The campaign culminated with an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, Washington's first postseason bid since 1987.

Bender was honored as the 1996 Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year by a vote of his peers. Washington finished tied for fifth in the Pac-10 with a 9-9 record, including a stunning 80-79 overtime victory at Arizona.

The coaching accolades and postseason appearances seem a long way removed from Bender's first season that produced a 5-22 record. The 1994 Huskies played a schedule ranked the fourth-toughest in the nation and did it without any returning starters.

Bender's initial UW victory, a 61-60 decision on Dec. 23 at Idaho State, was historical. His first Pac-10 victory was hysterical.

The Huskies were completing Bender's first swing through the Pac-10, having lost to the first eight conference foes with only 12th-ranked Arizona to play. Washington registered the most remarkable upset of the 1994 collegiate campaign, stunning the Wildcats 74-69 in Seattle. Arizona proceeded to win 12 of its next 13 games before losing to eventual national champion Arkansas in the semifinal round of the Final Four.

Bender's inaugural UW team secured a ninth-place conference finish with a 3-15 record.

The Huskies posted a 10-17 record in 1995 against a schedule ranked the sixth-toughest in the nation. They defeated a pair of NCAA Tournament teams, Old Dominion and Michigan. The 65-61 victory over the Wolverines, Dec. 30 in Seattle, gave the UW its first U S WEST Cellular Air Time Tournament title.

Bender spent several seasons apprenticing under some legendary college basketball coaches. He counts Bobby Knight, Bill Foster and Mike Krzyzewski among his mentors. He was a member of Knight's Indiana squad in 1976, Foster's Duke unit from 1977-80 and served on Krzyzewski's coaching staff from 1983 through 1989.

From each of these renowned mentors, he gleaned skills that have guided the Washington basketball program into the Bender Era.

"I'm excited about Bobby getting the job and I know he's really excited about coming to Washington," Krzyzewski said after Bender was named to replace Lynn Nance as the Husky head coach on April 9, 1993. "The potential is there to have an outstanding basketball program."

Who better to turn Washington into an outstanding basketball program than someone who has been a part of several outstanding basketball programs himself?

Bender has the unique distinction of being a player on two of the most famous college basketball teams in history. He was a freshman on the 1976 national champion Indiana squad, the last NCAA Division I team to complete an undefeated season. He transferred to Duke where his sophomore team advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Kentucky. That 1978 Blue Devil Final Four squad was immortalized by John's Feinstein's book, "Forever's Team," published in 1989.

The 41-year-old Bender is the only individual who has performed for two different teams in the NCAA championship game. He was scoreless in Indiana's 1976 title game against Michigan and tallied seven points in 17 minutes for Duke in the 1978 championship.

But Bender is more than just an answer to a trivia question. He has proven himself to be a capable coach.

In four years as coach at Illinois State, his teams posted a 60-57 record, won two Missouri Valley Conference regular-season titles, captured one conference tournament championship and garnered an NCAA tournament invitation in 1990. Bender's Redbirds drew defending champion Michigan in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Tournament, suffering a 76-70 loss against the Wolverines.

Bender inherited a 13-17 squad at Illinois State and turned in an 18-13 record his inaugural season as a head coach, including the 1990 MVC tournament title. After a 5-23 record in 1991, the Redbirds became just the fourth team in 85 years of league play to go from last place to first in one season. Illinois State posted an 18-11 record, including a 14-4 conference mark to win a share of the 1992 regular season crown. Bender was named MVC Coach of the Year and the Illinois Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1992.

The Redbirds were 19-10 in 1993, won the regular season MVC title and advanced to the conference tournament championship game.

Illinois State fans showed staunch support for Bender's program. They showed up at Redbird Arena in record numbers, leading the conference in attendance all four of his years.

Bender has proven to be a strong presence off the court as well as on. His teams at Washington and Illinois State were heavily involved in community service while he served in numerous charitable capacities.

During his nine years as a head coach, Bender has mentored several assistants, including three who became head coaches. Billy King, an assistant at Illinois State and briefly at Washington, became an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers before taking over as Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers. Another Bender assistant at Washington, Ritchie McKay, is currently the head coach at Portland State. Ray Giacoletti, an assistant during Bender's first eight years as a head coach, took over as head coach at North Dakota State in 1997-98.

The education of Bob Bender began from his upbringing as a coach's son in Illinois. At Bloomington High School he scored 23 points per game as the team captain his senior season to earn all-state and All-America accolades. He also played football and baseball.

One of the premier prepsters in 1975, he was included on lists of the nation's elite players that contained the likes of Bill Cartwright, Darryl Dawkins and Darrell Griffith. The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper honored Bender as the 1975 Player of the Year, an award that over the years honored such standouts as Quinn Buckner, Isiah Thomas, Hersey Hawkins and Kevin Garnett.

Bender enrolled at Indiana University and played for the Hoosiers 1976 national championship team that completed a perfect 32-0 campaign. As a freshman at Indiana, he appeared in 17 games, averaging 2.0 points with 14 assists. He then transferred to Duke.

He helped the Blue Devils to a 73-24 record, two Atlantic Coast Conference championships, three NCAA berths and a spot in the 1978 NCAA championship game. A terrific playmaker, Bender dished out 332 assists in his career, including 159 his senior season.

Bender was a first-team All-ACC scholar in 1980 when he averaged 6.4 points per game in 33 games his senior season. He averaged 6.8 points and had 91 assists in 28 games as a junior and 5.1 points and 82 assists in 22 games as a sophomore.

A 1980 graduate of Duke with a bachelor's degree in history, Bender was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the sixth round before his senior year. He enjoyed a brief stay with the NBA team after graduation, then entered private business as a financial accountant.

In 1981, Bender was hired as assistant director of the Iron Dukes, the Blue Devil fund-raising organization and remained in that position until joining Krzyzewski's basketball staff as an assistant coach in 1983.

He helped produce a 164-45 record and NCAA Tournament berths in all six of his seasons on the Duke staff. The Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four three times during that span.

Year   Institution   W-L    Pct.   Conferece (Place)  Postseason
1984   Duke          24–10  .706   7–7  (3rd, tied)   NCAA Tournament
1985   Duke          23–8   .742   8–6  (4th, tied)   NCAA Tournament
1986   Duke          37–3   .925   12–2 (1st)         NCAA Final Four
1987   Duke          24–9   .727   9–5  (3rd)         NCAA Sweet 16
1988   Duke          28–7   .800   9–5  (3rd)         NCAA Final Four
1989   Duke          28–8   .777   9–5  (2nd, tied)   NCAA Final Four
6–year Duke Totals   164–45 .785

As A Head Coach

Year   Institution         W-L    Pct.  Conferece (Place)   Postseason
1990   Illinois State      18–13  .581  9–5  (2nd, tied)    NCAA Tournament
1991   Illinois State      5–23   .179  4–12 (9th)
1992   Illinois State      18–11  .621  14–4 (1st) 
1993   Illinois State      19–10  .655  13–5 (1st)
4–Year Illinois St. Totals 60–57  .513  40–26 in MVC

1990   —   Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions
       —   Played in the NCAA Tournament (lost to Michigan)
1992   —   Missouri Valley Coach of the Year
       —   Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champions
       —   Illinios State was the fourth team in 85-year MVC history
           to go from "worst to first"
1993   —   Missouri Valley Conference regular-season champions

Year   Institution       W-L    Pct.   Conferece (Place)   Postseason
1994   Washington        5–22   .185   3–15 (9th)
1995   Washington        10–17  .370   6–12 (7th, tied)
1996   Washington        16–12  .571   9–9 (5th, tied)     NIT Tournament
1997   Washington        17–11  .607   10–8 (6th)          NIT Tournament
1998   Washington        20–10  .667   11–7 (4th)          NCAA Sweet 16
5–year Washington Totals 68–72  .486   39–51 in Pac-10

1994   —   Played the nation's fourth-toughest schedule
1995   —   Played the nation's sixth-toughest schedule
1996   —   Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year (coaches poll)
       —   Washington's first winning season since 1987
       —   Played in National Invitation Tournament (lost at Michigan State in first round)
       —   First postseason appearance since 1987
1997   —   Played in National Invitation Tournament (lost at Nebraska in first round)
1998   —   Led Washington to its first 20-win season since 1987
       —   Played in NCAA Tournament (beat Xavier & Richmond, lost to Connecticut)
       —   Washington's first NCAA Tournament since 1986
       —   Washignton's first Sweet 16 appearance since 1984
       —   The ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history
       —   The Huskies were ranked No. 23 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll ...
           it was the first postseason national ranking since 1984 (#15 A.P.)
           and only the fourth time in history that a UW team finished a season
           ranked in either the AP, UPI or CNN polls 

9–Year Head Coaching Totals   128–129   .498
       —   Two NCAA Tournaments , Illinios State (1990) and Washington (1998)
       —   Two National Invitation Tournaments, Washington (1996 & 1997)

UW-Record as Washington Coach
IS-Record as Illinois State Coach

                                    UW    IS    All
Opponent             Last   Streak  W–L   W–L   W–L
Alabama-Birmingham   1991   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
Arizona              1998   Lost 3  3–7   dnp   3–7
Arizona State        1998   Lost 1  4–6   dnp   4–6
Boise State          1998   Won 1   1–0   dnp   1–0
Bradley              1993   Lost 1  dnp   5–3   5–3
Brigham Young        1998   Won 2   2–0   dnp   2–0
Bucknell             1992   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
Butler               1993   Won 1   dnp   2–1   2–1
California           1998   Lost 1  4–6   dnp   4–6
Chicago State        1991   Won 1   dnp   1–0   1–0
Cincinnati           1997   Lost 2  0–2   dnp   0–2
Colorado             1996   Won 1   1–1   0–1   1–2
Connecticut          1998   Lost 1  0–1   dnp   0–1
Creighton            1993   Won 1   dnp   6–3   6–3
Dayton               1991   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
DePaul               1993   Lost 2  dnp   0–2   0–2
Drake                1993   Won 5   dnp   9–2   9–2
Eastern Washington   1997   Won 3   3–0   dnp   3–0
Evansville           1993   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
Farleigh Dickinson   1990   Won 1   dnp   1–0   1–0
Fresno State         1994   Lost 1  0–1   dnp   0–1
Gonzaga              1998   Won 2   2–0   dnp   2–0
Idaho                1997   Won 1   2–2   dnp   2–2
Idaho State          1994   Won 1   1–0   1–1   2–1
Illinois-Chicago     1992   Won 1   dnp   2–1   2–1
Indiana State        1993   Won 2   dnp   6–3   6–3
Jackson State        1996   Won 1   1–0   dnp   1–0
James Madison        1998   Won 2   2–0   dnp   2–0
Kansas State         1996   Won 1   1–1   dnp   1–1
Kent State           1991   Lost 2  dnp   0–2   0–2
Lehigh               1996   Won 1   1–0   dnp   1–0
Lewis                1993   Won 1   dnp   1–0   1–0
Louisiana Tech       1990   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
Loyola (Chicago)     1993   Won 1   dnp   2–2   2–2
Loyola Marymount     1997   Won 1   1–1   dnp   1–1
Miami (Ohio)         1993   Lost 2  dnp   0–2   0–2
Michigan             1996   Lost 1  1–1   0–1   1–2
Michigan State       1996   Lost 1  0–1   dnp   0–1
Missouri             1995   Lost 2  0–2   dnp   0–2
Montana              1995   Lost 2  0–2   dnp   0–2
Nebraska             1997   Lost 1  0–1   dnp   0–1
Northern Iowa        1993   Won 5   dnp   5–0   5–0
Oklahoma             1991   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
Oklahoma State       1998   Lost 1  0–1   dnp   0–1
Old Dominion         1997   Lost 1  2–1   dnp   2–1
Oregon               1998   Won 2   4–6   0–1   4–7
Oregon State         1998   Won 5   8–2   dnp   8–2
Pacific              1994   Won 1   1–0   dnp   1–0
Pennsylvania         1994   Lost 1  0–1   dnp   0–1
Portland             1998   Won 3   3–1   dnp   3–1
Portland State       1997   Won 1   1–0   dnp   1–0
Purdue               1990   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
UNC-Charlotte        1990   Won 1   dnp   1–0   1–0
Richmond             1998   Won 1   1–0   dnp   1–0
Saint Louis          1992   Won 1   dnp   2–1   2–1
Saint Mary's (CA)    1998   Won 2   1–0   1–0   2–0
South Alabama        1998   Lost 1  0–1   dnp   0–1
Southern Illinois    1993   Lost 2  dnp   3–7   3–7
Southern Utah        1992   Lost 2  dnp   0–2   0–2
SW Missouri State    1993   Won 2   dnp   4–3   4–3
Stanford             1998   Lost 2  2–8   dnp   2–8
Tulsa                1993   Won 1   dnp   3–5   3–5
UCLA                 1998   Won 1   1–9   dnp   1–9
USC                  1998   Won 3   7–3   dnp   7–3
Va. Commonwealth     1992   Lost 2  dnp   0–2   0–2
Washington State     1998   Won 4   6–4   dnp   6–4
Western Illinois     1990   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
Wichita State        1993   Won 3   dnp   5–3   5–3
Wisconsin-Green Bay  1990   Lost 1  dnp   0–1   0–1
Xavier               1998   Won 1   1–0   dnp   1–0
Totals                              68–72 60–57 128–129

Rank Coach                        Years        Won–Lost  Pct.
 1.  Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson  1921–47      488–195   .714
 2.  Marv Harshman                1972–85      246–146   .628
 3.  Tippy Dye                    1951–59      156–91    .632
 4.  Bob Bender                   1994–present 68–72     .486
 5.  Andy Russo                   1986–89      61–62     .496
 6.  John Grayson                 1960–63      57–49     .538
 7.  Art McLarney                 1948–50      53–36     .596
     Mac Duckworth                1964–68      53–74     .417
 9.  Lynn Nance                   1990–93      50–62     .446
10.  Tex Winter                   1969–71      45–35     .563
11.  Anthony Savage               1914–15      29–4      .879
12.  Oscar Olson                  1912–13      26–10     .722
13.  David Hall                   1909–10      23–7      .767
14.  John Davidson                1916–17      16–15     .516
15.  Waner Williams               1911         11–1      .917
16.  Claude Hunt                  1918–19      10–18     .357
17.  Leonard Allison              1920         7–8       .467

No Coach: 1896, 1899, 1902–06
No Team: 1897–98, 1900 and 1907–08

"Here was a guy who loved what he was doing, who brought a real zest to the game. What he brought with him to the UW was a headful of knowledge about the game and a knack for getting it across."
    — Larry Henry, Everett Herald

"Ever since Bob Bender was named Washington's basketball coach, Husky Fever began catching around campus. Now, there's almost an epidemic. Men's basketball at Washington is hip again. It can be seen in rising attendance figures and in players' rising popularity."
    — Ron Newberry, Tacoma News Tribune

"He looks to be hanging around for the long haul, a rising star in a league that could use one."
    — Greg Hansen, The Arizona Daily Star

"Who is Bob Bender? He is the kid in the gym who has followed his heart. The Final Four point guard who became a major college coach. He is the coach to wake up the echoes in Edmundson Pavilion that have been silent too long."
    — Steve Kelley, The Seattle Times

"Coach Bender is a high-spirited, fiery guy and that rubs off on you. We would not be in contention for a postseason berth if it wasn't for him."
    — Assistant Coach Jason Hamilton, Washington player in 1995-96

"He's got a lot of Mike Krzyzewski in him. He's one of the bright, up-and-coming coaches in the game."
    — Bob Gibbons, national recruiting analyst

"Bob Bender is an unbelievable coach. He's done a great job of turning this program around and making it a very difficult place to play."
    — Steve Lavin, UCLA head coach

"His up-tempo philosophy, and willingness to allow shooters to shoot when they see an opening, makes for fan-friendly basketball. Bender might be youthful, but has enough seasoning by big-time basketball to command respect from his players. They know he turned around the program at Illinois State. They know, while at Duke, he recruited Danny Ferry, Christian Laetner and Bobby Hurley, among others."
    — Sam Farmer, Valley Daily News

"We've talked about the Washington program over the years and I know it is a place Bobby has been interested in. He's talked about it for a long time. The potential is there to have an outstanding basketball program."
    — Mike Krzyzewski, Duke head coach

"Perhaps the best thing Bender has going for him is a congeniality. One Pac-10 beat writer from a large city was amazed when he phoned the UW basketball office to speak to Bender, and the man himself answered the phone."
    — Shanon Fears, The Register Guard

"I knew within a minute after meeting him that's where Todd belonged. I was really impressed with his honesty. I liked his positive attitude and wanted Todd to have that type of coach."
    — Lois MacCulloch, mother of Husky senior Todd MacCulloch

"Bob's done a great job. They play hard and they play together. They are a dangerous team."
    — Mike Montgomery, Stanford head coach

"He is so accessible and makes his program so attractive. A young man can see that he can get what they are offering at UCLA and Arizona and still stay home."
    — Mike Bethea, head coach state champion Rainier Beach High School

"Bender has brought spring to Husky hoops: A winning season, league-wide respect, fan interest."
    — Art Thiel, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Q & A with Bob Bender

A: "It will be a case of raised expectations. First of all from ourselves. With the experience that we gained from last year, obviously we should expect more of ourselves right from the beginning of the year. Others expectations certainly will be raised as well. Not only from our own fans, but to a certain extent from a national scope. People will now look and probably expect some things of us on a national scale next year. As both an athlete and as a coaching staff, you work hard to put yourself in a position where you want to compete for championships. Obviously for us, the Pac-10 championship will be our first priority. Along with being in that position you better accept the fact that expectations grow."

Q: Comment on your schedule with at least 10 games against 1998 NCAA Tournament teams?

A: "From the very beginning of the season we will be challenged. In the non-conference we have a game with Connecticut in the Great Eight, the tournament in Hilo with NCAA teams Saint Louis and West Virginia and home games against New Mexico and New Mexico State. There is nothing soft about what we are going to be facing. We will be tested early, we will be prepared early. We've got a number of NCAA teams on our schedule."

Q: How will your team react after the difficult season-ending loss?

A: "With it being the type of ending it was against Connecticut, there will be times in the months before we start in October that we relive that game and think ‘what if.' It's a positive thing if the ‘what if' leads you to get to the gym the next day or get to the weight room. I've watched it enough in my own mind not to have to really replay it on tape. I don't know that it becomes something that we verbalize a lot about next year as we get started. Most important is for us to talk about the fact that every year a team has to develop a new personality. Even as experienced as this team is, with so many of our players returning, this team is going to have to establish its own personality and identity. That's what we want to get across right away."

Q: Who will replace point guards Jan Wooten and Chris Thompson?

A: "That is going to be a very competitive spot going into the season. In practice the competition for who is in that position will be very intense. We will have a tough time replacing both Jan and Chris, two guys who played a lot of minutes at that position. The experience that Dan (Dickau) got, especially late in the season, should be a good springboard for him for next year. We have a lot of confidence too in Senque (Carey) coming in and what he's going to be able to do even as a freshman. I really believe while the inexperience is something that will have to be answered in that position, the talent that we have in that position should be something that will make the team better."

Q: How will Todd MacCulloch handle the increased national attention?

A: "If anybody is well equipped emotionally and maturity-wise to handle it, Todd is a great example. You point to the improvement that he has made every year. The reason that he's done that is his ability to keep everything in perspective. I think even with greater national attention he doesn't lose his focus. Instead, all it does is motivate him to realize that he is on the verge of accomplishing the things that he set out to do."

Q: How do you view the Pac-10 race this season?

A: "The team to beat and the team that everybody will have to contend with in order to have a chance to win a championship will be Stanford. They are so talented, so deep and so experienced. Coming off a great, great year and one that, like ourselves, will be a motivator for them. Arizona and UCLA will be young, but both of them will be very talented. Both of them had great recruiting years. When you look at Arizona, you look at the fact that Jason Terry is going to be running that team. There is an experienced guy and as talented a point guard as you are going to find. Baron Davis is the same thing at UCLA. While they had a lot of other players that graduated and are no longer there, the cornerstones are still in place."

Q: If you could change any college basketball rule, what would you do?

A: "I would put serious consideration of going to the international lane. The wider lane would create better post play because there would be more room to manuever and open up the floor more."

Q: To what do you attribute the emergence of Pac-10 basketball?

A: "The Pac-10 has re-emerged as a respected national league and as a force. It will continue to do that. The thing that we've pointed out over the past few years is that we're keeping our best players on the West Coast. The problem we have now is keeping our best players in school. It seems that every single year now we seem to have a little bit more player movement in the conference because of the early entry in the draft."

Q: Has the success of the entire Pac-10 slowed Washington's progress?

A: "That's the one thing you can't control. I would hope that everyone who follows Husky basketball never forgets how far we have come. There is no doubt that our improvement has come at a time when it wasn't real easy. This league has been so good with two out of the last four NCAA champions and the last two year's unprecedented success with four teams advancing to the Sweet 16 both years. I still know that we are going to have to take steps to be a champion in the Pac-10. Along the way, it isn't easy because of how good this league is."

Q: What are your thoughts on players leaving early for the NBA Draft?

A: "Two years ago we experienced it for the first time. Everybody in college basketball is concerned about it. It is a reality. Coaches now have a tough time projecting four years in advance. Now you look two years in advance. It's not quite as stable as it used to be."

Q: How would you summarize your first five years at Washington?

A: "It was something I had never experienced, having to rebuild a program. For two years we had to rely simply on what we hoped the future would have. Going into the third year, what changed at Washington was you could see that progress in a real way. We knew that we were on the verge of getting things turned around. It hasn't been any harder than we expected it to be. Fortunately for us, for two years of losing we didn't have a lot of problems that would hold us back from turning the corner. That is a credit to the kids that they didn't give up, they didn't make excuses, they didn't point fingers. They just kept working and eventually that hard work started to pay off."

Q: What current or former coach do you admire the most?

A: "There are a lot of coaches that I respect. Certainly Mike Krzyzewski is the most prominent. I still believe a lot of things I learned from Coach (Bob) Knight, things that he does in a positive manner that are important for any coach to be successful."

Q: What was your most memorable moment as a player?

A: "The Final Four. It is such an unbelievable event and spectacle. As a player you don't fully understand, until you are done playing, what you accomplished in getting to the Final Four. While it is happening to you it is all happening so fast that you don't understand and value it enough. When it is all said and done, you realize that everybody started off with the same goal and yet you were able to accomplish it."

Q: Which Final Four was your most memorable as a player?

A: "I felt more a part of things at Duke because I played more. After you go through a year undefeated and experience the type of things that we did with that team at Indiana, you feel good about it, but I probably felt a little bit more with the Duke situation because I contributed more on the floor."

Q: What is your fondest memory as a head basketball coach?

A: "The Xavier win definitely because it was the first time a team I've had won in the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, the whole next two weeks are something I will never forget. That one game stands out. It reminded me so much of a game that we had my first year at Duke when we beat Rhode Island in the first round in a similar scenario. That kind of win kind of allows you to get on a roll."

Q: How did your first Husky NCAA berth compare the Illinois State bid?

A: "Number one, it took longer. That probably had a lot to do with it. The other thing is that this group was very young. That team was experienced with five seniors who were prominent players. This was even more unexpected and the accomplishment is a little bit greater."

Q: What other memories stand out from you head coaching career?