Bobby Braswell

College coach infobox


Name = Bobby Braswell
Sport = Basketball
| ImageWidth =
Caption =
DateOfBirth =
Birthplace = flagicon|United States
DateOfDeath =
Deathplace =
College = Cal State Northridge
Title = Head coach
Awards = Big Sky Coach of the Year (2001)
Championships = Big Sky Tournament Championship (2001)
Big Sky Regular Season Championship (2001)
CurrentRecord = 168-157 (.517)
OverallRecord = 168-157 (.517)
Player =
Years =
Team =
Position =
Coach = *
CoachYears = 1985–1989
1989–1992
1992–1996
1996–present
CoachTeams = Cleveland HS
Long Beach State (asst.)
Oregon (asst.)
Cal State Northridge
CollegeHOFID =
BBallHOF =

Bobby Braswell, an American basketball coach, is currently the head coach for Cal State Northridge. Braswell was named the fourth head coach in Northridge history on April 30, 1996, succeeding the retired Pete Cassidy.

Coaching career

After graduating from CSUN in 1985 (with a bachelor's degree in English), Braswell became a teacher and head basketball coach at Cleveland High School in Reseda. During his four years there, Cleveland won two league titles, and reached the Los Angeles City Section title game in 1986 and 1987. Long-time NBA player Lucious Harris was a member of Braswell's teams at Cleveland.

Braswell's success on the high school level elevated him to a position as assistant coach at Long Beach State. He served there for three years, first under Joe Harrington and then Seth Greenberg. In this period, Long Beach reached the National Invitation Tournament twice. The 49ers would reach the NCAA Tournament the season after Braswell's departure, led by Harris and Bryon Russell, players he had recruited.

Braswell's work at Long Beach State led to him being hired as the top assistant to Jerry Green at the University of Oregon. He would also handle the duties of the Ducks' recruiting coordinator during his four seasons in Eugene. With Braswell on the staff, Oregon would reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 34 years in 1995. His final recruiting class at Oregon was ranked 35th in the nation.

In 1996, Braswell made his return to his alma mater, Cal State Northridge, as their new head coach. He had immediate success in the 1996-97 season. The Matadors' 14-15 record was their best record since moving to Division I in 1990. Despite a sixth-place finish, Braswell's team made a run to the finals of the Big Sky Conference tournament. They would narrowly miss out on an NCAA berth, suffering an 82-79 defeat to Montana in the championship game.

The following season, CSUN again finished near the bottom of the Big Sky conference, but performed well in the tournament, upsetting Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals before losing to host and eventual champion Northern Arizona the next day.

Braswell continued to build the Northridge program over the next several years. In 1998-99, the team went 17-12. The next year, the record improved to 20-10, and Braswell's team again made a run to the Big Sky championship game, losing in overtime to Northern Arizona.

Braswell would finally break through in the 2000-01 season. Led by six seniors, Northridge would upset UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, finish atop the Big Sky standings, and win the Big Sky Tournament at home to reach the NCAA Tournament. They would lose to Kansas in the first round to finish 22-10, Braswell's best season to date. He became a sought-after coaching commodity following the season, but instead signed a six-year extension to stay in Northridge. UCLA still has not played Northridge since the Matadors' win at Pauley.

After 2001, Northridge moved to the Big West Conference. In the 2004 Big West Tournament, his team made an improbable run to finals, winning three games in three nights. They narrowly lost to Pacific, after coming back from a 19-point deficit to tie the game. Braswell has had just one winning season since joining the Big West, finishing 18-13 in 2004-05.

In March 2007, Braswell signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him in Northridge until through the 2008-09 season.

In 2004, Braswell was reprimanded by the university for a failure to provide oversight to an assistant coach who had violated NCAA rules. As a result, the Northridge program was placed on a three-year probation period by the NCAA, ending after the 2005-06 season.

Braswell also has a reputation as being a tough coach. This has led to a high level of attrition amongst his players. During the 2002-03 season and the immediate aftermath, three underclassmen transferred out of the program to continue their careers elsewhere. In 2003-04, two players were suspended and another kicked off the team for undisclosed violations. At the end of that season, four more players would transfer out. In 2006-07, one player quit the team in the middle of the season, and several more left the team afterward. The 2007 senior class marked the first time since 2001 that the Braswell has had three players who were with the program for a full four seasons.

Head coaching record

CBB Yearly Record Start
type=coach
conference=
postseason=
poll=noCBB Yearly Record Subhead
name=Cal State Northridge
startyear=1996
conference=Big Sky Conference
endyear=2001CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 1996–1997
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 14-15
conference = 6-8
confstanding = 6th
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 1997–1998
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 12-16
conference = 6-8
confstanding = 6th
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 1998–1999
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 17-12
conference = 9-7
confstanding = T-3rd
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 1999–2000
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 20-10
conference = 10-6
confstanding = T-4th
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship = conference
season = 2000–2001
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 22-10
conference = 13-3
confstanding = 1st
postseason = NCAA 1st Round
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Subhead
name=Cal State Northridge
startyear=2001
conference=Big West Conference
endyear=CBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2001–2002
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 12-16
conference = 11-7
confstanding = T-3rd
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2002–2003
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 14-15
conference = 8-10
confstanding = T-6th
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2003–2004
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 14-16
conference = 7-11
confstanding = T-5th
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2004–2005
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 18-13
conference = 12-6
confstanding = T-3rd
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2005–2006
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 11-17
conference = 4-10
confstanding = 7th
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
season = 2006–2007
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 14-17
conference = 5-9
confstanding = T-6th
postseason =
ranking = no
ranking2 = noCBB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = Cal State Northridge
overall = 168-157
confrecord = 91-85CBB Yearly Record End
overall=168-157
poll=no

ee also

Cal State Northridge Matadors basketball

External links

* [http://bobbybraswell.com/ BobbyBraswell.com] - official site
* [http://gomatadors.olinesports.com Cal State Northridge Athletics] - official site

References

* [http://www.bigskyconf.com/articles/artfiles/82036_0607SEC4web.pdf Big Sky History]
* [http://www.ncaa.org/releases/infractions/2004/2004033001in.htm NCAA Infraction]
* [http://gomatadors.olinesports.com/mbasketball.php Cal State Northridge Basketball]