Bob Bender
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Robert Michael Bender (born April 28, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach, who last served an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. Born in Quantico, Virginia, He attended Bloomington High School in Bloomington, Illinois, where he was an All-American in basketball. Bender has the distinction of being the first (and until 2025 only) individual to play for different programs in two NCAA Championship games. He was a freshman on Bob Knight's undefeated 1976 Indiana team and played point guard at Duke from 1977 to 1980, including an appearance in the title game against Kentucky. Bender was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the sixth round before his senior year, but did not play.
He began his coaching career as an assistant at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski. He later served as head coach at Illinois State University and the University of Washington, and was an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Bender is married to his wife, Alice, with whom he has two children: Mary Elizabeth and Robert Michael Bender III.
On June 17, 2013, Bender was hired as an assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, under Larry Drew, of whom he was an assistant to at the Atlanta Hawks.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois State Redbirds (Missouri Valley Conference) (1989–1993) | |||||
| 1989–90 | Illinois State | 18–13 | 9–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I First Round |
| 1990–91 | Illinois State | 5–23 | 4–12 | T–8th | |
| 1991–92 | Illinois State | 18–11 | 14–4 | T–1st | |
| 1992–93 | Illinois State | 19–10 | 13–5 | 1st | |
| Illinois State: | 60–57 (.513) | 40–26 (.606) | |||
| Washington Huskies (Pacific-10 Conference) (1993–2002) | |||||
| 1993–94 | Washington | 5–22 | 3–15 | 9th | |
| 1994–95 | Washington | 10–17 | 6–12 | T–7th | |
| 1995–96 | Washington | 16–12 | 9–9 | T–5th | NIT First Round |
| 1996–97 | Washington | 17–11 | 10–8 | 6th | NIT First Round |
| 1997–98 | Washington | 20–10 | 11–7 | 4th | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 |
| 1998–99 | Washington | 17–12 | 10–8 | 4th | NCAA Division I First Round |
| 1999–00 | Washington | 10–20 | 5–13 | T–8th | |
| 2000–01 | Washington | 10–20 | 4–14 | T–9th | |
| 2001–02 | Washington | 11–18 | 5–13 | 8th | |
| Washington: | 116–142 (.450) | 63–99 (.389) | |||
| Total: | 176–199 (.469) | ||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion |