TEAMWORK

Legendary Basketball Coach Dies at 91

“It takes a village,” Gene Bess once said of his incredible 1,300 victories

Gene Bess, the all-time winningest college basketball coach in American history, has died. He was 91. “This morning at 4:00 a.m. my dad went to be with Jesus,” his son Brian, who coached with his father, wrote in a Facebook post Friday. Bess coached basketball for 50 years at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, from 1970 to 2020, snagging a whopping 1,300 wins, and leading the Three Rivers Raiders to two NJCAA national championships. He coached former Knicks star Latrell Sprewell for two seasons. Sprewell went on to play for Alabama and was a first-round NBA draft pick in 1992. The coach’s college posted a statement mourning the loss of a “mentor, friend, and one of the most influential figures in the history of Three Rivers College.” He “inspired generations of students, helping shape lives both during their years as Raiders and long after they left,” the college noted. At his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023, Bess told the crowd: “In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would be in front of you all today. I’m truly blessed to have coached over 400 players, winning two national championships, and having the record of 1,300 wins. It takes a village to accomplish this. Thank you to every single player I’ve ever coached. I want you to know that I love each and every one of you.”