Jack Bruen

John Francis "Jack" Bruen (March 25, 1949 – December 19, 1997) was an American basketball coach. He's known for coaching Colgate University to two NCAA Tournament appearances, before dying from pancreatic cancer at age 48.[1]

Jack Bruen
Current position
TitleHead coach
Biographical details
BornMarch 25, 1949
New York City, New York
DiedDecember 19, 1997(1997-12-19) (aged 48)
Hamilton, New York
Playing career
19681972Catholic
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1982–1989Catholic
1989–1997Colgate
Head coaching record
Overall219-199
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Patriot League Tournament championship (1995, 1996)
Patriot League regular season championship (1994–1996)

Playing career

Bruen played high school basketball at Power Memorial Academy, alongside Lew Alcindor. His college basketball was played at Catholic University of America, where he graduated in 1972.

Coaching career

Bruen landed his first college head coaching job at his alma mater, where he guided the Cardinals to a 110-72 record from 1982–89, with his teams never falling below the .500 mark. During his time at Catholic, Bruen coached future NCAA Division I head coaches Mike Lonergan and Jimmy Patsos.

In 1989, Bruen took the job at Colgate University. It was there where he coached Adonal Foyle, a 12-year NBA player, and eighth overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 1997 NBA Draft. Bruen guided the Red Raiders to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 1995 and 1996—to date, the only NCAA Tournament appearances in school history—and three Patriot League regular season championships.

After being diagnosed with cancer before the start of the 1997 season, Bruen underwent chemotherapy treatments, and hoped to coach for the entire season, only missing one game against St. John's on December 10. He returned to Colgate to and coached his final game against Marist College on December 13, 1997, an 80-69 win. He would die just six days later, amassing a record of 109-127 overall.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Catholic (Old Dominion Athletic Conference) (1982–1989)
1982-83 Catholic 13-12N/AN/A
1983-84 Catholic 14-14N/AN/A
1984-85 Catholic 13-12N/AN/A
1985-86 Catholic 19–8N/AN/A
1986-87 Catholic 15-10N/AN/A
1987-88 Catholic 19-8N/AN/A
1988-89 Catholic 18-8N/A
Catholic: 110-72 (.604)N/A
Colgate (North Atlantic Conference) (1989–1990)
1989–90 Colgate 8-213-96th
Colgate (Patriot League) (1990–1997)
1990–91 Colgate 5-232-106th
1991–92 Colgate 14-147-75th
1992–93 Colgate 18-109-54th
1993–94 Colgate 17-129-5T-1st
1994–95 Colgate 17-1311-31stNCAA First Round
1995–96 Colgate 15-159-31stNCAA First Round
1996–97 Colgate 12-168-43rd
1997–98 Colgate 3-3N/AN/A
Colgate: 109-127 (.462)55-37 (.598)

Bruen died on December 20, 1997. Paul Aiello coached the team for the remainder of the season.

Total:219-199 (.524)

      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

References

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