Paying Their Dues: Dutcher Becomes Bench Boss After 32 Years as Assistant
June 26th, 2017 - 7:10
Has there ever been an individual spend as long a time as an assistant (32 years) as Brian Dutcher before moving over a chair and becoming head coach? Exercising patience to the max, following are active bench bosses who toiled more than 20 seasons as a college aide:
| Active Head Coach (Years as Aide) | Current School | Background as Assistant Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Dutcher (32) | San Diego State | Illinois in 1983-84 and 1984-85, South Dakota State in 1986-87 and 1987-88, Michigan from 1989-90 through 1997-98 and San Diego State from 1999-00 through 2016-17. |
| Lew Hill (26) | Texas-Rio Grande Valley | South Alabama in 1990-91 and 1991-92, Southeast Missouri State in 1992-93 and 1993-94, East Carolina from 1994-95 through 1997-98, Texas A&M from 1998-99 through 2003-04, UNLV from 2004-05 through 2010-11 and Oklahoma from 2011-12 through 2015-16. |
| Brian Fish (25) | Montana State | Marshall from 1989-90 through 1991-92, Kansas State in 1992-93 and 1993-94, Creighton in 1994-95 and 1995-96, Texas Christian from 1996-97 through 2001-02, San Diego in 2002-03 and 2003-04, back at Creighton from 2004-05 through 2009-10 and Oregon from 2010-11 through 2013-14. |
| Dave Pilipovich (25) | Air Force | California (Pa.) from 1986-87 through 1988-89, Florida Atlantic from 1989-90 through 1993-94, Georgia State in 1994-95 and 1995-96, Robert Morris from 1996-97 through 1999-00, Eastern Michigan from 2000-01 through 2004-05, Michigan in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and Air Force from 2007-08 to 2011-12. |
| Matt Figger (24) | Austin Peay State | Wabash Valley Junior College (Ill.) in 1993-94, Vincennes College (Ind.) from 1994-95 through 1998-99, Odessa College (Tex.) from 1999-00 through 2001-02, South Alabama from 2002-03 through 2006-07, Kansas State from 2007-08 through 2011-12 and South Carolina from 2012-13 through 2016-17. |
| Greg Gard (23) | Wisconsin | Wisconsin-Platteville from 1993-94 through 1998-99, Milwaukee in 1999-00 and 2000-01 and Wisconsin from 2001-02 to 2015-16. |
| Glenn Braica (22) | St. Francis (N.Y.) | New York City Tech in 1988-89, St. Francis (N.Y.) from 1989-90 through 2003-04 and St. John's from 2004-05 through 2009-10. |
| Jeff Boals (21) | Stony Brook | Ohio University in 1995-96, Charleston (W. Va.) from 1996-97 through 1998-99, Marshall from 1999-00 through 2002-03, back at Charleston (W. Va.) in 2003-04, Robert Morris in 2004-05 and 2005-06, Akron from 2006-07 through 2008-09 and Ohio State from 2009-10 through 2015-16. |
| Dennis Cutts (21) | UC Riverside | Pima Community College (Ariz.) from 1992-92 through 1993-94, Northland Pioneer Community College (Ariz.) in 1994-95 and 1995-96, Stephen F. Austin from 1996-97 through 1998-99, Northern Arizona from 1999-00 through 2001-02, San Jose State from 2002-03 through 2004-05, Kansas State in 2005-06 and UC Riverside from 2007-08 through 2012-13. |
| Mike Hopkins (21) | Washington | Syracuse from 1996-97 through 2016-17. |