Gene Bess (born March 3, 1935) is the former coach of the men's basketball team at Three Rivers Community College in

Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff is a medium city in Butler County in Southeast Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar B ...

. Bess was hired at Three Rivers in 1971. His career win-loss record is 1,300-416 (.757 winning percentage), making him the all-time winningest college basketball coach. He has won two national junior college basketball titles, in 1979 and 1992, and was the first college coach to reach 1,000 and 1,200 wins. Bess coached NBA player

Latrell Sprewell Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Du ...

at Three Rivers. Bess announced his retirement from coaching in May 2020 after suffering from health problems in his final years on the bench.

References

* 1935 births Living people Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Basketball coaches from Missouri {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub