Howard J. Braun (November 13, 1912 – January 9, 1996) was an American college

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

assistant coach for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

from 1937 to 1967. Braun graduated from the University of Illinois in 1936. He won six varsity letters in tennis and basketball and was a member of the ''"I"'' Men's Club. For three decades Howie Braun was responsible for all recruiting of high school basketball player for the University of Illinois. Braun worked and played for three legendary

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

head coaches. From 1933–1936, Braun played for

Craig Ruby James Craig Ruby (May 30, 1896 – September 9, 1980) was an American college basketball player and coach. A two-time All-American and All-Missouri Valley Conference forward at the University of Missouri, he took over the head coaching position ...

, winning a

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Conference championship in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

. He coached with Doug Mills from 1937 to 1947, winning conference championships in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

and

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

, and

Harry Combes Harry Combes (March 3, 1915 – November 13, 1977), a native of Monticello, Illinois, served as head men's basketball coach at University of Illinois between 1947 and 1967. Biography Combes played high school basketball for Monticello High Scho ...

from 1948–1967, winning conference championships in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. While recruiting, head coaches generally didn't become involved until an athlete made it to campus for an official visit. Since there was no AAU summer basketball as exists today, most major college coaches had the summers to themselves. While on the recruiting circuit, Braun was known for operating alone. He was known for being an intense, strong-willed man with a good heart who many former athletes respected. After a notorious ''slush-fund'' scandal in 1967, Braun was banned from coaching in the Big Ten and began working in public relations at the Commercial Bank of Champaign. He also was president of Worden-Martin Leasing from 1967 to 1977. Additionally, he was the pro golf manager at Lincolnshire Fields golf course in Champaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Howard 1912 births 1996 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players Illinois Fighting Illini men's tennis players Sportspeople from Champaign, Illinois