Robert Michael Bender (born April 28, 1957) is an American professional

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 ...

coach, who last served an assistant coach with the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

. Born in

Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east ...

, He attended Bloomington High School in

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomingto ...

, where he was an All-American in basketball. Bender has the distinction of being the only individual to play on two teams in two NCAA Championship games. He was a freshman on Bob Knight's undefeated 1976 Indiana team and played point guard at Duke from 1977 to 1980, including an appearance in the title game against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Bender was drafted by the San Diego Clippers in the sixth round before his senior year, but did not play. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Duke under

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five nati ...

. He later served as head coach at

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

, and was an assistant with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

. Bender is married to his wife, Alice, with whom he has two children: Mary Elizabeth and Robert Michael Bender III. On June 17, 2013, Bender was hired as an assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, under Larry Drew, of whom he was an assistant to at the Atlanta Hawks.

Head coaching record

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bender, Bob 1957 births Living people American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from Virginia Basketball players from Virginia Bloomington High School (Bloomington, Illinois) alumni College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball coaches Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Quantico, Virginia Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches San Diego Clippers draft picks Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area Washington Huskies men's basketball coaches Point guards