Paying Their Dues: Sanchez Became Bench Boss After 22 Years as Assistant
April 26th, 2018 - 6:22
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 San Diego State's head coach last season? Exercising patience to the max, Charlotte's Ron Sanchez joined the following list of 10 active bench bosses toiling more than 20 seasons as a college aide:
| Active Head Coach (Years as Aide) | Current School | 20-Season-Plus 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. |
| Ron Sanchez (22) | Charlotte | SUNY Oneonta from 1996-97 through 1998-99, SUNY Delhi in 1999-00 and 2000-01, Indiana in 2001-02 and 2002-03, Washington State from 2003-04 through 2008-09 and Virginia from 2009-10 through 2017-18. |
| 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. |
| Mike Hopkins (21) | Washington | Syracuse from 1996-97 through 2016-17. |