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Gene Bess, college basketball coach with most wins, dies at 91
Gene Bess, who recorded 1,300 wins at Three Rivers junior college, died Friday morning at age 91. His son Brian announced the death in a Facebook post and said funeral arrangements are pending.
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Gene Bess, the college basketball coach credited with the most career wins in the sport, died Friday at age 91. Bess coached at Three Rivers junior college from 1971 until 2020. During that span he recorded 1,300 victories and guided the Raiders to two NJCAA national titles.
Career and honors A Missouri native, Bess also served one season as an assistant at Three Rivers after earlier high-school coaching stints at Lesterville, Anniston and Oran. He coached future NBA player Latrell Sprewell for two seasons at Three Rivers before Sprewell transferred to Alabama and was selected in the first round of the 1992 NBA draft.
In 2023 Bess was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. During a pre-recorded acceptance speech he thanked his wife Nelda, his son Brian, who assisted him for 27 years, and more than 400 players he coached. Bess is survived by his wife Nelda, children Jannell and Brian, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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