Jeff Bzdelik Introduced as Head Men' Basketball Coach
5/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Air Force Academy introduced Jeff Bzdelik as head coach of the men's basketball team Monday at a press conference at the Academy's Hall of Excellence. Bzdelik (buzz-DEL-ik), who was officially hired on May 18, replaces Chris Mooney, who left the Academy to accept the head coaching job at the University of Richmond.
Bzdelik, the sixth head coach in Air Force history and the third in three seasons, brings 28 years of coaching experience to Air Force, including three as an NBA head coach and 12 as an NBA assistant.
"We're very excited about having Jeff lead the men's basketball team here at the Academy," Air Force Director of Athletics Dr. Hans Mueh said. "What a great fit for us! He brings a wealth of experience at the highest levels of basketball and has a proven record. His teams have always played like successful Air Force teams do, hard, aggressive and with passion. Jeff is also committed to academics and has an understanding of the military and what our mission at the Academy is about. He'll be a great leader for our young people."
The Falcons posted their second-best season in school history last year with an 18-12 record and a third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference. Air Force returns four of its five starters and its top five scorers from the 2004-05 squad.
"I'm honored and very excited to be named the head coach at the Air Force Academy," Bzdelik said.
Bzdelik most recently served as head coach of the Denver Nuggets for two and a half seasons. He was named head coach in August of 2002 after spending one year as a scout for the Nuggets. Bzdelik engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history during his second season in 2003-04, leading the Nuggets to the playoffs for the first time since 1994-95 while posting a 43-39 record. The 26-game improvement over the previous year is the sixth-best improvement in NBA history. Bzdelik also became the first coach in league history (since the adoption of an 82-game schedule) to guide a team to the playoffs the year after winning less than 20 games.
In his first season, Bzdelik earned NBA-wide praise for Denver's competitiveness, work ethic and never-give-up attitude. Despite having the youngest team in franchise history, Bzdelik's team shattered the franchise record for scoring defense by more than 5.0 points per game, giving up only 92.4 per outing. In addition, the Nuggets led the league in turnovers forced (17.1 per game) and had six of the top 12 marks for single-season scoring defense.
From 1995-01, Bzdelik was an assistant coach under Pat Riley in Miami, holding the title of Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting during the final two years. With the Heat, he was responsible for the preparation of all game plans, video coordination and statistical data as well as player development. In 2000, he was recognized by USA Today as one of the NBA's top five assistant coaches. In the 1998 Pro Basketball issue of Sports Illustrated, he was voted as the NBA's best advance scout by league general managers.
Prior to his tenure with the Heat, Bzdelik spent the 1994-95 season as the lead scout for Riley and the New York Knicks. He also served as an assistant coach with the then Washington Bullets from 1988-94 and was Wes Unseld's first assistant in '93-94. In addition, he coached the Bullets summer league team in 1988 and 1994.
The Illinois native began his coaching career in 1978 at Davidson (N.C.) College. In 1980, he was named as an assistant coach at Northwestern University where he spent six seasons and was instrumental in the Wildcats' first NIT appearance in school history. He then took the head coaching position at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County for two years. During the 1986-87 season at UMBC, his squad was cited by The Sporting News as "One of College's Biggest Turnarounds," in the school's inaugural season in Division I. After going just 11-44 the previous two seasons as a Division II program before Bzdelik's arrival, UMBC went 12-16 in his first year and 13-15 in '87-88 in Division I. His teams excelled in the classroom as well, posting a 2.86 grade point average during his tenure. The team had a 2.02 GPA the previous two years.
A 1976 graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. Bzdelik earned four varsity letters in basketball at UIC and was named team MVP as a senior in '75-76. He still holds the school record for the best free-throw percentage in one season, shooting 88 percent (59-67) from the line in '75-76. Bzdelik also spent six years in the Army National Guard during the early to mid 1970s.
Bzdelik, 52, and his wife, Nina, have two children, Brett and Courtney.
Jeff Bzdelik's Coaching Experience
College --
1978-80 Assistant Coach, Davidson (N.C.) College
1980-86 Assistant Coach, Northwestern University
1986-88 Head Coach, Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County
NBA --
1988-94 Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets
1994-95 Scout, New York Knicks
1995-2001 Assistant Coach / Director of Scouting, Miami Heat
2001-02 Scout, Denver Nuggets
2002-04 Head Coach, Denver Nuggets
Quotes about Bzdelik
The following quotes were about Bzdelik while he coached the Denver Nuggets from 2002-04.
Doug Collins, former Washington Wizards head coach
"I think one of the best coaching jobs being done this season is by Jeff Bzdelik. His team plays hard every night. They are prepared; they compete."
Doc Rivers, former Orlando Magic head coach
"(Denver) plays awfully hard. Jeff (Bzdelik) has done an amazing job. They play with great passion and heart."
Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz head coach
"Denver has played great all year long. They have done a good job trying to get guys to play hard. This is one of those things that is pretty difficult to do."
Flip Saunders, former Minnesota T-Wolves head coach
"They play hard. They're pesky. They're into you. They're physical. A lot of times they upset your execution. Denver is a team we don't like to play. They don't let you play like you want to."
Bzdelik, the sixth head coach in Air Force history and the third in three seasons, brings 28 years of coaching experience to Air Force, including three as an NBA head coach and 12 as an NBA assistant.
"We're very excited about having Jeff lead the men's basketball team here at the Academy," Air Force Director of Athletics Dr. Hans Mueh said. "What a great fit for us! He brings a wealth of experience at the highest levels of basketball and has a proven record. His teams have always played like successful Air Force teams do, hard, aggressive and with passion. Jeff is also committed to academics and has an understanding of the military and what our mission at the Academy is about. He'll be a great leader for our young people."
The Falcons posted their second-best season in school history last year with an 18-12 record and a third-place finish in the Mountain West Conference. Air Force returns four of its five starters and its top five scorers from the 2004-05 squad.
"I'm honored and very excited to be named the head coach at the Air Force Academy," Bzdelik said.
Bzdelik most recently served as head coach of the Denver Nuggets for two and a half seasons. He was named head coach in August of 2002 after spending one year as a scout for the Nuggets. Bzdelik engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history during his second season in 2003-04, leading the Nuggets to the playoffs for the first time since 1994-95 while posting a 43-39 record. The 26-game improvement over the previous year is the sixth-best improvement in NBA history. Bzdelik also became the first coach in league history (since the adoption of an 82-game schedule) to guide a team to the playoffs the year after winning less than 20 games.
In his first season, Bzdelik earned NBA-wide praise for Denver's competitiveness, work ethic and never-give-up attitude. Despite having the youngest team in franchise history, Bzdelik's team shattered the franchise record for scoring defense by more than 5.0 points per game, giving up only 92.4 per outing. In addition, the Nuggets led the league in turnovers forced (17.1 per game) and had six of the top 12 marks for single-season scoring defense.
From 1995-01, Bzdelik was an assistant coach under Pat Riley in Miami, holding the title of Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting during the final two years. With the Heat, he was responsible for the preparation of all game plans, video coordination and statistical data as well as player development. In 2000, he was recognized by USA Today as one of the NBA's top five assistant coaches. In the 1998 Pro Basketball issue of Sports Illustrated, he was voted as the NBA's best advance scout by league general managers.
Prior to his tenure with the Heat, Bzdelik spent the 1994-95 season as the lead scout for Riley and the New York Knicks. He also served as an assistant coach with the then Washington Bullets from 1988-94 and was Wes Unseld's first assistant in '93-94. In addition, he coached the Bullets summer league team in 1988 and 1994.
The Illinois native began his coaching career in 1978 at Davidson (N.C.) College. In 1980, he was named as an assistant coach at Northwestern University where he spent six seasons and was instrumental in the Wildcats' first NIT appearance in school history. He then took the head coaching position at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County for two years. During the 1986-87 season at UMBC, his squad was cited by The Sporting News as "One of College's Biggest Turnarounds," in the school's inaugural season in Division I. After going just 11-44 the previous two seasons as a Division II program before Bzdelik's arrival, UMBC went 12-16 in his first year and 13-15 in '87-88 in Division I. His teams excelled in the classroom as well, posting a 2.86 grade point average during his tenure. The team had a 2.02 GPA the previous two years.
A 1976 graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education. Bzdelik earned four varsity letters in basketball at UIC and was named team MVP as a senior in '75-76. He still holds the school record for the best free-throw percentage in one season, shooting 88 percent (59-67) from the line in '75-76. Bzdelik also spent six years in the Army National Guard during the early to mid 1970s.
Bzdelik, 52, and his wife, Nina, have two children, Brett and Courtney.
Jeff Bzdelik's Coaching Experience
College --
1978-80 Assistant Coach, Davidson (N.C.) College
1980-86 Assistant Coach, Northwestern University
1986-88 Head Coach, Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County
NBA --
1988-94 Assistant Coach, Washington Bullets
1994-95 Scout, New York Knicks
1995-2001 Assistant Coach / Director of Scouting, Miami Heat
2001-02 Scout, Denver Nuggets
2002-04 Head Coach, Denver Nuggets
Quotes about Bzdelik
The following quotes were about Bzdelik while he coached the Denver Nuggets from 2002-04.
Doug Collins, former Washington Wizards head coach
"I think one of the best coaching jobs being done this season is by Jeff Bzdelik. His team plays hard every night. They are prepared; they compete."
Doc Rivers, former Orlando Magic head coach
"(Denver) plays awfully hard. Jeff (Bzdelik) has done an amazing job. They play with great passion and heart."
Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz head coach
"Denver has played great all year long. They have done a good job trying to get guys to play hard. This is one of those things that is pretty difficult to do."
Flip Saunders, former Minnesota T-Wolves head coach
"They play hard. They're pesky. They're into you. They're physical. A lot of times they upset your execution. Denver is a team we don't like to play. They don't let you play like you want to."
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