Braswell and Cal State Northridge Overcome Troubles to Win Big West Championship

Hardly any of you have ever heard of him, but Cal State Northridge coach Bobby Braswell is one of the true class acts in college basketball.

Braswell and the Matadors had to overcome an injury to a key player, as well as losing their leading scorer Deon Tresvant. Tresvant was arrested and charged with theft at an electronic store on New Year’s Day, and has been held by the school since then. Tresvant has a preliminary hearing on Monday.

So it was gratifying to see Braswell and the Matadors (17-13) defeat the University of the Pacific 71-66 in overtime late last night in Anaheim. The win gave them their first Big West Conference title and a trip to the NCAA’s.

I’ve watched Braswell since he was the head coach at Cleveland High School in Reseda, CA. He and the Cavaliers reached the Los Angeles City Section championship game twice with former NBA player Lucious Harris and former UCLA star Trevor Wilson. He has always been one of the nicer coaches I’ve had the chance to interview.

Braswell left Cleveland and jumped to Division I college basketball. He spent some time as an assistant coach at my alma mater Long Beach State from 1989-92. Later he was an assistant at Oregon before landing at Cal State Northridge, his alma mater, in 1996.

Congratulations coach on your first conference championship. Have a great time at the Big Dance.