Colgate’s Bruen Dies at Age 48

Six days after coaching Colgate to a victory, Coach Jack Bruen, surrounded by his wife and children, died at his home in Hamilton, N.Y., on Friday after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 48.

Bruen’s feisty and animated style had made him one of the school’s most admired and successful coaches. Not even his battle with cancer could sideline him from doing what he loved to do: coach. His final victory came against Marist last Saturday.

Before Bruen’s arrival in 1989, Colgate had endured 14 consecutive losing seasons. Bruen led the Red Raiders to a share of three Patriot League championships and their first NCAA tournaments in 1995 and 1996 while compiling a 109-124 record.

His 1992-93 squad won a school record 18 games and he was twice named the league’s coach of the year. His biggest star, Adonal Foyle, was the No. 8 pick in last year’s NBA draft, the school’s first first-round player.

“Rarely has a coach transformed a program the way Jack Bruen transformed Colgate basketball,” university president Neil R. Grabois said.

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North Carolina State freshman Ron Anderson will sit out at least eight weeks after breaking a bone in his right foot, the fourth such injury for a Wolfpack player this season.