Bucknell University Athletics
Alumni Chat with Men's Basketball's Kevin Bettencourt, Charles Lee, Pat Flannery
6/11/2020 1:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- We recently hit the 15th anniversary of one of the top moments in Bucknell Athletics history, the 2005 NCAA Tournament victory over Kansas. The 64-63 win over the Jayhawks in Oklahoma City was the first NCAA win in Bucknell and Patriot League history in the sport of men's basketball, and it was the crowning moment in the most successful era in program history. A year later, the Bison earned a top-25 national ranking for the first time, and they won yet another NCAA game, this time beating Arkansas as a No. 9 seed.Â
The co-captains of those great 2005 and 2006 teams were Bucknell Athletics Hall-of-Famers Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee, and they both have gone on to very successful coaching careers. Bettencourt returned to his home state of Massachusetts, and after successful stints as an assistant coach at Salem State (2007-08) and Bentley (2008-14), he took over as head coach at Endicott prior to the 2014-15 season. In his six years with the Gulls, Bettencourt's teams have posted 121-50 (.708) overall record and a 77-24 (.762) mark in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. His team's have made three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2017. This past season, Bettencourt was named CCC Coach of the Year for the second time.Â
Lee, the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year, was the final cut of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, and he went on to play professionally in Israel, Belgium and Germany. He entered the coaching ranks in 2012 when he returned to Bucknell as an assistant under head coach Dave Paulsen, and in year one he was part of a team that won a school-record 28 games and a Patriot League championship. In 2014, Lee moved into the NBA ranks as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks, and then in 2018 he followed head coach Mike Budenholzer to the Milwaukee Bucks. He was part of a team that had an NBA-best 53-12 record when play was halted in March, and recently Lee was cited in an ESPN.com article as one of the "hottest names on the NBA coaching market."Â
Hall-of-Famer Pat Flannery '80 was the architect of those landmark 2005 and 2006 teams. An outstanding point guard in his own right at Bucknell, Flannery guided the Bison to a 234-178 record as head coach from 1994-2008. Recently, Flannery joined Bettencourt, Lee and current Bison head coach Nathan Davis for a chat about those winning days in Lewisburg, as well as the current landscape of college and pro basketball.Â
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The co-captains of those great 2005 and 2006 teams were Bucknell Athletics Hall-of-Famers Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee, and they both have gone on to very successful coaching careers. Bettencourt returned to his home state of Massachusetts, and after successful stints as an assistant coach at Salem State (2007-08) and Bentley (2008-14), he took over as head coach at Endicott prior to the 2014-15 season. In his six years with the Gulls, Bettencourt's teams have posted 121-50 (.708) overall record and a 77-24 (.762) mark in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. His team's have made three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, including a run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2017. This past season, Bettencourt was named CCC Coach of the Year for the second time.Â
Lee, the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year, was the final cut of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, and he went on to play professionally in Israel, Belgium and Germany. He entered the coaching ranks in 2012 when he returned to Bucknell as an assistant under head coach Dave Paulsen, and in year one he was part of a team that won a school-record 28 games and a Patriot League championship. In 2014, Lee moved into the NBA ranks as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks, and then in 2018 he followed head coach Mike Budenholzer to the Milwaukee Bucks. He was part of a team that had an NBA-best 53-12 record when play was halted in March, and recently Lee was cited in an ESPN.com article as one of the "hottest names on the NBA coaching market."Â
Hall-of-Famer Pat Flannery '80 was the architect of those landmark 2005 and 2006 teams. An outstanding point guard in his own right at Bucknell, Flannery guided the Bison to a 234-178 record as head coach from 1994-2008. Recently, Flannery joined Bettencourt, Lee and current Bison head coach Nathan Davis for a chat about those winning days in Lewisburg, as well as the current landscape of college and pro basketball.Â
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