Former BG Men's Basketball Coach John Weinert passed away last Thursday at the age of 83.
Weinert is probably not as well known as he should be among Falcon faithful. He took BG to the finals of the MAC tournament twice...which as far as I can see is one more than anyone else has. Only 3 coaches since Harold Anderson have left BG with a .500 records after multiple seasons, and his winning % is better than Dakich's and slightly worse than Larranaga's, but with two regular season titles compared to Larranaga, Dakich and Orr with only 1.
He made the NIT twice and was MAC Coach of the Year Once.
In other words, you could argue he was BG's most successful coach since Harold Anderson left. In 1963.
He had some great players. The Faine (corrected) brothers, David Jenkins, Duane Grey, David Greer, Colin Irish, Keith Taylor. And there were some very good teams in there.
One of the biggest disappointments in my BG fandom was the night BG lost the MAC Championship at home to Ohio U. (BG also lost the CCHA Hockey Championship that night after failing to convert a penalty shot in OT). That was the best chance BG had to make the big dance since the end of the Fitch year. That game (and night) ranks up there with the fat punter game in terms of just soul-crushing disappointment.
Weinert had a trademark that was very annoying to opponents. He took his sport coach off during games, and when he thought he had the game clinched he put his jacket back on. The fans would chant COAT COAT COAT. It was the kind of thing you loved and everyone else hated.
Rest in Peace, Coach, with your sport coat on.
Nicely said!
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