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Following up on a rumor that HoopDirt.com posted earlier this week (Loyola Chicago Dirt)…Loyola University Chicago head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser has announced the hiring of Bennie Seltzer as an assistant coach. Seltzer brings 18 full years of collegiate coaching experience with him to Rogers Park and most recently served as the Director of Player Performance at Indiana.
“I am very excited to add Bennie to my staff,” said Moser. “I have known him for years, since we were both assistant coaches in the Big 12, and to bring in someone with his experience level will certainly help our program. Bennie has been around many successful teams, coaches and players. He was a Hall of Fame player in the Pac-12 and he will be someone that our student-athletes can learn from and take advantage of his experiences.”
“My family and I are thrilled to become part of the Loyola basketball program,” said Seltzer. “I have enjoyed watching Coach Moser build programs throughout his career and love his energy and passion. I cannot wait to get around the team and start working with the guys and the coaching staff.”
Seltzer began his coaching career in 1997, serving as an assistant coach for nine seasons under Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma. The Sooners averaged 25 wins per season during his time in Norman and made eight NCAA Tournament trips, including runs to the Sweet 16 (1999), Elite Eight (2003) and Final Four (2002).
Seltzer then moved to Marquette in 2006, spending a pair of seasons on Tom Crean’s coaching staff. The Golden Eagles made the NCAA Tournament in both seasons and Seltzer followed Crean to Indiana, where he was an assistant coach for four years. While in Bloomington, Seltzer was instrumental in recruiting some top-level talent to help the Hoosiers’ rebuilding project, bringing in Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford among others as part of a group that would form the foundation of IU’s 2012-13 squad that spent 10 weeks ranked No. 1 in the national poll and earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
In 2012, Seltzer returned to his hometown of Birmingham, Ala. and was named the head coach at Samford University. He unquestionably raised the talent level during his two seasons there, seeing Tim Williams (2013) and Isaiah Williams (2014) earn Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors, while Williams matured into a First Team All-SoCon pick his sophomore year.
After his departure from Samford, Seltzer returned to Bloomington in Jan., 2015 and served as Crean’s Director of Player Performance for the last six months.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Seltzer was one of four court coaches for USA Basketball’s national team trials in July, 2004, conducting drills, coaching scrimmages and developing players for the group vying for spots on the 2004 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team. The eventual 12-man team went on to win the gold medal, winning all five of its games.
Seltzer entered the coaching profession after a successful playing career that began at Washington State and took him overseas upon graduation. He capped his WSU career by earning First Team All-Pac 10 honors as a senior and is still the school’s all-time leader in assists while ranking sixth in scoring and steals and second in three-pointers made. In honor of his standout career, Seltzer was inducted into the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Hall of Honor this past March. After leaving Pullman, Seltzer embarked on a four-year professional career that took him to Turkey, Venezuela, Poland and Holland.
He and his wife, DicQues, have two sons; Diamond (21) – who is a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps – and Bennie III (14).
“Bennie brings a ton of energy to the gym every day,” continued Moser. “I love high-energy coaches and he has a strong reputation in the profession as a worker and a guy who has a positive outlook all the time.”
http://www.loyolaramblers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/082715aaa.html
