Oregon Ducks Where Are They Now? – Part 1

We’re going to take a selected look at some of Oregon’s ex-head coaches. You may know what some of them are doing with their time these days, but what are others doing? Let’s revisit our exes:

Jody Runge

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Jody Runge was the polarizing coach of Oregon women’s basketball between 1993-2001. With a winning percentage of .694 in that period, she is still the winningest coach in Oregon women’s basketball history.

Runge was not able to break back into basketball coaching. She owned and operated a B&B in Portland by the name of A Painted Lady. The B&B appears to have run into problems due to the pandemic and was sold in 2023.

Bev Smith

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After ending her tenure coaching for her alma mater, Smith went in a twofold direction. She became the Executive Director at Kidsports in Eugene, with the option to spend time coaching the Canadian women’s basketball team. Smith was an assistant coach for the Canadian team from 2012-16. She is still with Kidsports as Executive Director and Managing Director of Civic Park.

Paul Westhead

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Paul Westhead was Kelly Graves’ predecessor from 2009-2013. He is now 86 years old and getting up there in his years. Westhead appears to have retired after his coaching stint with Ducks women’s basketball.

Ernie Kent

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We are all familiar with Ernie Kent and his legacy at Oregon. Kent was less successful at Washington State, with a .372 record in his five seasons with the Cougars.

Kent gravitated to being a broadcast college basketball analyst. He serves on both the NABC Executive Board and the Wooden Award’s Board of Governors. We are likely to see more of Kent in the broadcast booth – Fox Sports Net and CBS have both requested Kent’s services as a basketball analyst for television broadcasts.

Rich Brooks

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After coaching at Oregon, Brooks spent a couple of seasons with the St. Louis Rams before embarking on a second successful stint as a college head coach for Kentucky, from 2003 to 2009.

Brooks lives in Lane County again, is retired, and likes to fish. I mean, he REALLY likes to fish.

Brooks also likes to get his golf game in.

Hey, retirement is hard work, people.