Bob Thomason brought his alma mater unprecedented success during his quarter century at the helm, leading them to 8 NCAA tournaments, the only Big West program since 1993 to advance to the second round of the NCAA tourney in consecutive seasons. Nine 20 win seasons, more Big West wins than any other coach (234), 414 wins at Pacific, 470 if you count his time as a player there. They also won 75% of the home games played at the Spanos center. But according to the Pacific press release he also has many wins off the court:
"His legacy is certain at Pacific, not only in the wins on the floor, but the wins off the court. Under Thomason's guidance, 96% of his student-athletes that have finished their eligibility at Pacific have earned their degrees. Pacific has a long history of its athletes achieving the highest GPAs in the Big West Conference -- with graduation rates and GPAs that often are much higher than the NCAA average. As Thomason has coached, recruited and driven the Pacific program for the last 24 years, he has posted four All-Americans (Michael Olowokandi, Miah Davis, David Doubley, Christian Maraker), a number one overall NBA draft pick (Olowokandi) and 59 All-Big West Conference awards."We will never see Bob Thomason in the WCC, but what he did for the program returned them to their original home and cemented their place in the future of College Basketball. Bob, you will be remembered.
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