Bob Bender has joined the Grizzlies’ coaching staff, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The move completes the staff of new head coach David Fizdale, who was hired in May, Wojnarowski notes.
Bender served as a scout with the Nets last season after working as an assistant with the Bucks in 2013/14. He had spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant with the Hawks after joining the team in 2004. He broke into the NBA as an assistant with the Sixers during the 2002-03 season.
Prior to that, Bender was an accomplished college coach, working for nine seasons at Washington and four years at Illinois State and earning Pac 10 Coach of the Year honors in 1996. Bender played for Indiana’s national championship team in 1976 and later played at Duke.