Jason Rabedeaux
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Jason Rabedeaux (April 4, 1965 – September 22, 2014) was an American
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
coach who served as the head coach of the
UTEP Miners The UTEP Miners is the name given to the sports teams of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They are informally referred to as the Miners, UTEP, or Texas–El Paso. UTEP was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1967 to 2005, ...
from 1999 to 2002. Rabedeaux was also a top assistant at
Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
and
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
prior to becoming UTEP's head coach.


Early life

Rabedeaux was born in
Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. It is located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River west of Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, second-most populous city in Illinois, with a popul ...
, and moved to
Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...
when he was seven. Rabedeaux attended Eau Claire Memorial High School, playing basketball,
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
and
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
; he
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
ed the Old Abes to the state semifinals in his senior year, while earning All-State in basketball and baseball. He was a walk on at the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
, and was named all-conference twice. He ended his UC Davis career with 1,112 points, 15th-most in school history. He holds the school record for the three-pointers in a season (80), most three-pointers in a game (six) and most free throws in a game (14). In 1995, he was inducted into the UC Davis Aggies Athletics Hall of Fame. Rabedeaux held a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology, and at Washington State in 1991, earned a master's degree in athletic administration.


Coaching career

Upon finishing his college career, Rabedeaux spent a season as an assistant coach with North Adams State College, then joined
Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
, working with
Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Dale Sampson (born October 5, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the University of Houston of the Big 12 Conference. Early life Sampson was born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, to parents who were m ...
as a graduate assistant (1989–1991) and eventually assistant coach (1992–1994). When Sampson went to
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, Rabedeaux followed him, working as an assistant coach. With Rabedeaux, the Sooners averaged 20.6 wins over five years, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament each year, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 1999. Rabedeaux, who had served as recruiting director with North Adams, Washington State and Oklahoma, established himself as one of the top recruiters in the nation. Two of his recruits, Nate Erdmann and
Corey Brewer Corey Wayne Brewer (born March 5, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player who serves as an assistant coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, winning back-to-back NCAA national c ...
, were later drafted by the
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...
and
Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
in 1997 and 1998 respectively. Rabedeaux's recruiting also extended into Mexico, with recruit
Eduardo Nájera Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez () (born July 11, 1976) is a Mexican former professional basketball player who is currently a scout for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a pregame and postgame analyst o ...
becoming a 2000
Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The Wooden Award program consists of the men's and women's player of the year awards, the Legends of Coaching Award, and rec ...
candidate. On September 10, 1999, Rabedeaux was hired by
UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...
to replace Hall of Fame coach
Don Haskins Donald Lee Haskins (March 14, 1930 – September 7, 2008), nicknamed "The Bear", was an American basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for three years under coach Henry Iba at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University). He ...
. In his first year, the Miners, with a lack of depth, finished 13–15, six of their losses being by less than three points; the Miners also swept the
New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999 ...
for the first time in 14 years, and won at the Lobos' home arena, The Pit, the first such win for the Miners in nine seasons. In 2000, the Miners improved to 23–9 with a 10–6 record against conference opponents, while also qualifying for the NIT for the first time in six years. The team ranked seventh in the country in points per game with a school-best 80.3, while leading the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...
in scoring with 22.3 points per game. UTEP also finished seventh in field goal percentage (.492), 14th in free throw percentage (.753) and 17th in scoring offense. At the end of the year, he was named the WAC Coach of the Year by the ''
Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
'' and ''
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...
''. However, in 2002, UTEP struggled, finishing 10–22. Despite receiving a contract extension through 2007, on October 21, he announced his resignation due to "personal reasons". In 2004, Rabedeaux was hired by
Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
as a coach at Marquette. In 2007, he became the school's Director of Basketball Operations. In 2008, he joined the
Jiangsu Dragons Jiangsu Dragons Kentier (), also known as Jiangsu Dragons or Jiangsu Kentier, are a Chinese professional basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association, based in Nanjing, Jiangsu. History In the 2004–05 seaso ...
of the
Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...
, coaching until 2010, when he was suspended for a year after being involved in a
bench-clearing brawl A bench-clearing brawl is a form of fighting that occurs in sports, most notably baseball and ice hockey, where most or all players on both teams leave their Dugout (baseball), dugouts, bullpens, or benches, and charge onto the playing area in or ...
during a playoff game. He later became head coach of the
Japan Basketball League The Japan Basketball League (JBL) was a professional basketball league in Japan. It made up the top-tier of basketball in Japan alongside the bj league, Japan's other basketball competition, with no promotion and relegation between bj and the J ...
's
Link Tochigi Brex Utsunomiya Brex is a Japanese professional basketball team based in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. After winning the JBL 2 in 2008, the team played in the National Basketball League. Previous team names include: Tochigi Brex and Link Tochigi Brex. ...
. However, the team, who had been the league's defending champions, went 8–12, and Rabedeaux was fired in December 2010. In 2011, he was hired by the Al-Manama of the Bahrain Premier League, winning the Bahrain Cup and Bahrain Super Cup, though much of his players left the team to join the army due to an
uprising Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
. In late 2011, Rabedeaux was hired by the
Saigon Heat The Saigon Heat is a Vietnamese professional basketball team based in Ho Chi Minh City. Since the 2014 season, the Heat's home games are played at the CIS Arena on the campus of the Canadian International School in District 7. This is the fi ...
of the ASEAN Basketball League as an assistant coach under Robert Newson. After seven consecutive losses, Newson was demoted, and on February 23, Rabedeaux was promoted to head coach. During his tenure with the Heat, he coached in China to earn more money. His final game with the Heat was a 72–61 win over the
Indonesia Warriors The Indonesia Warriors was an Indonesian professional basketball team that last competed in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). Based in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Warriors replaced Satria Muda BritAma as Indonesia's representative in ABL. On 19 ...
.


Personal life and death

Rabedeaux and his ex-wife Stephanie had two sons, Beau and Cole, and a daughter, Riley. Beginning during the final year of his coaching career at UTEP, Rabedeaux struggled with alcoholism; former assistant Bobby Champagne recalled Rabedeaux missing a flight to meet with a recruit because he was drunk at a nearby bar. After his divorce, Rabedeaux began gaining a significant amount of weight, reaching as high as . In
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, Rabedeaux met Hong-Nhung Nguyen, nicknamed Eva by foreigners, and the two began a relationship, with plans to marry and return to the United States. After Rabedeaux returned from a trip to Wisconsin, his behavior, which included becoming increasingly hostile and smelling of alcohol, attracted the attention of Heat owner
Connor Nguyen Connor may refer to the following: People * Connor (given name), list of people with this name * Connor (surname) * Harriet Connor Brown (1872–1962), American writer and women's rights activist Places and jurisdictions * Connor, County Ant ...
, who warned him that should he cause another incident, he would be fired. Nguyen had hired
Tony Garbelotto Anthony Garbelotto (born 2 January 1969) is an English basketball coach who coaches RANS Simba Bogor of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). Coaching career Garbelotto started his coaching career with hometown club London Towers in 1992, ...
as an assistant and potential interim coach. During games, he appeared to be unstable and dizzy; during his final game against the Warriors, he attempted to draw a play, but was unable to, and Garbelotto had to explain the play. The day after the game, Rabedeaux was found by Eva in the kitchen with cuts on his arms and head, and died while in a local taxicab. His death certificate listed the reason of death as a traumatic brain injury.
Toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...
reports revealed that Rabedeaux had been sober at the time of his death. Rabedeaux's funeral was held at the Congregational United Church of Christ in Eau Claire, with Sampson delivering the
eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...
.


Head coaching record

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Link Tochigi Brex Utsunomiya Brex is a Japanese professional basketball team based in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. After winning the JBL 2 in 2008, the team played in the National Basketball League. Previous team names include: Tochigi Brex and Link Tochigi Brex. ...
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabedeaux, Jason 1965 births 2014 deaths American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Vietnam American men's basketball coaches ASEAN Basketball League coaches Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players from Wisconsin College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball coaches Basketball players from Aurora, Illinois Sportspeople from Eau Claire, Wisconsin University of California, Davis alumni UTEP Miners men's basketball coaches Utsunomiya Brex coaches Washington State Cougars men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen