ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Eddie Biedenbach celebrated a milestone birthday in August. The winningest coach in Big South Conference men’s basketball history is now 80. That’s hard to believe and even harder when you talk to him. He hasn’t slowed down too much. Eddie is still Eddie.
Biedenbach was the head coach at UNC Asheville for 17 years, taking the program to heights it had never seen. UNCA had never won a regular-season Big South championship until Biedenbach. By the time he was finished, the Bulldogs had won five of them. UNCA had never gone to the NCAA Tournament, and Biedenbach took the Bulldogs three times. The Big South had never won a postseason basketball game until Biedenbach led the Bulldogs to a win over Texas Southern in 2003.
And the players Biedenbach brought into the program. People laughed when he took a chance on a 7-7 center named Kenny George from Chicago. Not too many opponents were laughing during the 2007-08 season when George led the nation in field goal percentage and was ranked nationally in blocked shots. Asheville went 24-10 that season and won another Big South regular-season title.
There was a 6-0 power forward named John Williams from Raleigh who was a tremendous leaper. Williams helped the Bulldogs win a regular-season title as a freshman in 2008 and then a tournament championship in 2011. His six blocked shots in a Big South title game are still a record. He is among the Big South all-time leaders in rebounds and blocked shots. And, oh, could he dunk. Williams was the first Bulldogs player ever to be selected to the Slam-Dunk contest at the Final Four in Houston. He finished second in the contest despite not missing a dunk.
Biedenbach is in the UNC Asheville Athletics Hall of Fame and the Big South Conference Hall of Fame. Additionally, Biedenbach is in the Western North Carolina Hall of Fame along with the North Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.
Biedenbach’s family celebrated his birthday in August with an amazing celebration at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh. There were friends from his hometown of Pittsburgh, North Carolina. North Carolina State players he coached, including Tom Burleson and David Thompson, were there, along with former Bulldogs players, college basketball officials (believe it or not!!) and former assistant coaches who became successful head coaches.
The roll call was impressive as Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes came from Knoxville, former Davidson mentor Bob McKilliop, and former Denver Nuggets head coach Jeff Bzdelik. Nick McDevitt, who played for Eddie, coached under Eddie and succeeded Eddie came from Middle Tennessee State. Brett Carey, who played for Biedenbach at Asheville and later served as an assistant coach during two Bulldogs championships, made it in from Charlotte, where he is in his first year.
They all came to honor Biedenbach, who did so much for UNCA besides winning basketball games and graduating impressive student-athletes. There was no bigger supporter of the Bulldogs athletic teams than Biedenbach. Whether he was leading the crowd in doing the Macarena at a UNCA baseball game or getting on an official at a volleyball or women’s basketball game or giving up his locker room for a soccer opponent to accommodate the Bulldogs soccer team.
And fundraising. Biedenbach was front and center in everything the Bulldog Athletic Club was trying to do. He did his part and then some and routinely played several guaranteed games that didn’t help the win-loss record but helped the department’s bottom line.
I got to work with Biedenbach closely for his entire 17-year career at Asheville. I have loads of stories, but there are a few I’d like to share to show you what he meant to other people, not just folks at UNCA.
When UNCA was going to the semifinals of the 2003 Big South Tournament in Lynchburg to face top-seeded Winthrop, I got an email from the Radford official scorer at that time, Gordon Peters. Peters was coming down to keep the book for Radford in the second game of the semi-final when it would face Liberty. He wanted to know if he could keep the scorebook for us.
“If it helps Eddie, I want to be there to help him,” Peters told me in his email.
I told him we would love to have him help us. Peters later told me how Biedenbach was always kind to the clock crew and him whenever Asheville would play at Radford. That can’t be said for all visiting coaches. When UNCA beat Winthrop on Alex Kragel’s last-second shot in overtime, Peters was almost as excited as we all were.
Whenever UNCA played at Liberty, we would also try and practice the day before at the Vines Center. And more than a few times, I would see Liberty volleyball coach at the time, Shane Pinder, watching our practice. Pinder wasn’t scouting for Liberty basketball.
“I love watching Coach Biedenbach conduct practice. I may coach a different sport, but you can always learn from someone like Coach Biedenbach, and I always do. I appreciate him letting me watch his team practice. You can see why his teams are always so good because they are so well-coached.”
Biedenbach may be 80 now, but he keeps up with the Bulldogs from his home in Wilmington. He’s known to call Coach Morrell and give advice and observations. He was there in Raleigh earlier this year when the Bulldogs almost upset N.C. State.
He hopes to come to homecoming with his lovely and patient wife Barbara next month. I sure hope he does. Biedenbach has done a lot for UNCA over the years and just having him in the building will be exciting.