Longtime SPU coach, Sonics assistant Habegger dies at 92
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Herald news services
SEATTLE — Les Habegger, who built Seattle Pacific University into a regional men’s basketball power during a two-decade tenure at the school, died Thursday morning in Spokane at the age of 92.
Habegger, who started at then-Seattle Pacific College as an assistant to Ken Foreman in 1956, took over as head coach the following season when Foreman left.
By the time Habegger stepped down in 1974, he had a record of 267-170. That win total is still more than any other men’s basketball coach in school history.
“The way he approached coaching was with a passion that was pretty much unmatched in those days,” said Don DeHart, who played for Habegger and the Falcons from 1970-74. “He wanted to prepare his players not just for the next game, but for life.”
Habegger’s Falcons played in six NCAA tournaments, and his 1965 squad went all the way to the Elite Eight.
After more than 20 years at the school, Habegger went across town to join the Seattle SuperSonics in 1977 as the assistant to newly hired head coach Bob Hopkins. That combination lasted just 22 games, as Hopkins was fired after the Sonics got off to a 5-17 start. Lenny Wilkens took over as head coach, and kept Habegger as his assistant.
Together, they guided Seattle into back-to-back NBA Finals against the Washington Bullets, losing in seven games in 1978, but winning in five the following year.
