The January Asqew Grill the Coach is men's basketball coach Ben Braun. Now in his 12th season directing the Golden Bears, Braun has led Cal to the NCAA Tournament five times and to a pair of berth in the National Invitation Tournament, winning the title in 1999. With more than 540 career victories, including over 200 at Cal, he ranks 10th among all active coaches in wins. The 1997 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Braun has mentored a pair of Pac-10 Players of the Year - Ed Gray in 1997 and Sean Lampley in 2001 - as well as 2004 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Leon Powe.

What do you enjoy most about being a head coach?

I enjoy the same aspects of coaching that apply to teaching. I enjoy teaching. I enjoy the opportunity and the challenge to teach and coach young players, to see their improvement and grasp concepts, work hard, improve and refine their skills. When I go back to when I was a player, I respected the teachers and the coaches that pushed me and helped me get to another level. They helped inspire me.

Why did you decide to become a coach?

For those similar reasons. I respected the coaches in my life who not only helped me become a better player, but a tougher, more mentally-focused person. That was an inspiration to me. When I was younger, I was still working summers and weekends coaching younger guys. I used to work in programs as a coach when I was still playing in high school. I enjoyed that challenge.

Who have been the biggest influences in your career?

My high school coaches in basketball. John Schneider (at New Tier HS in Illinois) was a specific influence in my coaching. I was able to learn a lot about the fundamentals of the game. Coach Schneider was big on fundamentals, playing hard and playing with effort. Good, basic things. It wasn't so much the technical as it was the challenge of becoming fundamentally sound and being mentally tougher than your opponent. He retired not long ago with almost 800 wins. He practiced what he preached.

What do you enjoy most about Cal and the Bay Area?

We have so many great supporters. We have an intelligent fan base. A number of the faculty and staff happen to be big supporters. They are very knowledgeable. I'm impressed with that. I enjoy the environment. Cal's a great learning environment, a great growing environment. Cal has an atmosphere that encourages growth and opportunity and diversity. I enjoy all those things ... not to mention the great restaurants! Cal is a large part of the attractiveness of the Bay Area. There is a great enthusiasm and appreciation of what athletics is all about. It's winning the right way, appreciating effort and sportsmanship and character. Those things are really important to Cal.

What are some of the things that players have taught you over the years?

I'm always learning as a coach. As I say to my players, you never know as much as you need to know. Each player will always teach me something different. What might work with one player might not work with another. You have to show more patience with some players. You have to be more positive with others. Other players you can challenge a little harder. Whether it's listening or observing, you have to pay attention to the small things. It might be something a player says, or it might me something a player doesn't say. You have to pay attention because that's how you ultimately reach players. I've learned over the years that players want to please you. They want to do their best. They just don't know how to go about doing it. My job is to find a way, and that's not easy. To get across and to build a relationship, you have to know each player.

What would you say your proudest moments have been as a coach?

I don't know that I have a proudest moment. I've appreciated the teams that have, obviously, gone to the tournaments and had success at Cal. Those are all proud moments to take our team to successive tournaments. Those are accomplishments. But I don't think they're better any more than to see players who have gone through our program and graduated. To see those players have their degree or pursue their degree and come back as better people, as successful people either in business or with their families, those are proud moments. A player might have struggled while he was playing, but look at what he's done? He's come back, he's there for the program, he's raising a family, he's working successfully.

Another would be when we've had some teams that have been challenged due to injury or illness or surgery. Those teams' spirit and dedication never wavered. Even though those teams' records may have been .500 or a little below, they gave as much as they could give. I was proud of those teams. Beating an Oregon and beating a UCLA last year, knocking off North Carolina when they were nationally ranked and we were in our first year back from probation (in 1998-99). Those types of things, when you've face adversity, you might have been a little understaffed or undermanned, but you persevered and played through the adversity.

The other proud moments have been when our fans have been there to help us enjoy and celebrate victories, whether over a ranked opponent or over a rival. I really appreciate the fans when they come out to see a player play in his last game. Anything we can do to share our success with our fans, those are proud moments. To be able to do that on your home floor, to make them a part of what you're doing, that becomes a special moment, too.

Also our coaches, who have dedicated a significant portion of their lives. They helped put our program on the map and fight back the challenges we had when we first got here. To see those coaches come to Cal, work their tails off, dedicate fully to Cal and get opportunities to go out and built their own programs and become head coaches. I'm certainly proud of those coaches who have had success as a result of their experiences at Cal. That's a big joy of coaching.