Jason Rabedeaux died today unexpectedly at the very young age of 49. He was coaching a professional team in Vietnam.

Sad news - wasn't he the man who replaced Don Haskins?

I saw that earlier. Pretty surprising to hear to say the least.

Yeah, he succeeded Coach Haskins in 1999. He started out pretty well and we went to the NIT in 2001. But, we had a terrible year in 2001-2002 and he had to resign due to personal issues right before the 2002-2003 season.

May he rest in peace. Wow, that video was just a few weeks ago.

Very sorry to hear about that.

I hate to speak ill of the recently departed, but he put on a lot of weight since his UTEP days. Probably played a part in what happened.

(09-23-2014 07:34 PM)STexMiner Wrote:  I hate to speak ill of the recently departed, but he put on a lot of weight since his UTEP days. Probably played a part in what happened.

You can also hear him breathing heavily while just sitting there talking.

I really liked him.. Sad to hear this happened.

Very sad news. Prayers for his family.

(09-23-2014 07:34 PM)STexMiner Wrote:  I hate to speak ill of the recently departed, but he put on a lot of weight since his UTEP days. Probably played a part in what happened.

While I too had noticed that Coach Rab had gained a lot of weight since his UTEP coaching days, original reports are that he suffered an accident, that he had fallen.

(09-24-2014 03:21 PM)Proud El Pasoan Wrote:  

(09-23-2014 07:34 PM)STexMiner Wrote:  I hate to speak ill of the recently departed, but he put on a lot of weight since his UTEP days. Probably played a part in what happened.

While I too had noticed that Coach Rab had gained a lot of weight since his UTEP coaching days, original reports are that he suffered an accident, that he had fallen.

Yeah, I heard that. I just kind of find it hard to believe that an erstwhile healthy 49 year old man just fell and died. Unless he was on a ladder or slipped on a banana peel and hit his head on the counter just right. I'd guess he probably had a heart attack and had fallen by the time the ambulance arrived. But, what do I know. In the larger scheme, it's neither here not there.

I really liked him, but the cards were stacked against him when he arrived. Having to replace a legend is never easy. He did gain a lot of weight after he left UTEP.

(09-24-2014 07:43 PM)STexMiner Wrote:  

(09-24-2014 03:21 PM)Proud El Pasoan Wrote:  

(09-23-2014 07:34 PM)STexMiner Wrote:  I hate to speak ill of the recently departed, but he put on a lot of weight since his UTEP days. Probably played a part in what happened.

While I too had noticed that Coach Rab had gained a lot of weight since his UTEP coaching days, original reports are that he suffered an accident, that he had fallen.

Yeah, I heard that. I just kind of find it hard to believe that an erstwhile healthy 49 year old man just fell and died. Unless he was on a ladder or slipped on a banana peel and hit his head on the counter just right. I'd guess he probably had a heart attack and had fallen by the time the ambulance arrived. But, what do I know. In the larger scheme, it's neither here not there.

Agreed, in the larger scheme, it is neither here nor there. None of us know the details of the accident. There are a lot of different types of accidents that could have occurred where his weight did not play a factor. Most do not include a banana peel. There really isn't a need to focus so much on his weight at this point.

Wasn't a bad coach. Turned the program around in 2 or 3 years as I recall. Unfortunately, the off the court stuff probably did him in.

Pretty sad article on Rabs.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/...ns-mystery

Rabedeaux? Irish?

His Vietnamese team was pretty competitve in the south east asia leauge. He/his team created a great buzz about basketball overthere. He passed away during the play off if I remember correctly. It was a very sad moment.

(04-08-2015 10:11 AM)STexMiner Wrote:  Pretty sad article on Rabs.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/...ns-mystery

Wow, that was a well-crafted and gripping story. Say what you will about E!SPN, but they have people on staff who can really get you to the heart of the matter in a jarring and intense way.

Drinking effectively killed him, then stopping dealt the final blow.

*whistles*

Unfortunately, many of the UTEP basketball coaches reportedly had drinking problems. It must be a very stressful job.

(04-08-2015 03:46 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  Unfortunately, many of the UTEP basketball coaches reportedly had drinking problems. It must be a very stressful job.

As a Cajun fan, when Floyd coached UNO, he drove me to drink. Just sayin.

(04-08-2015 03:53 PM)CajunFanatico Wrote:  

(04-08-2015 03:46 PM)Fitbud Wrote:  Unfortunately, many of the UTEP basketball coaches reportedly had drinking problems. It must be a very stressful job.

As a Cajun fan, when Floyd coached UNO, he drove me to drink. Just sayin.

I was a huge fan of Floyd back then. I remember he had a kid named "Irving Johnson" that made it to the NBA.

If it makes you feel better, Floyd is making many Miner fans drink nowadays.