Former Kentucky Wesleyan College Basketball Coach Bob Daniels, who won back-to-back NCAA Division II Championships in 1968 and 1969 with a 28-3 and a 25-5 records respectfully, has passed away at age 86.
He posted a five-year record of 110-36 for a 75.3 winning percentage. Daniels also guided the Panthers to a fourth-place finish in the 1971 NCAA Championship where he earned National Association of Basketball Coach of the Year honors.
Daniels served as an assistant for KWC for four seasons that included the 1966 NCAA Championship team and the 1967 NCAA Third Place team.
Following KWC, he became head coach at Marshall University for four season, compiling a 71-62 record and a trip to the NIT.
Daniels played at Western Kentucky and started all three-years in basketball and baseball from 1954 to 1957. He finished with 1,010 points and a sixth-best 964 rebounds on the court for head coach Ed Diddle.
The NBA Cincinnati Royals drafted him with the first pick in the Eighth Round in 1957.
Daniels also pitched for the Hilltoppers for four seasons. He continued his career for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for three years before suffering a career-ending shoulder injury.
Western Kentucky inducted the native of Tudor Key, Ky., into their Hilltopper Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007 for both sports.
