Ben was a two-time All-CIF selection and two-time League MVP at Cerritos HS after starting at Dos Pueblos. He then played two years for Santa Barbara City College, going to the 1978 JC State title game before transferring to Weber State. The 6-2 guard led WSU to two straight Big Sky titles and was team MVP both seasons. He finished playing professionally in Uruguay. He has a master’s degree from Gonzaga. He started coaching as an assistant at UC Santa Barbara for Jerry Pimm, then head coach at Northern Arizona where he won the Big Sky championship, then at Pittsburgh where he won two Big East conference titles and twice went to the ‘Sweet 16’. He was hired by AD Dan Guerrero to resurrect the UCLA program where he led the Bruins to three straight NCAA Final Four trips from 2006-08, including playing in the title game in 2006. He finished second in all-time Bruin wins over 10 years to John Wooden (233). He then made NCAA history at Mississippi State becoming one of the few coaches to ever guide four teams to ‘March Madness’. He left after the 2022 season. He won 533 games in his 26-year head coaching career.