Legendary former Three Rivers basketball coach Gene Bess has passed at the age of 91. Bess was the only coach from the junior college ranks to earn a spot in the Naismith Hall of Fame, as he spent 50 years coaching the Raiders. Bess’s teams captured national championships in 1979 and 1992, and he leaves behind a strong legacy of former players that he developed into becoming men while also leaving a major impact on the city of Poplar Bluff as a whole.
Advertisement
