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Image credit: National Sculptors' Guild
Created and Sold by JK Designs and the National Sculptors' Guild
Gene Bess Portrait by Gary Alsum, NSG - Public Sculptures
Featured In Libla Family Sports Complex, Poplar Bluff, MO
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Handmade
Woman Owned
Made In USA
Made To Order
National Sculptors' Guild Fellow Gary Alsum installed his Gene Bess portrait at Three Rivers College in February 2023. You can find the sculpture on the entry plaza of the Libla Family Sports Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri
The Life-Sized bronze depicts the coach with basketball in hand wearing his familiar suit and tie.
We are very proud to be part of honoring Coach Bess and hope the presence of the sculpture at Three Rivers College brings continued good fortune to the basketball team's success.
Coach Bess won a record 1,300 wins in 50 seasons as Three Rivers head coach while teaching two classes a semester, and serving as the Three Rivers Athletic Director throughout his career. At least 42 former players for Bess have gone on to coach all over the country.
He became college basketball’s all-time wins leader in 2001 when he surpassed North Carolina’s Dean Smith and Richard Baldwin of Broome Community College. He was the first college basketball coach to reach 1,000 wins in 2006, the first with 1,100 wins four seasons later, and 1,200 in 2015. His 1,300th win came in what ended up being his final home game on a court named in his honor. Coach Bess finished with a career record of 1,300-416, won national championships in 1979 and 1992, coached in four national title games, appeared in 17 national tournaments, won 23 region championships, and is a member of four halls of fame. NSG Public Art Placement #544
The dedication was a huge success, we especially love seeing the real Gene Bess with the sculpture. Gary really enjoyed spending time with the real Gene Bess too. What a great individual to commemorate. Special thanks to the school for lending a hand, and creating a beautiful inscribed base for the bronze.
The Life-Sized bronze depicts the coach with basketball in hand wearing his familiar suit and tie.
We are very proud to be part of honoring Coach Bess and hope the presence of the sculpture at Three Rivers College brings continued good fortune to the basketball team's success.
Coach Bess won a record 1,300 wins in 50 seasons as Three Rivers head coach while teaching two classes a semester, and serving as the Three Rivers Athletic Director throughout his career. At least 42 former players for Bess have gone on to coach all over the country.
He became college basketball’s all-time wins leader in 2001 when he surpassed North Carolina’s Dean Smith and Richard Baldwin of Broome Community College. He was the first college basketball coach to reach 1,000 wins in 2006, the first with 1,100 wins four seasons later, and 1,200 in 2015. His 1,300th win came in what ended up being his final home game on a court named in his honor. Coach Bess finished with a career record of 1,300-416, won national championships in 1979 and 1992, coached in four national title games, appeared in 17 national tournaments, won 23 region championships, and is a member of four halls of fame. NSG Public Art Placement #544
The dedication was a huge success, we especially love seeing the real Gene Bess with the sculpture. Gary really enjoyed spending time with the real Gene Bess too. What a great individual to commemorate. Special thanks to the school for lending a hand, and creating a beautiful inscribed base for the bronze.
Item Gene Bess Portrait by Gary Alsum, NSG
Created by JK Designs and the National Sculptors' Guild