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--> --> Player says Bender done at Washington Washington head coach Bob Bender yells from the sideline during the first half against Oregon. AP SEATTLE (AP) - Three straight losing seasons cost Washington basketball coach Bob Bender his job. A Huskies player, senior center David Dixon, told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that Bender told the team he is being released. Bender "was a good person and always there to help his team in the good and bad times," Dixon said. Jim Daves, UW sports information director, would say only that an announcement concerning the basketball program was planned for today. Neither Bender nor athletics director Barbara Hedges was reachable by phone Tuesday night. Both have unlisted numbers. "Any time a change like this comes about, I don't think anybody is really ready for it," senior Grant Leep said. "It's tough to deal with. Everything he's done these nine years, he's done with class. Everybody who's played for him has as much respect for him as you can have for anybody. "Whatever direction the program goes, they've lost a great coach and a great man." The Seattle Times reported today that associate head coach Byron Boudreaux and assistants Eric Hughes and Al Hairston also were released from their contracts. "I'm very disappointed," Brandon Roy, a highly recruited Garfield High School forward who signed a letter of letter of intent to enroll at Washington this fall, told The Times. "I was really looking forward to coming in and playing for Coach Bender." Bender, 44, had a 116-142 record in nine seasons coaching the Huskies, taking the team to the NCAA tournament in 1998 and '99. The Huskies reached the round of 16 in '98, the school's first NCAA bid since 1986 and first appearance in the round of 16 since 1984. Under Bender, the school made the postseason in four consecutive seasons - 1996-99 - something no other Washington coach has done. But Bender's recent teams struggled, and he was unable to attract marquee-type players until the addition of Doug Wrenn this season. The Huskies have relied mostly on local talent in past seasons, and Bender prided himself on that. The Huskies placed eighth in the Pac-10 this season to earn the conference's final tournament spot, but they lost in the first round to Oregon. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing