Joe Behling came to Belmont as a walk-on with only one year of high school basketball under his belt He left as arguably one of the greatest players in Belmont history.
Behling became the first Belmont student-athlete to be named NAIA All-American three times (1988, 1989, 1990). In 1989, Behling was named NAIA National Player of the year, as he scored an astonishing 1,071 points – including a program-record 58 points against Lipscomb Mar. 4 – in leading Belmont to its first NAIA National Tournament. Behling is the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,823 points; his 31.5 points per game scoring average in 1989 and program record for field goals made (1,163) may never be approached.
He shot 65 percent from the field for his career and is one of only four Bruins ever to make over 200 free throws in a season.
In April 1990, Behling had his No. 54 retired, just the second Belmont men’s basketball jersey to be retired.
Behling played professionally in Argentina, France and the CBA.
He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2003.