Louisiana Tech head coach Eric Konkol announced that Yaphett King will be joining the men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach.
King comes to LA Tech after recently serving four years as an assistant coach at Texas A&M—Corpus Christi.
“Yaphett King is a talented coach and skilled recruiter with an energetic personality,” Konkol said. “He has tremendous experiences as a player, junior college head coach and has been an integral part of building successful programs.
Yaphett is a relentless recruiter with ties to this region and our recruiting areas. Our student-athletes will benefit from his genuine interest in their development and his ability to help them become their best. We are very happy to welcome Yaphett and his family to the Ruston community and to Louisiana Tech University.”
While at A&M–Corpus Christi, King played a key role in turning the Islanders program around. The team posted a 12-win improvement from 2012-13 to 2013-14, the third most improved program in the nation.
The Islanders went from finishing ninth in the Southland Conference to finishing second and making a postseason appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. They followed that up with a 20-win season and another berth in the CIT.
“I would like to thank coach Eric Konkol for giving me the opportunity to work here at Louisiana Tech University which has a proud basketball tradition,” King said. “Coach Konkol is an outstanding person of great integrity and character. I look forward to helping him execute his vision of bringing championships to Ruston.”
This past season, the program had one of its most successful years in school history. A&M-Corpus Christi registered 25 victories, the second most in program history, while also reaching the league championship game for the first time since 2007. The Islanders ended up making the postseason for the third straight season, a first in school history.
Part of the A&M-Corpus Christi’s success stemmed from King being instrumental in landing and developing forward Rashawn Thomas who was Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year and named to the Lou Henson Mid-Major All-America team this past season after averaging 16.6 points and a league-best 8.0 boards per game. He also finished with a school record 75 blocks.
Prior to joining the Islanders, King spent four years as head coach at Redlands Community College where he led the squad to 72 wins during his tenure, highlighted by a 21-win season and a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament in 2010-11.
On the court, King was an All-American as a freshman at Redlands in 2001-02 while leading the team to the NJCAA Division II national title.
He went on to play at Cal State Fullerton where he helped the Titans to postseason play for the first time in 15 years, advancing to the Round of 16 in the National Invitation Tournament.
After playing professionally in Austria for two years, King returned to Redlands as an assistant coach in 2007. Redlands finished the season as regional runner-ups with a 31-2 overall record. Seven players went on to attend Division I programs.
The following year he joined Cowley College as an assistant coach, assisting the team to a 31-2 overall mark in route to an appearance in the regional championship game.
King is a native of St. Petersburg, Florida. He and his wife, Charlena, have a daughter, Caydance.
The hiring of Yaphett King is subject to final approval from the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.
