Chaminade University Director of Athletics Bill Villa announced that Arthur “Art” King has been hired as women’s basketball head coach.
King is no stranger to Chaminade having served as an assistant coach for the Silverswords men’s hoops team the past five seasons. With his assistance, the ‘Swords enjoyed three winning campaigns, each which resulted in Pacific West Conference Tournament berths. They also made two appearances in the NCAA West Regional.
He is also an alumnus of Chaminade, playing under legendary coach Merv Lopes. During the 1987-88 season, King led the ‘Swords in both scoring and rebounding at 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting at a 60.9 percent clip from the field.
King also has head coaching experience on the high school level on O’ahu. He was the head coach for both the boys and girls teams at Le Jardin Academy in Kailua from 2003-09 as well serving as the boys head coach at Christian Academy in Honolulu from 2009-11.
“I’m honored to have been selected for this position,” King said. “Having seen the ladies play while I was with the men’s team, they have a lot of talent, are competitors and are driven. I really look forward to meeting them and getting started in the fall.”
“This position created a lot of interest nationwide and we interviewed some very talented coaches,” Villa said. “In the end, Art surfaced as our leading candidate. He totally understands the culture, philosophy and mission at Chaminade having been a student-athlete and assistant men’s basketball coach.
“As a high school girls basketball coach, Art developed the talent on his team and built a team chemistry that had them achieve beyond expectations. It’s an old cliché but Art has worked very hard, been very patient and loyal and has paid his dues. He is very deserving of this opportunity and I believe he will be successful.”
King becomes the fourth head coach in the 12-year history of Chaminade women’s basketball.
