Don King (1997) - Hall of Fame

Don King

Induction:
1997
Class:
1951

Though he never actually played intercollegiate basketball as a Panther, Don King spent countless hours in the old fieldhouse, now known as the West Gym, practicing the skills he eventually would pass on to thousands of high school boys. At the time of his induction he owned the most wins of any UNI alumnus to coach Iowa high school boys basketball, with a career record of 537-352.

He graduated with a B.A. in physical education in 1951, and then began his journey down the coaching path that would last for the next 42 years. King began his coaching career at Hayfield (Iowa) High School, spending 1951 to 1953 there. He moved on to Lisbon (Iowa) High School during the years of 1953-56, and then left the state for a year for Robbinsdale (Minn.) High School in 1956-57. He returned to Iowa by way of Nevada High School (1957-62), a school that eventually induct him into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

In 1962, King left Nevada for Cedar Rapids and the collegiate coaching ranks at Coe College, where he led the Kohawks from 1962 to 1966. The final stop of his coaching career began in 1966 at Cedar Rapids Washington High School, where he was named Mississippi Valley Conference Coach of the Year four times, His third year at Washington was a magical one for King, as his team captured the 1969 state title, began a run of 40 consecutive wins, and was named District Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.

As a head coach, King led eight different teams to the state tournament, claiming two third-place finishes in 1978 and 1980. In all, his teams captured eight conference championships, 15 district championships, eight sub-state championships, and 21 consecutive first division finishes in the Mississippi Valley Conference. He also received 12 Coach of the Year awards. Of the players that King coached, 20 were named all-state players and four were high school all-Americans. Eighty of his former players joined the collegiate playing ranks, with one participating in the National Invitational Tournament, one drafted to the NBA, and two playing in the Australian league.

In addition to the Nevada High School Hall of Fame, King has been inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Cedar Rapids Washington High School Hall of Fame. He has written several publications including, "The Shortcut Rotation Zone Offense," published in 1965 in the Athletic Journal; "Attacking the Zone Defense," published in 1980 in the NABC Bulletin; and "To Play College Basketball-The Basic Stuff," published in 1991 in the Courtside and NABC Bulletin.

King is a graduate of Geneseo Consolidated High School in Buckingham, Iowa.