Jim Eyen life and biography

Jim Eyen is an assistant basketball coach for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA.

Entering his second season with the Kings as an assistant coach is Jim Eyen. An 20-year veteran NBA assistant coach, Eyen spent six seasons as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers before coming to Sacramento. With 30 years of coaching experience under his belt, Eyen originally began his career with the Clippers in 1988 when he served as an assistant coach under then head coach Don Casey. The following season, he moved to the Lakers, assisting Pat Riley and was retained when Mike Dunleavy was named Lakers' head coach in 1990. After three seasons with the Lakers, Eyen followed Dunleavy to Milwaukee, where he remained through 1996.

In 1997, Eyen again joined Dunleavy, only this time in Portland, where he worked as an assistant through the 2000-01 campaign. When Dunleavy was named head coach of the Clippers prior to the 2003-04 season, he again asked Eyen to join him as the team's lead assistant.

Eyen also served as acting head coach on April 12, 2005, guiding the Clippers to a 94-85 victory over the Utah Jazz at STAPLES Center while Dunleavy was away from the team for personal reasons.

Eyen began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Santa Barbara City College in 1979 where he helped lead the Vaqueros to the state tournament three consecutive years. In 1982, Eyen was named head coach of Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, Calif., and led his team to the 1984 CIF playoffs as well as coaching the county all-star team. Prior to joining the Clippers' bench in 1988, Eyen served as an assistant for his alma mater, the University of California at Santa Barbara for four seasons, helping the Gauchos earn their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.

PERSONAL:

Eyen's basketball interests also extend internationally. He has served as a consultant to clubs in the Netherlands, Germany and Japan, where in 1996 he worked with the Japanese National Team.

Eyen received a bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies from UCSB in 1979, where he also played basketball. He earned a master's degree in Education from Azusa Pacific University in 1984.

Eyen and his wife, Britt, have two children, Joe and Lena, and a dog, Willy aka Bob.

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