Konkol Adds Yaphett King to Tulsa Basketball Coaching Staff

TULSA, Okla. –– The University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coach Eric Konkol added a familiar face to his basketball staff with the appointment of Yaphett King to fill the final assistant coaching position for the Golden Hurricane. King served as an assistant coach under Konkol for three seasons at Louisiana Tech.

King spent the past three years as an assistant coach at SMU. He joined the Mustangs after his three seasons (2016-19) at LA Tech, where he was a part of two 20-win seasons with the Bulldogs.

"I'm thrilled to be working with Yaphett again. He was with us for three years at Louisiana Tech and did a remarkable job. He's an exceptional coach and mentor of young men. Yaphett has the unique ability to become friends with anybody he comes across," said Konkol.

In his three seasons at SMU, the Mustangs went 54-26 with a 38-5 record at Moody Coliseum. In that span, the SMU recorded three AP top-20 wins, won the 2019-20 Southwestern Showdown Championship, made the NIT in 2021 and 2022, had seven All-American Athletic Conference selections, and Kendric Davis was named AAC Player of the Year (2021-22).

At Louisiana Tech, the team registered two 20-win seasons with a high of 23 victories. His time with the Bulldogs included winning the 2017-18 Cancun Challenge and the New Orleans Shootout. Five players earned C-USA postseason awards during his time in Ruston.

King also has ties to Oklahoma as he played and coached at Redlands Community College.

"Yaphett has a lot of experience in Oklahoma having played and coached at Redlands Community College and also having recruited the state while coaching at other schools," Konkol said. "He has really deep contacts in the state of Oklahoma and Texas, as well as other places. Yaphett is also a tremendous coach. He served as interim coach at SMU for some games and was the head coach Redlands as well.

"More than all that, he's a great person. I'm very excited that he and his family have joined us at Tulsa."

Prior to Louisiana Tech, King was an assistant coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for four seasons (2012-16). The team improved dramatically during his time, winning 20 games in 2014-15 and 25 games in 2015-16. The Islanders earned a CIT bid in each of his last three seasons.

Prior to joining the Islanders, King spent four years (2008-12) as the head coach at Redlands 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.

King started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Redlands in 2006-07, when the team went 31-2 en route to the regional final.

The following year (2007-08) he joined Cowley College as an assistant coach, assisting the team to a 31-2 overall mark and an appearance in the regional championship game.

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.

He went on to play professionally in Austria for two years.

King is a native of St. Petersburg, Florida. He and his wife, Charlena, a native of Oklahoma City, have two children, Caydance and Yarrah.

Year              School Position
2006-07         Redlands College                   Assistant Coach
2007-08         Cowley College Assistant Coach
2008-12         Redlands College                   Head Coach
2012-16         Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Assistant Coach
2016-19         Louisiana Tech Assistant Coach
2019-22         SMU Assistant Coach

Konkol Adds Yaphett King to Tulsa Basketball Coaching Staff

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