By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech men's basketball head coach John Pelphrey recently announced the addition of a new director of basketball operations for the Golden Eagle squad, with Stefan King joining the program for the 2022-23 campaign.
King comes to Cookeville after spending the past three years as a graduate assistant for head coach Darnell Archey at the University of Mobile.
"The addition of Stefan to our staff has been really good already," Pelphrey expressed. "This was another opportunity for us to go out and identify a good young coach and person to come in here and help us with the continuity of our coaching staff. We are so excited to finally get him here and up and running. He's already done a great job for us. He came highly recommended by [Tech assistant] Coach [Andrew] Steele, who worked closely with him at Troy. Coach Archey said nothing but great things about him in his time at Mobile and at that level, he had to do a lot. That's something that's important here because he will have an opportunity to do a lot. We needed someone that was willing to learn, grow, build relationships, and get along well with others, and that's what Coach Archey said he does well."
Over three seasons in Mobile, King helped develop two All-Southern States Athletic Conference First Team award winners, three members of the All-SSAC Second Team, three student-athletes named to the All-SSAC Freshman Team, an SSAC Defensive Player of the Year, and an SSAC Freshman of the Year.
"First, I just want to thank God for allowing me to be here," King expressed. "It's an amazing feeling and I think I'm still in a little bit of shock for the opportunity I've been blessed with. I'm excited to be here and learn under Coach Pelphrey. Coach, the staff, and the community all treated me well during the interview process, so I'm just glad to be here."
Throughout his stint with the Rams, his duties included player development, recruiting, on-court coaching, video and scouting reports, managing team meals and travel, serving as the team's academic advisor, and even stepping in as the acting head coach for a pair of ball games. He was selected to take part in the TopConnect Graduate Assistant Leadership Academy (GALA) during the summer of 2021, representing the only member from an NAIA program. TopConnect GALA, conceptualized and managed by Stanford University assistant men's basketball coach, Rob Ehsan, is an eight-week program focused on leadership and professional development.
"The curriculum they put those guys through at TopConnect is stringent," Pelphrey explained, "and Stefan came out of it with high regard."
King added, "being at the University of Mobile the past three years really helped me a lot. Coach Archey has really helped me along the way. Through different situations, he's helped guide me in the right direction. He's been a great mentor the past three years."
Prior to his arrival at Mobile, King served as an assistant coach for the varsity boys' basketball team at Luverne High School in Luverne, Ala. for the 2018-19 season. Among his responsibilities were assisting the head coach with implementing game plans in practice, participating in on-court-related drills, and breaking down opponent film.
During the summer semester of 2018, he completed an internship at Troy University, working for assistant coach Mike Worley. In that role, he assisted with distributing team gear, filing information in the ACS database, creating a graduate transfer recruiting database spanning more than 10 conferences, and scouting high school prospect film while also working with current Tech assistant coach Andrew Steele.
"Stefan is really hard-working and very loyal, which can be hard to find these days," Steele said. "He has experience in every aspect of running a program, so he'll be a great addition to our staff. I'm excited that he's joining us in the next part of his young coaching career and am looking forward to working alongside with him again."
King attended Troy from 2016-18 and worked for the Athletics ticket office in the fall of 2017 during the football and early portion of the men's and women's basketball season. He then took on a position as a student assistant basketball coach for the remainder of the 2017-18 season at Brantley High School in his hometown of Brantley, Ala.
A graduate of Brantley, King helped the Bulldogs win an AHSAA Class 1A State title in football and post a runner-up showing in the AHSAA Class 1A State championships in basketball in his junior season. As a senior, he guided the basketball team to the Regional finals, earning All-Regional Team honors.
"I'm really just looking forward to learning each day throughout the year," King said. "I'm ready to soak in anything I can from everyone on the coaching staff and the players as well. Coach Pelphrey is really big on leadership, professionalism, and academics, so I'm looking forward to adding value to the program anywhere I can."
King earned his associate's degree from Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in 2016 and followed it with a bachelor's degree in sport management from Troy in 2018, with a minor in global business. In 2022, he completed his master's degree in high education and leadership & policy at the University of Mobile, graduating at the top of his class with a 4.0 GPA.
"[Previous director of basketball operations] Justin [Coleman] also had a relationship with Stefan and helped make the decision to bring him on easier," Pelphrey added. "We are so appreciative and thankful for Justin for serving in this role last season. "He's a rising star in the coaching industry and we certainly wish him well at Tennessee. We have a tremendous amount of respect for [head] Coach [Rick] Barnes and the way he runs his program and takes care of people. We're happy for Justin to get that opportunity."