ASA College-Manhattan Campus welcomes Dr. Jody King as the First Men's Basketball Head Coach in College History for its brand new NJCAA Division 3 Program.
"Coach King is a seasoned and successful New York area coach and recruiter. He has won at every level he has coached at and we are extremely happy to have him come on board as our First Head Coach of Men's Basketball" said ASA College Athletic Director, Kenney Wilcox. "His enthusiasm overall and specifically in recruiting will translate well with our excitement of starting our athletic department in our Manhattan campus."
Dr. King has spent over 24 years coaching basketball across several levels, most recently spending three years as the head coach at Mercy College an NCAA Division 2 Institution. At Mercy College, Dr. King resuscitated a program that was in great despair. In just year two of Dr. King's hire the program had the most wins since 1992-93 and the first East Coast Conference Tournament win ever. The program played the likes of Norfolk State, Notre Dame, and Wagner College (game that King scheduled) as it beat traditional powerhouses LIU Post and UDC. Academically, the team had a GPA of 3.1 in 2016-2017 across both semesters which are the highest Men's Basketball Team GPA in decades. Dr. King also finished second in ECC Coach of the Year Voting (2015-16).
Before Mercy, Dr. King was the Head Coach at Hostos Community College. He led the Caimans to back-to-back Top 10 national rankings and regular season conference titles, three consecutive Region XV Tournament appearances, and was named the CUNY Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in each of his last two seasons.
Dr. King's teams have ranked in the Top 10 in the country in points allowed per game and advanced to postseason play in 7 of his 9 years as a head coach. He has a total of 138 career wins across nine seasons, averaging 15.3 wins per season. Additionally, Coach King's programs have produced numerous graduates and numerous graduates that have gone on to have careers in Professional Basketball at each College, including, Jamal Webb from Maritime College, Tyree White from Hostos College, and Tyseem Lyles from Mercy College to name a few of the many.
"I am truly thankful to Mr. Wilcox and the ASA family. Their belief has been unwavering and their recognition of my coaching success is humbling. "When asked about building a new program, Dr. King stated, "This will be another incredible journey. My experience across many levels will help in building ASA College-Manhattan into a National Powerhouse."
Dr. King earned his Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Yeshiva University in 2007. He also completed his Master's degree in general psychology at Yeshiva and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from New York University in 1998. He is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and has been involved with Coaches vs. Cancer since 2008.