Dalon King enters his seventh overall season and second as an assistant coach of the Cleveland State men’s basketball team.
In his first season as an assistant, King helped with bringing in an entire new team in his first year, aiding the Vikings to an 11-22 overall record and a 6-14 mark in Horizon League games. King assisted in three players receiving Horizon League honors with two special awards: Chevalier Emery (Sixth Man of the Year) and Tre Beard (Sportsmanship Award). Dayan Nessah was named to the All-League Third Team.
In year one, the team set season records in three-pointers made (357), three-pointers attempted (953), and free throw percentage (.753). The Vikings also finished with the fourth most points in a season (2,633) and on the fourth most field goals made (965) and attempted (2,136). Shooting from beyond the arc was a big factor, tying the game record (16) on four occasions before breaking it with 17 against Oakland inside Woodling Gymnasium.
Off the court, the Green and White had the highest GPA in the department for men’s sports with a 3.62 GPA. Ten players were named to the Dean’s List while the entire team had a GPA above a 3.00.
King returns to Cleveland State after spending three seasons working under Coach Gates at the University of Missouri. He served his first two seasons as Coordinator of Scouting and Analytics before moving into the Director of Basketball Operations role. In his time with the Tigers, King was part of two NCAA Tournament appearances.
King’s first stint with the Vikings spanned from 2018-22 with the final three seasons under Coach Gates. King served as a manager and graduate assistant before being elevated to Assistant Director of Basketball Operations in his final season. He helped the Vikings to the 2021 Horizon League title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
King earned his bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State in history in 2019 and went on to earn a master’s degree in sports management from CSU in 2021. He is joined in Cleveland by his girlfriend Toni Zeigler.
