Eatman Joins Women's Basketball Staff
June 07, 2004 | Women's Basketball
June 7, 2004
Louisville, Ky. - Louisville, KY.-- Head coach Tom Collen announced the addition of Tim Eatman to his basketball staff today. Eatman, a former assistant coach at the University of Kansas, completes Collen's staff after spending his first season one assistant coach short. He has gained a reputation for being one of the top women's basketball recruiters in the country and was named Lindy's Top Young Recruiter in 1995.
"Tim will impact us immediately in recruiting," said Collen. "He has developed strong relationships with all the top club and high school coaches, as well as some of the top sophomores and juniors in the country.
"He is a tireless worker who loves the game and is dedicated to helping us build this program into a national power. We are really fortunate to add an assistant with Tim's experience to our staff. He has consistently been one of the Top 5 recruiters in the country over the past 10 years."
Eatman spent the last two seasons working for Marian Washington at Kansas before she retired this spring. Eatman rejoined the Jayhawk staff in 2002 after four seasons as a head coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
In his four seasons with the Flames, Eatman continued his reputation as a top recruiter by bringing in two Top 20 recruiting classes. In his second season at Illinois-Chicago, he guided a team with 10 newcomers to a nine game improvement that was the 16th best turnaround in the nation.
He first joined the Kansas staff in 1996 as the recruiting coordinator. Eatman was responsible for landing the No. 6 rated recruiting classes at Kansas in 1997 and 1998 and the No. 12 rated recruiting class in 2003. While at Kansas, the Jayhawks won the Big 12 Championship in 1997 and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1998.
Eatman joined the Kansas staff after brief stints at South Alabama and Iowa. He first gained recognition as an assistant at the University of Iowa under coach C. Vivian Stringer. It was at Iowa that he landed the top-rated recruiting class of 1994 that featured All-Americans Malikah Willis, Tiffany Gooden, Nadine Domond, Angela Hamblin, Shannon Perry, Timicha Kirby and 1998 Big Ten Player of the Year, Tangela Smith. While at Iowa, Eatman was hailed by Lindy's Magazine as the "top young recruiter in women's basketball."
Before heading to Iowa, Eatman served as an assistant coach for the University of Houston during the 1992-93 season. While at Houston, the Cougars' 1992 class was rated No. 4 in the country. He also served as an assistant coach at Mississippi State.
The Eutah, Ala. native joined the coaching ranks in 1988 as the head women's coach at his alma mater, Talladega, following a successful playing career there. He instantly turned around the program, posting a 16-13 record in his inaugural campaign. The season prior to his appointment, Talladega was 0-26. In 1989-90, Eatman guided the team to a 20-9 ledger.
A 1988 graduate of Talladega College (Ala.), Eatman earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry before receiving his master's degree in counseling from Jacksonville State.
