Slam Head Coach Amaya Joins WWU Coaching Staff
September 7, 2015 - International Basketball League (IBL)
Bellingham Slam News Release
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Bellingham Slam head coach Tyler Amaya, who guided the team to its third straight International Basketball League championship in 2014 with dual roles both on court and on the sideline, has been selected to join the Western Washington University men's basketball team coaching staff for the upcoming 2015-16 season.
The move was announced by Vikings head coach Tony Dominguez, who is heading into his fourth season leading the men's program at WWU. Amaya will serve as a graduate assistant coach under Dominguez.
Amaya, who accepted the Slam's head coaching job following Rob Ridnour's resignation prior to the start of the 2014 season, previously served as an assistant coach at Skagit Valley College and also as an assistant to Ridnour during the Slam's 2013 IBL championship season.
Amaya compiled a record of 15-3 as head coach for the Slam in 2014. He played an instrumental role in helping Bellingham to the IBL title that year, taking on a role of player-coach as the squad faced a depleted roster late in the season. On the court, he averaged 20 points and 7 rebounds per game and posted a perfect 7-0 record in games in which he suited up. In the championship game versus the Vancouver Volcanoes, he scored 28 points and dished out 6 assists as the Slam took their third straight championship in dominant fashion on the Volcanoes home court.
With the 2014 title win, Amaya became the first person in United States minor league basketball history to win championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Intertwined in a globe-trotting career that saw him play professionally in nine countries overseas, Amaya competed in parts of five seasons with the Slam, winning his first IBL championship as a player in 2008.
The Vikings men's basketball team will tip off their 2015-16 season with an exhibition game against Team Another Level on October 25.
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International Basketball League Stories from September 7, 2015
- Slam Head Coach Amaya Joins WWU Coaching Staff - Bellingham Slam
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