Position Assistant coach League NBA Name Don Zierden | Nationality American Role Basketball Coach Coaching career 1984–present | |
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High school DeLaSalle (Minneapolis, Minnesota) | ||
20th Annual Coach Z Hoop Camp
Donald Casper "Don" Zierden, Jr. is an assistant basketball coach for the Washington Wizards. From 2007 to 2009, Zierden served as the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA.
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Early life and education
Zierden, a Minneapolis native, graduated from DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis and later from Mount Senario College in Ladysmith, Wisconsin in 1981.
Coaching career
He returned to DeLaSalle High in 1984 to become head varsity basketball coach and led DeLaSalle to the Minnesota Class A title in his first season. In two seasons at DeLaSalle, Zierden had a 61–14 record as head coach.
In 1986, Zierden moved to the collegiate ranks to be an assistant coach at the University of Tulsa under J. D. Barnett. After two seasons at Tulsa, Zierden left coaching to work at a steel company. Zierden returned to coaching in 1990, as he became head coach for the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association. In four seasons, Zierden had a 139–85 record, including the 1992 CBA championship. In the 1994–95 season, Zierden became head coach of the Pittsburgh Piranhas of the CBA, leading the team to a 27–29 record and CBA Finals appearance.
Zierden got his first NBA job in 1999 as video coordinator for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he would be promoted to assistant coach the following year and remain for five seasons on the staffs of Flip Saunders (replaced by interim coach Kevin McHale in early 2005). From 2005 to 2007, Zierden was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons.
Zierden became the Minnesota Lynx's fifth head coach on December 13, 2006, replacing Carolyn Jenkins, who remained on the staff as an assistant.
In 2007, Zierden's Lynx began the season 0–7, lost 10 straight in July and failed to get into the playoff race. They finished tied with a league worst 10–24 record.
On June 2, 2009, Zierden resigned as head coach of the Lynx. He is recognized as a major influence in the rebuilding of the team. They would go on to win a title in 2011 and lose in the championship game in 2012.
He accepted an assistant coaching job under Flip Saunders in Washington in 2009.
Zierden has two children, a daughter (Rachel) and a son (Isaiah). His son Isaiah plays college basketball for the nationally ranked Creighton Bluejays in Omaha, Nebraska. His daughter is very good in math and science.