Oct. 8, 1997
ASU Appoints Lanny Van Eman as Assistant Basketball Coach
TEMPE, Ariz. --The Arizona State University men's basketball program has appointed Phoenix resident Lanny Van Eman as assistant coach for the 1997-98 season.
"Lanny's background in the game and everything surrounding athletics is extraordinary," said Don Newman, Men's Basketball Coach at Arizona State. "He has tremendous local ties and brings to this program all positives. He has experience in a lot of different arenas and his attributes as coach and as a professional are outstanding. We look forward to having him as a member of the Arizona State community."
Van Eman, 57 and a native of McKeesport, Pa., began his coaching career at his alma mater, Wichita State, under legendary coach Ralph Miller. Van Eman followed Miller to the University of Iowa, serving as assistant coach for six years, before taking the head coaching job in 1970 at Arkansas. Van Eman was named the Southwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1973 after leading Arkansas to its best record in 16 years.
Following his coaching reign at Arkansas in 1974, Van Eman held assistant coaching positions with Western Kentucky and West Virginia, before reuniting with Miller at Oregon State, from 1980-88. With Oregon State, Van Eman coached several future NBA players, including Gary Payton, Steve Johnson and A.C. Green. After serving on the Celtics staff in 1988-89 and 1989-90, Van Eman was named head coach of Cai Zaragoza, Spain, leading the team to the European Recopa Cup Finals in Switzerland.
In 1993, Van Eman was named director of the Office of Sports Development for the Arizona Department of Commerce. As director, Van Eman worked to attract sporting events to Arizona, served as executive director of the Arizona Baseball Commission and worked on efforts to expand the Cactus League. Van Eman also served as a western scout for the Orlando Magic while working in Arizona. He was an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks in 1996-97.
A 1962 graduate of Wichita State and a Wichita State Hall of Fame inductee, Van Eman served as team captain for two of the four years he started under Miller and was named team Most Valuable Player and All-Missouri Valley in 1961 and 1962. Van Eman also started for three years on the WSU baseball team, earning team Most Valuable Player honors in 1960 and 1961 and was an all-conference selection in 1961.
Before beginning his coaching career, Van Eman was selected in the third round of the NBA Draft by the Syracuse Nationals. He also played one season in the New York Yankees organization and also was drafted by the Milwaukee Braves, but opted to pursue a coaching career.
Van Eman earned his master's degree in history and psychology from Wichita State and an education specialist degree in higher education from Western Kentucky.
Van Eman grew up in the western Pennsylvania town of McKeesport and graduated from McKeesport High School and where he was an integral part of his high school basketball team's state championship. He was a first-team all-state pick in his senior year and a three-year starter on a team that went 77-6 in that time. He was also a four-year starter on the baseball team that won a state championship and played two years of football.
Van Eman, a noted speaker in the Phoenix community, also had a coaching stint with the Boston Celtics and was Director of Coaches and Officials for the Nike Desert Classic. He has extensive coaching experience on the international level, coaching in such locales as South America, Puerto Rico, Spain, Japan and China. A private pilot, Van Eman has logged more than 350 flying hours and also has taught on the collegiate level at the physical education departments of Western Kentucky and Wichita State.