Former Division I stand-out, Iman Lathan, has been named the Graduate Assistant for the Royals and Head Coach of the Hope International Women’s Basketball Expansion Team.
Lathan, who most recently competed for the Butler University Bulldogs in their 2017-2018 season, will be joining the Royals family this summer and is set to begin classes in the fall. She will be working on a Master’s of Education. With her, she is bringing five years of Division I playing experience, including two seasons at the University of Nevada, two seasons at California State University, Fullerton, and one graduate season at Butler University. In addition, Lathan adds one year of certified strength, speed, and agility instructional training background of 200+ youth athletes in the Inland Empire since completing her last season.
When asked what brought her to Hope International, Lathan said she was nudged by a coach to apply and when she discovered the Christian element at HIU it was in perfect alignment with her values, “At this point in my life, its important that everything I do is purpose driven, and on a Christian campus its a constant reminder of my purpose and the real reason that I’m doing what I’m doing.” As far as her coaching goals, she wants to “develop and improve skills, win some games, and personally learn how to lead a team and manage a group of girls and learn how to communicate with them and see them grow as human beings at the end of the day.”
Lathan brings an array of academic and athletic success to the Royals athletes. Both freshman and sophomore seasons, she was named Academic All-Mountain West honoree. Also during her second season, Lathan led the Wolfpack in assists and was named on the All-Tournament Team at the Golden Nugget Classic.
While at CSUF, Lathan led the team and Big West Conference in scoring with 17 ppg and strung together 10 games in a row of scoring 20+ ppg. During her graduate season with the Butler Bulldogs, she played in all 32 games, making 29 starts.
Head Coach Beck Flanagan said “I am really excited to have Iman join our coaching staff at Hope International University as our new Graduate Assistant Coach! I know she will bring positive energy and a wealth of basketball experience to our program. She will oversee and run our second team, as well as assist with our main team. Her passion for training and skill development is going to impact all of our players tremendously, and they are lucky to work with and learn from her!”
