Eric Atkins
{{short description|American professional basketball player|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Eric Atkins
| image = Eric Atkins (2015).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Atkins playing for Notre Dame in 2014
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 180
| league = Coastal Athletic Association
| team = Towson Tigers
| position = Assistant coach
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|12|14}}
| birth_place = Greenwich, Connecticut
| nationality = American
| high_school = Mount Saint Joseph
(Baltimore, Maryland)
| college = Notre Dame (2010–2014)
| draft_year = 2014
| career_start = 2014
| career_end = 2016
| career_position = Point guard
| career_number = 4, 9
| coach_start = 2019
| years1 = 2014–2015
| team1 = KAOD
| years2 = 2016
| team2 = Erie BayHawks
| cyears1 = 2016–2019
| cteam1 = Notre Dame (video coordinator)
| cyears2 = 2019–2020
| cteam2 = Howard (men's asst.)
| cyears3 = 2021–2022
| cteam3 = George Washington (men's asst.)
| cyears4 = 2022–2024
| cteam4 = Wisconsin Herd (asst.)
| cyears5 = 2024–present
| cteam5 = Towson (women's asst.)
| highlights=
- Third-team All-ACC – Coaches (2014)
}}
Eric William Atkins (born December 14, 1991) is an American professional basketball coach and former player currently working as an assistant coach for the Towson Tigers women's basketball team. He played college basketball for Notre Dame where he served as a video coordinator after his playing career, later working as an assistant at Howard.{{cite web|title=George Washington bio|url=https://gwsports.com/news/2021/1/21/mens-basketball-welcomes-eric-atkins-as-assistant-coach.aspx|accessdate=January 24, 2021|work=gwsports.com}}
He played professionally in Greece and last played for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.
High school career
Atkins attended Mount Saint Joseph where as a four-year starter, he helped lead his teams to a combined record of 106–30 throughout his career, earning several awards in the process, including the Baltimore Catholic League MVP twice, being named to the BCL all-conference team three times and being named to the All-Baltimore Metro squad three consecutive years by the Baltimore Sun. As a senior, he averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals while leading the team to a 28–3 record and the BCL regular season crown (the second while he was at Mount Saint Joseph).{{cite web|title=Notre Dame bio|url=http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/atkins_eric00.html|accessdate=October 25, 2015|work=UND.com}}
College career
After graduating, Atkins joined Notre Dame where he played in 133 contests, starting 105 while averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 assists, finishing his career 18th in school history in scoring list and third in assists. As a senior, he averaged 13.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 37.8 minutes.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/jazz/news/jazz-sign-eric-atkins-claim-phil-pressey-waivers|title=Jazz Sign Eric Atkins; Claim Phil Pressey Off Waivers|work=NBA.com|date=October 25, 2015|accessdate=October 25, 2015}}
Professional career
On August 6, 2014, Atkins signed with Greek team KAOD for the 2014–15 season.{{cite web|title=KAO Dramas lands rookie Eric Atkins|url=http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/greece/130425/kao-dramas-lands-rookie-eric-atkins.html|accessdate=October 25, 2015|work=Sportando.com|date=August 6, 2014}} In 26 games for KAOD, he averaged 7.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 23.4 minutes of action.
On July 27, 2015, Atkins moved to Hungary, signing with Falco KC Szombathely.{{cite web|title=Eric Atkins a Falco irányítója|url=http://falcokc.nyugat.hu/tartalom/cikk/eric_atkins_falco_iranyito|accessdate=October 25, 2015|work=falcokc.nyugat.hu|date=July 27, 2015|language=Hungarian}} He averaged 14 points and five assists per game during preseason,{{cite web|first=Tom|last=Nole|url=http://www.ndinsider.com/basketball/mens/utah-jazz-sign-former-notre-dame-point-guard-eric-atkins/article_967b0aaa-7b72-11e5-94f0-e3dff6f4a697.html|title=Utah Jazz sign former Notre Dame point guard Eric Atkins|work=NDInsider.com|date=October 25, 2015|accessdate=October 25, 2015}} but the team's head coach determined that was not enough, expecting Atkins to average 30 points per game, and released him prior to the start of the regular season.{{cite web|title=Will volt csapata ellen villoghat|url=http://www.teol.hu/tolna/sport/will-volt-csapata-ellen-villoghat-634200|accessdate=October 25, 2015|work=teol.hu|date=October 16, 2015|language=Hungarian}}
On October 25, 2015, Atkins signed with the Utah Jazz, only to be waived by the team the following day.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/jazz/news/jazz-waive-eric-atkins-and-phil-pressey|title=Jazz Waive Eric Atkins and Phil Pressey|work=NBA.com|date=October 26, 2015|accessdate=October 26, 2015}} On November 1, he was acquired by the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Jazz.{{cite news|url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=5065740|title=Idaho Stampede Finalize 2015 Training Camp Roster|work=OurSportsCentral.com|date=November 1, 2015|accessdate=November 1, 2015}} However, he was waived by Idaho on November 16 before appearing in a game for them.{{cite news|url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=5070965|title=Stampede Re-Acquire Jack Cooley|work=OurSportsCentral.com|date=November 16, 2015|accessdate=November 16, 2015}} On January 27, 2016, he was acquired by the Erie BayHawks.{{cite news|url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/bayhawks-acquire-eric-atkins/n-5094187|title=BayHawks Acquire Eric Atkins|work=OurSportsCentral.com|date=January 27, 2016|accessdate=January 27, 2016}} Three days later, he made his debut with the BayHawks in a 100–83 win over Raptors 905, recording four points, four rebounds, six assists and one steal in 19 minutes.{{cite news|url=http://dleague.nba.com/games/20160130/RAPERI/|title=Ejim Scores 27 As BayHawks Snap Toronto's Streak|work=NBA.com|date=January 30, 2016|accessdate=January 31, 2016}}
Coaching career
Atkins was the video coordinator at Notre Dame, and joined Howard's coaching staff in 2019 where he worked with MEAC all-time leading scorer Charles Williams and Makur Maker. In 2021, he joined George Washington's staff. In November of 2022, he was named an assistant coach for the NBA G League's Wisconsin Herd.{{Cite news|url=https://wisconsin.gleague.nba.com/news/wisconsin-herd-announces-coaching-staff-for-2022-23-season|title=Wisconsin Herd Announces Coaching Staff for 2022-23 Season|work=Wisconsin Herd|access-date=January 28, 2025|language=en}} On July 11, 2024, he named an assistant coach for the Towson Tigers women's basketball team.{{Cite news|url=https://towsontigers.com/news/2024/7/11/womens-basketball-towson-womens-basketball-adds-eric-atkins-to-coaching-staff.aspx|title=Towson Women's Basketball Adds Eric Atkins to Coaching Staff|work=Towson University Athletics|access-date=January 28, 2025|language=en}}
Personal life
The son of Dominique and the late William L. Atkins, he has two older brothers, Bryan and Sean. Atkins was a participant in Notre Dame's Rosenthal Leadership Academy in 2012 and 2013 and graduated with a degree in film, television and theater.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/atkins_eric00.html Notre Dame bio]
- [http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Eric-Atkins/Summary/22409 RealGM profile]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20151028022213/http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/eric-atkins-1.html Sports-Reference profile]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Eric}}
Category:21st-century American sportsmen
Category:American men's basketball coaches
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece
Category:Basketball players from Fairfield County, Connecticut
Category:Basketball coaches from Connecticut
Category:Erie BayHawks (2008–2017) players
Category:K.A.O.D. B.C. players