North Lincoln hires new basketball coaches

North Lincoln has new leadership for its boys and girls varsity basketball teams.

The school on Thursday announced Eric King as boys head coach and Lynn Rhyne as girls head coach.

King, who has been teaching for 11 years and coaching basketball for 16 years, comes to North Lincoln from Bunker Hill in Catawba County, where he served as head varsity basketball assistant.

“I look forward to developing a program at North Lincoln High School,” King said in a statement. “I am very excited to take the challenge of establishing a perennial contender.”

King’s coaching career began in Carroll County, Va., as an assistant basketball coach in 1992. For the next seven years he coached AAU basketball in the Carroll County area as well as in Radford, Va. He has held elementary and middle school basketball coaching positions and, most recently, high school varsity and JV coaching positions.

In 2001, King became Statesville Middle School’s boys basketball coach, finishing with a five-year record of 64-13. He ended his stay on a 30-game winning streak, including back-to-back conference championships. In 2006, King went to North Mecklenburg High School as a varsity and JV assistant for Dwayne Lewis. In 2007, he started teaching at Hickory High School and coached the 2007-08 season as a varsity and JV assistant under Shawn Johnson, helping the Red Tornadoes reach the regionals.

At Bunker Hill, King worked under Matt Wilkinson, helping the team make back-to-back state playoff appearances.

King replaces Mike Hainrihar, who left after two seasons and a 12-38 record. The Knights went 7-18 last season and placed sixth in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference.

“I believe North Lincoln has an incredible amount of potential in boys basketball and just needs stability and a plan that involves the entire community,” King said. “My goals are to develop these young men both on and off the floor to be role models in the school as well as the community while establishing a winning tradition at North Lincoln.”

Rhyne, the Knights’ volleyball coach, replaces David Johnson, who resigned after two seasons and a 37-18 record. Johnson guided the Knights to the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference regular-season title this past season and the conference tournament championship in 2009. Johnson previously coached the boys team for four seasons, compiling a 39-69 record from 2004 to 2008.