Taymon Klinkefus (Coach 'Klink') begins his first season as an assistant coach for the Dakota State University Trojan men's basketball program.
Klinkefus comes to Dakota State after spending the 2024-25 season as the graduate assistant at NCAA Division I Washington State University, where they finished with an overall record of 19-15. The Cougars participated in the postseason tournament Crown Basketball Tournament.
Coach Klink's emphasis at Washington State was on defense where he assisted all 34 scouts for the team via data and defensive schemes. He assisted on the court with the player development of possible NBA draft player Cedric Coward and many other NCAA Division I high major level players such as Lejuan Watts, Nate Calmese and Isaiah Watts.
His duties at WSU also included travel operations for the team within the West Coast Conference.
He will be graduating this summer from Washington State with a master's degree in education.
Klinkefus' coaching experience also included stops at Eastern Washington, Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) and Iowa State.
He was a graduate assistant coach at Eastern Washington University in 2023-24, where they went 21-11 overall and captured the 2023-24 Big Sky regular season championship with a 15-3 record. He assisted with individual on-court development and coordinated logistics for road trips and official visits. He also assisted in opponent defensive scouting via Synergy and Sports Code.
While at DMACC, Klinkefus was the assistant coach from 2021-22 where they went to a successful 24-8 overall record. He recruited and developed five eventual NCAA Division I athletes and focused on defensive assignments and scouting on all games.
Klinkefus started off as a student manager for the ISU men's basketball team from 2019-21. He helped in the development of more than 10 pro players, including NBA All-Star's Tyrese Haliburton. He received his bachelor's degree in education from Iowa State.
