UL Basketball Names Derrick Zimmerman Assistant Coach

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns will have a new assistant coach on staff for the 2021-2022 college basketball season.

Derrick Zimmerman, who played briefly in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, was named an assistant coach on Bob Marlin's staff on Tuesday.

Zimmerman replaces former assistant coach Josten Crow, who left after accepting a position at Louisiana Tech.

The 39-year old Zimmerman spent the past three seasons on the staff at Mississippi State, serving two seasons as a graduate assistant before serving as Director of Scouting & Analytics on Ben Howland's staff in 2020-21.

A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Zimmerman attended Wossman High School, before playing collegiately at Mississippi St., where he averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks as a senior.

The 6-foot-3 Zimmerman still ranks second in Mississippi St. basketball history in career assists (514) and steals (205).

Following his time at Mississippi St., Zimmerman was selected in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Golden St. Warriors.

From 2003-2005, Zimmerman played for the Columbus Riverdragons of the NBA D-League before moving on to play for the Austin Toros in the 2005-2006 campaign.

In 2005 and 2006 Zimmerman was named the NBDL's Defensive Player of the Year.

In 2006, Zimmerman saw time in two games with the NBA's New Jersey Nets before during the 2005-06 season before taking his talents overseas for the next seven seasons.

During his short stint with the Nets, Zimmerman averaged 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, spending time with teammates such as Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson on a squad that advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals where they lost to the Miami Heat.