Mike Church, an associate professor in the department of physical education, was an assistant under Samuels for 21 years. Prior to coming to Eastern, Church was the head coach at Oakland High School from 1975-84 and at Metamora High School in 1974-75. His ’84 Oakland team was a 26-2 Class A sectional finalist. He was chosen the IBCA District ‘Coach of the Year’.

Steve Weemer served as an Eastern assistant for seven years.

He competed for the Panthers for two years after transferring from Eureka College. He competed there from 1989-91. He earned his undergraduate degree in 1994 and a master’s from Eastern in 2001.

Stevens finished his second season as an assistant coach. He played and coached professionally for 17 years. He finished his four-year career with 2,190 points (18.7 career ppg) and 544 rebounds (4.6 rpg), currently second and 21st, respectively, among the ISU all-time leaders. Stevens was a second-round draft pick by the Denver Nuggets in the ’85 NBA draft.