The Hawks are in need of a strength and conditioning coach as Jeff Watkinson will leave the organization to take a assistant coaching position with the Jazz.
Watkinson spent three seasons with the Hawks in the position. He will be reunited with Quin Snyder in Utah. Snyder was an assistant coach with the Hawks last season before leaving to take the head coach position with the Jazz. The two also worked together at Missouri.
“We are excited for Jeff as he enters this next phase of his career,” Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He was an important part of our player development program and his positive relationships with our players, coaches and support staff will be greatly missed. We wish him the best of luck as he joins Quin’s staff in Utah.”
Watkinson played baseball on scholarship at North Carolina State, where he graduated with a pre-medicine degree. He earned a master’s in exercise science from Indiana and was the strength and conditioning coach at the school from 2006-10. In addition to his stint at Missouri, Watkinson worked at Clemson, Charlotte and the College of Charleston. He also owned and operated Wat Training, where he worked by NB players on condition and basketball development skills.
Watkinson was part of the Hawks staff that coached at the NBA All-Star Game this year under Budenholzer.
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