Joseph S. Spinks (born June 20, 1972[1]) is an American-Dutch retired basketball player and coach. He played eight seasons for ABC Amsterdam in the Netherlands and is considered one of the best players to have played in the Eredivisie.[2] Spinks also was head coach and assistant coach for Amsterdam for two years.[3] Spink's nickname during his playing career was "The Bull".[4]
College career
Spinks played for Campbell from 1990 to 1994, and helped the Fighting Camels to their first-ever NCAA tournament berth in 1994.[5] In 2010, he was inducted into the Campbell Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
After stints in Belgium and Portugal, he arrived to the Amsterdam Astronauts in 1998. He would stay on the team for 12 seasons, becoming a star player and helping the team win as much as six Dutch national championships. Spinks retired from playing at age 33 due to a knee injury.[6]
Coaching career
In 2006, Spinks took over as interim head coach of the Amsterdam Astronauts and guided them to the league semifinals.[6] In the following two years, he was an assistant coach on the Amsterdam team that won two more Eredivisie titles.[5] Spinks returned with his family to the United States in 2009.[7]
