Rich Aigner Position: Assistant Coach (1st season) Alma Mater: Lewis, 1994

Former Lewis standout Rich Aigner, who played his final two collegiate seasons for Jim Whitesell, is in his first season as the Flyers’ top assistant coach.

The 31-year-old Aigner’s primary on-floor coaching focus is developing Lewis’ front-court players. He is the program’s recruiting coordinator and also has scouting responsibilities.

Aigner played basketball professionally in Europe for nine years following the conclusion of his collegiate career, spending six seasons in Belgium and also playing in England, Portugal and Spain. He led the league in 3-point shooting percentage one season and was named an All-Star in Belgium, and he averaged a career-high 22 points per game during a season in England.

A 1994 Lewis graduate, Aigner is third on the Flyers’ career scoring list with 1,830 points (16.8 per game) after ending his career in second place. He earned a spot on the All-Great Lakes Valley Conference first team and averaged a team-best 21 points per game as a senior, when the 18-9 Flyers enjoyed the best turnaround in NCAA Division II. Aigner was named to the All-GLVC second team his junior season.

Aigner is a Chicago native and a 1990 graduate of Niles Notre Dame High School, where he garnered all-area, all-conference and team Most Valuable Player honors.

“Rich brings a unique perspective to our program after playing professionally,” Whitesell said. “Through his experience he has developed a really high basketball I.Q.”

“It’s exciting to be back in the GLVC, which is the nation’s premier Division II league,” Aigner said. “I look forward to helping Lewis compete for conference and national titles.”