Derrick Zimmerman returned home to Monroe and joined the ULM men's basketball staff as the Associate Head Coach before the 2025-26 season after serving as the interim head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball program for 21 games during the 2024-25 season. While in Lafayette as the interim head coach, Zimmerman led the Cajuns to a win in the First Round of the Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship.
During his four seasons on the basketball staff in Lafayette, Zimmerman helped the Cajuns to the second most wins in program history (26) and a return to the NCAA Tournament with a Sun Belt Conference championship in 2022-23. Under his guidance, the Cajuns finished 16th in the country in field goal shooting (.482 percent) and 24th in three-point shooting (.376 percent). The team also finished among the top three in the Sun Belt in scoring offense (77.4), rebound margin (6.1), field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throws made per game (14.4), and assists per game (14.4).
Zimmerman, who spent the 2020-21 season as the Mississippi State Bulldogs' Director of Scouting & Analytics, also headed the oversight of the program's video operations and statistical metrics. He assisted the MSU coaching staff with the development of opponent scouting reports.
Zimmerman assisted with player development and opponent scouting during his two-year graduate assistant tenure where the Bulldogs posted back-to-back 20-plus win seasons fueled by a 2019 NCAA Tournament appearance. Mississippi State also captured consecutive campaigns with 10-plus SEC victories for the first time dating back to 1994-95 and 1995-96 coupled with the program's best finish SEC regular season finish in 2019-20 going back to 2010-11.
Zimmerman rejoined the MSU program after a 10-year professional career that spanned six countries after a successful four-year stint with the Maroon and White that included a pair of All-SEC selections during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
A standout player and 1999 graduate of Wossman High School, Zimmerman continued his playing career at Mississippi State and played in Starkville from 1999-2003, with three seasons under
Phil Cunningham as an assistant coach on the Bulldogs' staff. Zimmerman helped the Bulldogs reach three straight postseason trips highlighted by the 2002 and 2003 NCAA Tournaments. The Bulldogs also captured the 2002 SEC Tournament crown and the 2003 SEC Western Division title. His efforts also helped MSU to its highest win total in program history with a 27-8 mark in 2001-02.
Over his four-year career, Zimmerman left his mark on the program's record book. He sits in second place with 514 career assists only behind Dee Bost. Zimmerman was the SEC's assist champion in 2001-02 and 2002-03. He is one of three players in program history joining Chuck Evans and Detrick White, in addition to being one of eight players to lead the conference in assists during multiple seasons in SEC history.
Zimmerman garnered 205 career steals which is second highest in program history only behind Ray White. At 6-foot-3, he also led the Bulldogs in blocks over his final three seasons and finished his career ranked among MSU's top 10 in career blocks with 89.
Following his MSU career, Zimmerman was selected in the second round with the 40th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2003 NBA Draft. He played in the NBA D-League for the Columbus Riverdragons (2004-05) and Austin Toros (2005-06). In both seasons, Zimmerman was named the NBDL's Defensive Player of the Year. Zimmerman saw time in two games with the NBA's New Jersey Nets during the 2005-06 season before taking his talents overseas.
In December 2006, Zimmerman signed with the Brose Baskets of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany. He finished out the season with Italy's Air Avellino. In summer 2008, he signed with Budivelnyk Kyiv in Ukraine. He remained in Ukraine until 2013 where he played with BC Goverla, BC Kyiv and SK Dnipro-Azot Dniprodzerzhynsk. Between time in Italy and Ukraine, Zimmerman played a brief stint with HKK Široki in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Zimmerman returned to Germany in February 2013 when he signed with Giants Ludwigsburg and played with the club for the rest of the season. Then, he moved to Poland in January 2014 to play with Czarni Slupsk for the rest of that season.
Zimmerman was born to Dale and Addie Zimmerman. He has one brother, Dale Zimmerman Jr., a son, Derrick Dewayne Zimmerman Jr., and a daughter, Zaria Zimmerman.
