 Buzz
Peterson spent the past two seasons as the head men's
basketball coach at Coastal Carolina University. He joined
the staff on April 13, 2005, replacing Pete Strickland who
had been the head coach for the seven previous seasons.
"We are delighted to have Buzz and Jan Peterson and their
children join our family at Coastal Carolina University,"
Koegel said in 2005. "Buzz played on a national
championship team at the University of North Carolina and
has had outstanding coaching experience, working with some
of the great basketball minds in the nation. He has a
proven record as a head coach, as his teams have been to
both the NCAA and NIT postseason events, including the
2001 NIT Championship, and won numerous conference titles.
"Buzz cares about his players and has been a great
influence on his student-athletes as they strive to
represent their teammates and institutions in a positive
manner, both on and off the court," Koegel continued. "He
will be a great ambassador of Coastal Carolina University
in the area as well as throughout the state of South
Carolina. We are excited to make this announcement and
about this new era of Coastal Carolina basketball."
Peterson posted a 35-25 mark in two years as the Coastal
men's basketball head coach, including back-to-back .500
or better seasons for the first time in 13 years. In his
first season at the helm, Peterson led the Chanticleers to
a 20-10 mark and a berth in the 2006 Big South Conference
Tournament Championship game for the first time since
1993. In his career, Peterson has an overall 201-134
(.600) record in 11 years as a head coach, including three
regular season championships, four post-season tournament
appearances and two Coach of the Year honors.
Peterson has been a successful head coach at four schools
during his coaching tenure. Prior to taking over at
Coastal, Peterson was the head coach at Tennessee, posting
an overall mark of 61-59, including two postseason bids to
the NIT. He had six players earn All-Southeastern
Conference honors during his four years, including Ron
Slay, who was named SEC Player of the Year in 2003.
Prior to that, Peterson spent one year at the University
of Tulsa during the 2000-01 season, taking that team to a
26-11 overall mark. The Golden Hurricane captured the
National Invitational Tournament title with five straight
wins, including defeating Memphis in the semifinals and
Alabama in the championship game.
In his first head coaching job at Appalachian State,
Peterson improved the program from just eight wins in
1995-96 to a 14-14 mark his first year. He then had three
20-win seasons and led the Mountaineers to the Southern
Conference's regular season title, a pair of SoCon Coach
of the Year awards and a place in the SoCon Tournament
championship game each of those three seasons. The
1999-2000 season culminated in Appalachian State winning
the league's tournament title and earning a berth in the
NCAA Tournament.
Peterson began his coaching career as an assistant under
Tom Apke at Appalachian State, where the Mountaineers
posted a 36-23 record during that time. Peterson then
joined Les Robinson’s staff at East Tennessee State for
one year, where the Buccaneers won the Southern Conference
regular season and tournament titles, earning the league’s
automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament for just the third
time in school history.
Peterson then followed Robinson to North Carolina State
for the next three years, which included a berth in the
NCAA Tournament for the Wolfpack in 1991. He then became a
part of Jan van Breda Kolff's staff at Vanderbilt in 1993,
serving as the associate head coach for the Commodores.
During his three-year tenure, Peterson was a part of a
51-41 overall record, including two appearance in the NIT
and the NIT title game in 1994.
As a player, Peterson was a Parade and McDonald's
All-American at Asheville High School and was named North
Carolina's Player of the Year and Athlete of the Year. He
accepted a scholarship to North Carolina, where he roomed
with the runner-up for both of the state's awards the
previous season, Michael Jordan.
During his four years with the Tar Heels, Peterson helped
the Tar Heels to a 115-22 mark, four Atlantic Coast
Conference championships, one ACC Tournament title and
four berths in the NCAA Tournament. He was a part of North
Carolina's 1982 national championship team and was voted
the Outstanding Senior by his teammates following the
1984-85 season.
Peterson and his wife Jan have three children: Nicole,
Olivia and Rob.
THE BUZZ PETERSON FILE
Full Name: Robert Bower Peterson, Jr.
Born: May 17, 1963
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Family: Wife - Jan; Daughters - Nicole (15) and Olivia
(10); Son - Rob (9)
College: University of North Carolina - 1986 (Bachelor of
Arts in geography)
Head Coaching Experience
1996-97 Appalachian State 14-14
1997-98 Appalachian State 21-8 Southern Conference Regular
Season Champions, SoCon Coach of the Year
1998-99 Appalachian State 21-8 Southern Conference Regular
Season Champions
1999-00 Appalachian State 23-9 .Southern Conference
Regular Season Champions, Southern Conference Tournament
Champions, Southern Conference Coach of the Year, NCAA
Tournament
2000-01 Tulsa 26-11 .722 NIT Champions
2001-02 Tennessee 15-16
2002-03 Tennessee 17-12 NIT
2003-04 Tennessee 15-14 NIT
2004-05 Tennessee 14-17
2005-06 Coastal Carolina 20-10
2006-07 Coastal Carolina 15-15
Totals 11 seasons 201-134
Three Regular Season Titles, Four Post-Season Tournaments,
Two Coach of the Year Honors
Additional Coaching Experience
1987-89 Appalachian State Assistant Coach
1989-90 East Tennessee State Assistant Coach
1990-93 North Carolina State Assistant Coach
1993-96 Vanderbilt Associate Head Coach
Combined Record of Teams: 154-117
Playing Experience - 1981-85 North Carolina Team Captain -
1985; National Champions - 1982 |
