KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Buzz Peterson feels like he's back home.
Peterson, who resigned after one season at Tulsa on Tuesday, was
hired coach of the Volunteers on Wednesday, replacing Jerry Green
and becoming the school's fourth basketball coach since 1989.
|  | | Buzz Peterson became the head coach at Tennessee on Wednesday after just one year at Tulsa. |
The 37-year-old Peterson's hometown of Asheville, N.C., is just
a few hours across the Great Smoky Mountains east of here. As a
boy, he used to go to football games with his father, a Tennessee
grad, and enjoyed eating small, square hamburgers at Krystal, a
state-based fast food restaurant.
"You made a young boy from Asheville, North Carolina's dream
come true," Peterson said after athletic director Doug Dickey
invited him to the podium at a news conference at Thompson-Boling
Arena.
As he neared the campus by the Tennessee River, Peterson said to
himself, "gosh, I'm home again," he recalled.
The 37-year-old coach played at North Carolina under Dean Smith
and spent all of his career in North Carolina and Tennessee until
he replaced Bill Self last year in Tulsa.
Peterson agreed to a five-year contract worth about $700,000
annually. Green, who resigned March 20, made $545,000 a year.
He was presented with a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts -- tied up
in an orange-and-white bow -- from the university and a sackful of
Krystals by a radio station.
"There are a lot of butterflies in my stomach right now, but
there is a lot of excitement," said Peterson, who wore an orange
tie and received a standing ovation from about 200 school officials
and fans packed into a room inside the arena. Football coach
Phillip Fulmer was also in attendance.
Peterson met with the players before the news conference and
told them his faith, family and profession -- in that order -- were
his priorities.
"The way I like to run a program basically comes from the days
of my college coach -- Dean Smith," he said. "He told me, 'Buzz,
whenever you get your program you've got to have discipline."'
The players sat near the front of the room and laughed at some
of Peterson's asides. So far, they like what they've heard.
"He had a great first impression," said Vincent Yarbrough, who
said he's definitely coming back for his senior season. "Coach
Peterson comes in and gives us a lot of energy and effort. He seems
really intense."
Dickey said Peterson is a good fit for the Vols.
Peterson knows the Southeastern Conference, he is a man of
"personal integrity" and he is the son of a Tennessee graduate,
Dickey said.
Peterson led Tulsa to a 26-11 record and NIT championship this
season.
He inherits a team that has been to the NCAA Tournament and has
won at least 20 games the last four years.
Aside from the last nine months in Oklahoma, he has spent his
playing and coaching career in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Peterson beat Michael Jordan as the top high school player in
the state in 1981.
Peterson then roomed with Jordan at North Carolina and played on
the Tar Heels' 1982 national championship team.
Smith encouraged Peterson to take the job, saying it was a
"perfect fit," he said. "When you hear that, you jump on it."
Peterson was an assistant at Appalachian State, then East
Tennessee State, North Carolina State and Vanderbilt.
He returned to Boone, N.C., in 1996 as coach at Appalachian
State.
Peterson led the Mountaineers to the Southern Conference
tournament championship and NCAA berth in 2000.
He will retain Green's assistant Chris Ferguson, who he knew at
Appalachian State.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
ALSO SEE
Frustrated Tulsa embarks on second search in nine months
We're No. 66! Tulsa tops Alabama for NIT title
Division I basketball coaching changes
AUDIO VIDEO
 Buzz Peterson is named Tennessee's new head men's basketball coach.
RealVideo: 28.8
 Buzz Peterson is glad to be back at his old stomping grounds.
wav: 476 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
|
