 Peterson in 2012 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1963-05-17)May 17, 1963 (age 62) Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1981–1985 | North Carolina |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1987–1989 | Appalachian State (assistant) |
| 1989–1990 | East Tennessee State (assistant) |
| 1990–1993 | NC State (assistant) |
| 1993–1996 | Vanderbilt (assistant) |
| 1996–2000 | Appalachian State |
| 2000–2001 | Tulsa |
| 2001–2005 | Tennessee |
| 2005–2007 | Coastal Carolina |
| 2009–2010 | Appalachian State |
| 2010–2014 | UNC Wilmington |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 267–227 |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) 5–2 (NIT) 2–1 (CIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NIT (2001) SoCon tournament (2000) 3SoCon regular season (1998–2000) | |
| Awards | |
| 2×SoCon Coach of the Year (1998, 2000) | |
Robert Bower "Buzz" Peterson Jr. (born May 17, 1963) is an Americanbasketball executive who was the assistant general manager for theCharlotte Hornets of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He currently is a contracted high major division one college basketball talent evaluator for schools like theNorth Carolina Tar Heels. He has also coachedcollege basketball, most recently as the head coach of theUNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball team.[1] He was fired by UNC Wilmington at the conclusion of the 2014 season.[2] Peterson was the head coach of theTennessee Volunteers basketball team for four years before being fired in 2005.[3] He previously coached a second stint at Appalachian State[4]—he coached the 2009–10 Mountaineers, as well as the 1996 to 2000 squads.[5] Previously, he was the men's basketballhead coach at theUniversity of Tulsa and atCoastal Carolina University, a position he held until mid-2007, when he left the program to be executive (Director of Player Personnel) with theCharlotte Bobcats of the NBA.[6][7]
Peterson, a standout atAsheville High School, was named the 1981 high school player of the year inNorth Carolina overMichael Jordan.[8] He was named both aMcDonald's andParade All-American.[9] He played basketball forDean Smith atUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a roommate of Jordan, who later was best man at Peterson's wedding. Peterson was a member of theTar Heels team that won the1982 national championship.[8] He was later drafted in 1985 by theCleveland Cavaliers in the seventh round ofthat year's NBA draft but chose to play overseas.[9]
In his first stint as head coach atAppalachian State, he led theMountaineers to theSouthern Conference Tournament Championship during the 1999–2000 season. During his single season atTulsa, 2000–01, Peterson led theGolden Hurricane to their secondNIT championship.
Peterson was a special adviser to basketball operations for theCharlotte Hornets in 2016–17. In June 2017, he was promoted to assistant general manager.[9] In 2018, Peterson became the interim general manager for the Hornets whenRich Cho was fired by the team.[10][11] The position was permanently filled near the end of the season by formerLos Angeles Lakers general managerMitch Kupchak.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian State Mountaineers(Southern Conference)(1996–2000) | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | Appalachian State | 14–14 | 8–6 | 3rd(North) | |||||
| 1997–98 | Appalachian State | 21–8 | 13–2 | T–1st(North) | |||||
| 1998–99 | Appalachian State | 21–8 | 13–3 | 1st(North) | |||||
| 1999–00 | Appalachian State | 23–9 | 13–3 | 1st(North) | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Appalachian State: | 79–39 | 47–14 | |||||||
| Tulsa Golden Hurricane(Western Athletic Conference)(2000–2001) | |||||||||
| 2000–01 | Tulsa | 26–11 | 10–6 | T–2nd | NIT champion | ||||
| Tulsa: | 26–11 | 10–6 | |||||||
| Tennessee Volunteers(Southeastern Conference)(2001–2005) | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Tennessee | 15–16 | 7–9 | 4th(Eastern) | |||||
| 2002–03 | Tennessee | 17–12 | 9–7 | 4th(Eastern) | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2003–04 | Tennessee | 15–14 | 7–9 | T–5th(Eastern) | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2004–05 | Tennessee | 14–17 | 6–10 | 5th(Eastern) | |||||
| Tennessee: | 61–59 | 29–35 | |||||||
| Coastal Carolina Chanticleers(Big South Conference)(2005–2007) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Coastal Carolina | 20–10 | 12–4 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2006–07 | Coastal Carolina | 15–15 | 7–7 | 4th | |||||
| Coastal Carolina: | 35–25 | 19–11 | |||||||
| Appalachian State Mountaineers(Southern Conference)(2009–2010) | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | Appalachian State | 24–13 | 13–5 | 1st(North) | CIT Semifinal | ||||
| Appalachian State: | 103–52 | 60–19 | |||||||
| UNC Wilmington Seahawks(Colonial Athletic Association)(2010–2014) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | UNC Wilmington | 13–17 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 2011–12 | UNC Wilmington | 10–20 | 5–13 | T–8th | |||||
| 2012–13 | UNC Wilmington | 10–20 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| 2013–14 | UNC Wilmington | 9–23 | 3–13 | 9th | |||||
| UNC Wilmington: | 42–80 | 20–50 | |||||||
| Total: | 267–227 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||