As the U men’s basketball team continues to prepare for the upcoming 2008-2009 season, they do so with the help of yet another new assistant coach.
Head coach Jim Boylen announced May 5 that Barret Peery would be the final piece of his assistant coaching search. Peery joins Stan Johnson–who was hired April 21–as replacements for former assistants Chris Jones and Marty Wilson, who both left in search of potential head coaching positions at Utah State and Pepperdine, respectively.
“This is a great hire for us,” said head coach Jim Boylen. “Barret is a quality coach and an outstanding recruiter. He has national recruiting connections, is aggressive and sharp.”
Peery, a Utah native, coached at the College of Southern Idaho for the last five years and has served as the Eagles’ head coach for the last three. During his head coaching tenure, Peery led SIU to an impressive 85-19 overall record and was named the 2007-2008 Scenic West Athletic Conference coach of the year.
He also led the Eagles to three straight conference championships. Last year, Peery led SIU to a 30-2 record which resulted in a No. 1 ranking in the junior college ranks for the final four weeks of the regular season.
Before coaching at CSI, Peery’s most notable job was as an assistant coach at Southern Utah from 1998 to 2002. In the 2001-2002 season, he helped lead the Thunderbirds to a 25-6 record and the school’s only appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Johnson was one of the players on that NCAA tournament squad.
Peery’s success has also extended well beyond the court. At CSI, Peery helped place 23 of his players at Division-I programs, including all nine sophomores from last year’s team.
“It was going to take something special for me to leave CSI and that’s how I feel about this job at the University of Utah,” Peery said.. “I am excited about the opportunity to work with coach Boylen. I truly believe in what he has going on and his vision for the program.”
Last year, Boylen helped lead the Utes to their first winning season in three years. He kept both Jones and Wilson on his staff, and they were both instrumental in helping Boylen change the Runnin’ Utes atmosphere.
Between them, Jones and Wilson have more than 25 years of coaching experience and are both in positions to become head coaches in the next few years. This is something that didn’t seem as likely at the U with Boylen just taking over at Utah.
Peery will begin his tenure with the Utes at age 37. Johnson is 29 years old. Both coaches could be the epitome of youth and enthusiasm that Boylen wanted to inject into his program once his former assistants left.
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Barret Perry was hired as the new Ute basketball assistant coach.