BOONE, N.C., April 9 -- Buzz Peterson today (Friday) became the second coach in a week to make headlines because of his indecision. Less than 12 hours after an announcement by officials at Southwest Missouri State that he would the school's new coach, Peterson changed his mind and decided to remain at Appalachian State. Last week, Jim Harrick went back and forth before he finally made up his mind to leave Rhode Island to go to Georgia. Harrick first accepted the Georgia job, then said he had reconsidered and was staying at URI before changing his mind again and deciding to take the Georgia job. Peterson's decision means SMS goes back to the drawing board in trying to find a successor for Steve Alford, who resigned March 22 to fill the vacancy at Iowa. 'We are very disappointed in the decision by Coach Buzz Peterson not to become the next SMS head basketball coach after he told us he was going to take the job,' said athletic director Bill Rowe. 'It is evident that the decision was a very tough one for him and that he has strong feelings for the people involved with his program at Appalachian State.' Rowe added, 'We are aware that he had been encouraged to take our position by his former college coach, Dean Smith, his former college assistant, Roy Williams, his former college roommate, Michael Jordan, and a number of others.' SMS announced late Thursday that Peterson had agreed to become its new coach and scheduled a news conference to introduce him, but early Friday morning, Peterson told Rowe he wanted to stay at Appalachian State.
'I went with my gut feeling,' Peterson said. 'Appalachian is where I am happy and that's key for me and my family. I coach with my heart and my heart would not have fully been with SMS.' Peterson added, 'It would have been a disservice to Southwest Missouri State not to have my heart completely into the situation. Bill Rowe is an outstanding gentleman for whom I have a lot of respect. He has been a class individual throughout the entire process.' The 35-year-old Peterson, a native of Asheville, N.C., has compiled a record of 56-30 in three years at Appalachian State. He guided the Mountaineers to back-to-back 21-win seasons over the last two campaigns. During this offseason, He was also approached by Georgia, Marquette and St. Louis and rejected an offer from Arkansas-Little Rock. To say that Appalachian State athletic director Roachel Laney is relieved might be an understatement. 'He's an excellent basketball coach and an outstanding person,' Laney said. 'Because of that, he's been a hot commodity. I'm just grateful he'll be with us another year.' At North Carolina, Peterson roomed with Jordan during the 1982 national championship season. He worked as an assistant coach at Appalachian State, East Tennessee State and North Carolina State before becoming an associate head coach at Vanderbilt from 1993-96. He took over at Appalachian State before the start of the 1996 season. The Mountaineers were 14-14 in his first season and 21-8 each of the next two. They reached the finals of the 1999 Southern Conference tournament before losing to the College of Charleston in the title game. Alford had a record of 78-48 in four years at SMS. Last season, he took the school to its first-ever trip to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
