Robert Bower "Buzz" Peterson Jr. (born May 17, 1963) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

executive who is the assistant general manager for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He has also coached

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

, most recently as the head coach of the

UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball The UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's basketball team represents the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The team plays in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Seahawks have won at least a share of the CAA regular season championship for thre ...

team. He was fired by UNC Wilmington at the conclusion of the 2014 season. Peterson was the head coach of the

Tennessee Volunteers basketball The Tennessee Volunteers Men's Basketball Team is the collegiate men's basketball program for the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. The Volunteers (commonly referred to as the "Vols") compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athlet ...

team for four years before being fired in 2005. He previously coached a second stint at Appalachian State—he coached the 2009–10 Mountaineers, as well as the 1996 to 2000 squads. Previously, he was the men's basketball

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

and at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

, a position he held until mid-2007, when he left the program to be executive (Director of Player Personnel) with the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

of the NBA. Peterson, a standout at

Asheville High School Asheville High School is a public high school located in Asheville, North Carolina, United States and is one of two secondary schools in the Asheville City Schools system. Designed by Douglas Ellington, construction of the original building began ...

, was named the 1981 high school player of the year in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

over

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

. He was named both a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

and ''Parade'' All-American. He played basketball for

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

where he was a roommate of Jordan, who later was best man at Peterson's wedding. Peterson was a member of the

Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...

team that won the 1982 national championship. He was later drafted in 1985 by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in the seventh round of that year's NBA draft, but chose to play overseas. In his first stint as head coach at

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

, he led the

Mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

to the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

Tournament Championship during the 1999–2000 season. During his single season at

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, 2000–01, Peterson led the Golden Hurricane to their second NIT championship. Peterson was a special adviser to basketball operations for the

in 2016–17. In June 2017, he was promoted to assistant general manager. In 2018, Peterson became the interim general manager for the Hornets when Rich Cho was fired by the team. The position was permanently filled near the end of the season by former

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

general manager

Mitch Kupchak Mitchell Kupchak (born May 24, 1954) is an American professional basketball executive and retired player. He is the current president of basketball operations and general manager of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

Head coaching record

References