After only 16 wins in the past two seasons, the UNCW men’s basketball team was in desperate need of some positive buzz in the program. They found just that in hiring Robert “Buzz” Peterson as the new head coach. Peterson is thrilled about the opportunity ahead.

“I’m real excited about it… I’ve always looked at this campus, this school, this basketball program as a goal of mine, really. A place that can really explode.”

Even though this will be Coach Peterson’s fifth head coaching job in 15 years, he claims this is the place where he wants to settle down. After just two seasons at Coastal Carolina from 2005-07, Peterson was hired to be the Director of Player Personnel with the Charlotte Bobcats. He kept that job for two years before returning to Appalachian State last year for his second head coaching stint with the Mountaineers. However, his family remained in Charlotte.

“I commuted from Charlotte to Boone, 114 miles …You don’t know how excited I am now that I can wake up every morning and my kids are going to be there… This is it; this is where the Petersons are.”

While Wilmington is a place where he can stay close to his family, it’s also an opportunity to be at the helm of a possible return of the Seahawks to national prominence.

“You look back at what Coach Wainwright did and what Brad Brownell did and how successful they were. Why can’t we do that?”

Peterson admits it will be a challenge, though, and it starts with winning at home. Last year, UNCW won just four games in Trask Coliseum, while Peterson’s Mountaineers boasted a 14-4 record at home. Getting home victories is obviously something that he takes very seriously.

“Trask has got to be something where teams come in like they used to and say, ‘Hey, that’s a hard to place to go in there and win.’ And I want everybody to get that feel.”

In order to restore home court advantage, he’ll need help. The community and students at UNCW need to rally around this program. But Peterson insists it’s not about him.

“I want the students to feel like this is their team,” he persisted. “I’ll have an open tryout, first of all. I’ll give every student here on campus a chance to be on our team. This is your team. If you like basketball, here’s an opportunity to play.”

Only time will tell if Coach Peterson can turn things around for our struggling Seahawks, but he certainly has the right mentality.

“I want to win. I want to win in the worst way, just like a lot of people around here.”