The Johnsonian

Issue date: 11/7/07 Section: Sports

Head Coach Randy Peele looks to continue the winning tradition. This is his second stint as a head coach in the NCAA.

[Note: Hey guys, sorry these articles are up late. This was a screw up on my part. Sorry about that--Javy]
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Literally, the day of Coach Marshall announced to go to Wichita State for their head coaching job, Winthrop officials announced that Randy Peele would become the fifth head coach in the history of the basketball program.

For those that think there will be a drop off from Marshall to Peele, they are sadly mistaken. Peele said he really wants to reach out to the students and make certain that they have something to be proud of.

When things are put in perspective, Peele basically moved a seat over on the sideline. He also now becomes the voice of the team.

"A lot times more people want to see you when you slide over 18 inches," Peele said.

Moving over those 18 inches Peele sees the program from a different perspective.

"I have to make decisions on different areas and it could be anywhere from five to seven decisions on five or seven totally different aspects of the operation that day," Peele said. "Really the hard part is, as an assistant I loved to recruit."

Peele has been known as a tireless recruiter through out the years as he helped bring in the senior class on the court this year. He traveled across the country to help improve the team. He had to preserve the commitments of those who signed letter of intent's to play for the program when Marshall left. This season he brought in one of the most sought after athletes from other mid-major schools.

Looking ahead to next year, Peele has already received verbal commitments from three, three-star players according to rivals.com. They are Reggie Middleton from Augusta, Ga. (6'1" PG), Gideon Gamble from Atlanta, Ga. (6'6" SF) and Andre Jones from Suffolk, Va. (6'2" SG).

Peele's coaching philosophy in dealing with people is different than Marshall.

He learned this coaching philosophy from Duke's Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"One of the things I say a lot is 'what should we be saying and how should we be saying it'," Peele said. "(Krzyzewski) talked more about that than X's and O's."

He coached former Big South team UNC Greensboro for four seasons (1996-99) with a record of 46-67 as head coach. Peele led the Spartans to a Big South Championship in 1996, which marked the schools first trip to the NCAA tournament.

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