Following up on something that I tweeted earlier today…
Kyle Perry was announced as the ninth head coach of the USC Upstate men’s basketball program during a press conference held on Friday morning in the lobby of the G.B. Hodge Center.
Perry, entering his ninth season overall with the program, replaces Eddie Payne who stepped down on Oct. 3.
Considered one of the top 30 assistant coaches ready to run his own program by CollegeInsider.com, Perry has played a major role in the success of the Spartan men’s basketball program. He helped Upstate earn its first-ever wins over the ACC and SEC with victories at Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State over back-to-back seasons.
Postseason success has also become the norm for Perry and the Spartans, as Upstate has reached the ASUN Men’s Basketball Championship semifinals three times, including a berth in the finals in 2014-15. Perry has been on the sidelines for all four of Upstate’s trips to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2016-17.
Serving as the recruiting coordinator at Upstate, Perry put together recruiting classes that have produced some of the best players in school history. The 2010 signing class featured ASUN Player and Freshman of the Year Torrey Craig, who went on to finish his career as one of the top players in ASUN history with 2,128 points and 944 rebounds. Craig is currently in his first season with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. Perry followed that by recruiting Ty Greene in 2011 and would later become both an ASUN Player and Freshman of the Year performer as well. Greene concluded his career by being named the Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year and would be drafted by the Delaware 87ers in the 2015 NBA G-League Draft.
Perry has also been an assistant coach at South Carolina State, College of Charleston, Carson-Newman and Tennessee Tech.
He played college basketball at Georgia Tech for head coach Bobby Cremins, earning three letters and helping the Yellow Jackets make two NIT appearances. Perry was a four-time All-ACC Academic honoree.
Perry earned his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgia Tech in 2001 and his Master’s degree in education administration in 2002 from Tennessee Tech.
http://www.upstatespartans.com/sports/m-baskbl/2017-18/releases/20171020jyf00q
