Following up on something that HoopDirt.com mentioned back on April 25th (DAILY DIRT)…
UNC Asheville men’s basketball head coach Mike Morrell announced the addition of Kyle Perry as an assistant coach on Wednesday, May 9.
Perry joins the UNC Asheville men’s basketball program after nine seasons at USC Upstate. Perry spent last season as the head coach of the Spartans.
“We are excited with the addition of Kyle Perry to our coaching staff,” Morrell said. “Kyle has a wealth of experience at the Division I level and his knowledge of the area will be a great benefit for us. He will do a great job helping our student-athletes move forward as players and as people. I look forward to the city of Asheville and Bulldog fans getting the opportunity to interact with Kyle.”
Perry is thrilled to be a Bulldog.
“I am excited to be at UNC Asheville on Mike Morrell’s staff,” Perry said. “Coach Morrell and I have known each other for 10-plus years. Mike Morrell is a rising star in this profession, and that is why I wanted to be part of this exciting time at Asheville. He gets every aspect of being a head coach and running his own program. I look forward to helping him and the Bulldog family.”
During his time at USC Upstate, the Spartans picked up their first-ever wins over ACC and SEC teams in South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State. The Spartans reached the Atlantic Sun men’s basketball championship game in 2015 and made three trips to the semifinals of the tournament.
Perry was on staff for all of USC Upstate’s trips to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Spartans reached the second round in 2012-13 and 2014-15.
In addition, with Perry on staff under legendary head coach Eddie Payne, the Spartans in just their first few seasons at the NCAA Division I level had the best turnaround in the NCAA in improving from five wins in 2010-11 to an impressive 21-13 record in the 2011-12 season.
Perry also helped put together one of the best classes in USC Upstate history that resulted in the Spartans bringing in future ASUN Player of the Year Torrey Craig, who is currently in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets.
A native of Gallatin, Tenn., Perry has an extensive coaching background in addition to his time at USC Upstate that includes two seasons as an assistant coach at South Carolina State under Tim Carter.
Perry spent the 2006-08 season serving as the Director of Basketball Operations under college head coach Bobby Cremins at the College of Charleston.
During his time at College of Charleston, he helped recruit Andrew Goudelock, who finished his career as Charleston’s all-time leading scorer en route to being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft. Goudelock is still playing professional basketball in Europe.
Before joining the College of Charleston, Perry spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Carson-Newman. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach by head coach Dale Clayton prior to the 2005-06 season.
Perry commenced his career as a graduate assistant under Jeff Lebo at Tennessee Tech during the 2001-02 season. The Golden Eagles won 27 games, the Ohio Valley Conference and appeared in the 2002 National Invitation Tournament.
A three-year letterwinner for Cremins at Georgia Tech, Perry was a four-time All-ACC Academic Honoree and a Hope Scholarship recipient from 1997-2001.
Perry picked up a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Georgia Tech in 2001. He earned his master’s degree in Education from Tennessee Tech in 2002.
