I had this as a rumor in my blog this morning – it’s now been made official…
Catawba College announced on Thursday that Rob Perron will become the 12th men’s basketball coach in school history. Perron has most recently served as associate head coach at Newberry.
“I’m extremely thankful to Jeff Childress and Brien Lewis for bringing me into the Catawba Family,” stated Perron. “This is the best basketball job in the South Atlantic Conference and it will be an easy sell to prospects and fans.”
Lewis welcomed Perron, noting that his prior coaching experience in the South Atlantic Conference will give him keen insights into the competition the Catawba squad will face in its upcoming season.
“Rob is seasoned in this conference and brings with him a wealth of knowledge about our fiercest competitors. This will be a plus for us on the court. But off-court, Rob is also committed to his players being students and focusing on their academics efforts. His priorities definitely align with Catawba’s.”
Perron served as recruiting coordinator at Newberry and helped implement an offensive system that ranked second in the nation in scoring this past season. Newberry just missed getting an invitation to the NCAA II Regional.
Prior to joining Dave Davis at Newberry, Perron was the Director of Basketball Operations for the Charlotte 49ers from 2006 to 2012. While there, he worked with all aspects of the program, including managing the budget, recruiting, scheduling and community engagement.
“I will ensure that our student-athletes and coaching staff will be visible ambassadors of the Catawba community,” added Perron. “We will attack academic and athletic excellence with purpose and passion. There is no reason why we can’t renew our winning tradition.”
Perron also worked with Davis at Pfeiffer before going to Charlotte. He was head coach at St. Andrews from 2002 to 2005 and took a 2-25 team prior to his arrival to the CVAC Tournament semifinals in his first season. He started his coaching career at St. Andrews as an assistant in 1997.
A 1996 graduate of St. Andrews, Perron earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. While at St. Andrews, he was team MVP and was captain of the basketball, cross country and track teams. He scored over 1,100 points with over 700 rebounds in a four-year playing career which also included two seasons at Normandale (Minn.) Community College.
Although he becomes Catawba’s 12th head coach, Perron will be just the third man to guide the Catawba Indians since 1960. He replaces Jim Baker, who was head coach for the past 20 seasons. Sam Moir had guided Catawba for the previous 34 years.
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