OTTUMWA --- Saying it’s a job he considers one of the top five or six in the country in the junior college ranks, Barret Peery has been tabbed to fill the basketball coaching vacancy at Indian Hills Community College. Peery’s hiring was announced Thursday.
The new coach says he was drawn to Indian Hills by the history of the college’s basketball program, the passion of the fan base and the understanding by everyone of what it takes to be successful on a regional and national level.
Peery comes to Indian Hills after three years as an assistant coach at the University of Utah. Prior to that, he coached for five years, three as head coach, at the College of Southern Idaho, a two-year school and perennial national power in Twin Falls, Idaho.
At Southern Idaho, Peery took his team to the NJCAA Division I national tournament twice, finishing fourth at the tourney in 2007. He compiled a record of 85-19, a winning percentage of .817, at CSI.
“Indian Hills is one of a handful of schools in the country,” Peery said, “where you have a realistic expectation of going to the national tournament every year. This was an opportunity to coach at a special place, one where the administration has the same goals as I do.”
Peery was selected from a pool of over 200 applicants and was one of six finalists for the IHCC job.
Two of Peery’s three teams at Southern Idaho led the nation in scoring and he promises that Indian Hills fans will see a fast-paced brand of basketball.
“We will play fast and use the whole floor,” the new Warriors coach said. “We should be an entertaining team to watch. But just because we will be a high-scoring team doesn’t mean we won’t guard people. I believe you can be a good defensive team while still scoring a lot of points.”
During his three years as head coach at CSI, the Golden Eagles won three Scenic West Athletic Conference titles and Peery was named Coach of the Year twice.
His best CSI team may have been his final one, a team that finished 30-2 but lost the Region 18 championship game to Salt Lake CC. Nine players from that team signed with NCAA Division I schools.
In all, Peery had 23 players go on to play D-I basketball in three years.
Peery describes his recruiting plans as “coast-to-coast.” He said his rosters at Southern Idaho were filled with players from all across the country.
His first two years at CSI were spent as an assistant under Gib Arnold before he ascended to the head coaching job. Peery has a total of 16 years coaching experience. He has been an assistant coach at Snow College in Utah, Utah Valley State College, Southern Utah University and Portland State University.
A native of Payson, Utah, Peery is a graduate of Southern Utah where he played for two seasons and was a co-captain his senior year. He was also an academic all-conference selection. He received an associate of science degree from Snow College and captained that school’s basketball team as a sophomore.
In high school, Peery was a three-year basketball letterman and was named to all-region and all-state teams in Utah.
The new IHCC coach will head to Houston this weekend, the site of the NCAA Final Four. “That’s where I intend to start my recruiting for Indian Hills,” Peery said.
Peery and his wife Tracy have three children, daughter Kennedy and sons Crew and Whitton.
The Warriors were 23-10 this past season. Jeff Kidder resigned following the season after six years as head coach.
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