By MIKE CRANSTON
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Buzz Peterson is leaving college to rejoin his college roommate, Michael Jordan.
Peterson resigned Tuesday as coach at Coastal Carolina to become director of player personnel for the Charlotte Bobcats. Jordan is part-owner of the Bobcats with the final say on all basketball decisions.
Peterson was 35-25 in two seasons with the Chanticleers in his return to basketball after being fired as Tennessee’s coach in 2005 after four seasons. Before that, Peterson coached at Tulsa and Appalachian State.
“We appreciate everything that Buzz has done for the program and Coastal Carolina University since he arrived two years ago,” athletic director Warren Koegel said. “This is an opportunity that he felt he could not pass up. We wish Buzz and his family all the best as they start this new phase of their lives.”
Peterson, who is 201-134 in 11 years as a a head coach, is the latest Jordan confidant to join the Bobcats since Jordan bought into the team last summer. Team president Fred Whitfield and general manager Rod Higgins worked with Jordan when he ran the Wizards, while new coach Sam Vincent was played with Jordan on the Chicago Bulls.
Last week, former North Carolina point guard Phil Ford left the New York Knicks to join the Bobcats as an assistant coach.
Peterson was a senior at Asheville High School when he beat out Jordan as North Carolina’s player of the year. Peterson then played with and roomed with Jordan, and the pair helped the Tar Heels win the 1982 national championship.
A search for Peterson’s replacement at Coastal Carolina will begin immediately, Koegel said.