I-Ridge hires Peabody as hoops coach

By all accounts, it was worth the wait.

Peabody, Tucson's most successful high school boys basketball coach of the 1990s, was approved Wednesday as the new coach at budding powerhouse Ironwood Ridge — after waiting nearly a month for school board protocol to transpire.

"It was like getting a brand new Cadillac from your parents, and then they say you can't drive it for three months," Peabody said. "I've coached at every level with the exception of the NBA, and the high school game is definitely where I should be at, so it's great to be back."

The coach who guided Salpointe Catholic to glory at the state's highest level from 1993 to 2003, Peabody was unanimously voted in by Amphitheater Public Schools' board members after accepting the school's job offer July 11.

Ironwood Ridge athletic director Will Kreamer told the Star on July 12 the school made its selection for the coaching position but declined to comment publicly until after Wednesday's meeting.

"We just don't want to do or say anything premature that would mess this up," he said last month.

"It takes a certain kind of person to take a successful program like ours and move it forward, and I think Brian is that guy," Kreamer said. "It's exciting. I'm really looking forward to our future in basketball."

Peabody won more than 80 percent of his games (315-73) as a high school coach from 1990 to 2003. He won a Class 1A state championship in two seasons at Green Fields. The Sahuaro and UA graduate also coached one year at 1A St. Gregory before accepting the Salpointe job in April 1993.

But Peabody was abruptly dismissed as Salpointe's coach on Aug. 5, 2003, because of what the school's administration deemed a difference in philosophies. Many schools tried to woo Peabody since then, but Ironwood Ridge has qualities few others do, he said.

"They have a good program and maybe the best facilities in the state with two gyms and a really nice campus," he said.

Peabody coached in 2003-04 at Pima College and 2004-05 as an assistant at Division I Western Carolina. He won nine region crowns and compiled a 243-59 record in 10 years at Salpointe.

He will not have to perform any makeovers at Ironwood Ridge. The Nighthawks have been a winning program since their inception in 2002 and were 4A-I state runners-up in February.

Karl Pieroway, the school's only coach to this point, resigned in June to take a job with Velocity Sports Performance.

"Karl did a very nice job setting that program up and giving them a lot of credibility. What Brian is going to do is take that to another level," said Bob Vielledent, a longtime Tucson-area coach who taught and coached Peabody at Sahuaro. "He is a good hire for a school that's going nowhere but up."

Through the years

Brian Peabody was hired Wednesday as the new boys basketball coach at Ironwood Ridge. His high school career record is 315-73 (.812). Here is a look at his high school coaching career:

Year-by-year results

Year School Record Playoff result

1990-91 Green Fields 23-4 1A champ

1991-92 Green Fields 23-7 1A runner-up

1992-93 St. Gregory 26-3 1A semifinals

1993-94 Salpointe 17-10 no playoffs

1994-95 Salpointe 21-7 5A quarterfinals

1995-96 Salpointe 29-2 5A semifinals

1996-97 Salpointe 29-4 5A runner-up

1997-98 Salpointe 23-6 5A quarterfinals

1998-99 Salpointe 30-4 5A runner-up

1999-2000 Salpointe 24-6 5A quarterfinals

2000-01 Salpointe 22-6 5A second round

2001-02 Salpointe 21-10 5A second round

2002-03 Salpointe 27-4 5A second round

Brian Peabody time line

• February 1981 — Peabody is a starting senior guard on a Sahuaro team that loses to eventual 5A champion Phoenix East in the state semifinals.

• November 1983 — Joins Sahuaro coaching staff as assistant under former coach and mentor Dick McConnell.

• May 1986 — Graduates from the UA with degree in Secondary Education.

• Fall 1990 — Accepts first head coaching position at Green Fields, the 1A state champion in 1989-90.

• February 1991 — Guides Griffins to second straight state title in his first season.

• 1992-93 — St. Gregory goes 26-3 and reaches 1A state semifinals in Peabody's only year with the school.

• April 1993 — Introduced as new coach at Salpointe Catholic. Peabody and his staff joke, "We've reached the big time."

• March 1, 1997 — Salpointe loses 5A state title game 80-75 in overtime to Phoenix Carl Hayden. Lancers' 29 wins match school record set previous year.

• Feb. 27, 1999 — Lancers squander seven-point halftime lead in 66-54 loss to Mesa Mountain View in 5A state final.

• Aug. 5, 2003 — Coming off a 27-4 season and his ninth 5A Southern Region title in 10 years, Peabody is informed by Salpointe officials he will not be retained for the 2003-04 season.