Character of his team is important to Bill Peeper.
But so are defensive and offensive prowess on the basketball court.
Peeper is a history teacher. Although he is getting to know the history of Iola High School Mustang basketball, it’s a clean slate for the 2010-2011 Mustang basketball team under their new head coach.
“Right now, I know that I’ve seen hard workers and a willingness to learn and be coached,” Peeper said. “We had a good team camp in June and since interviewing and getting the job here, I’ve heard nothing but good things about the kids, the school district and the community.”
Peeper brings a history of success with him. He left Syracuse High School in Syracuse, Kan., after six years. The SHS Bulldog boys were 112-28 under Peeper with four Kansas Class 2A State Basketball Tournament appearances. They placed third at the 2A state tournament in 2009.
“My wife and I are both from Oklahoma — the Stillwater-Enid area — and with two children, we decided it was time to get a little closer to the grandparents,” Peeper said.
“It was a tough decision leaving Syracuse because of the people and the students.”
Syracuse is in the southwest corner of the state, just 16 miles from the Colorado state line. It is west of Garden City and northwest of Liberal.
Peeper, his wife Autumn, daughter BreAnna, 6, and son Mason, 2, are settled in Iola and ready for the start of the school year. BreAnna will be a first-grader.
“We’re excited about being here. I’m teaching American history and world history for freshmen and sophomores. I love history so I’m learning the history of the high school basketball program but I really want to focus on this year and what we can get done now,” Peeper said.
Peeper said in his 14 years of coaching, which includes four years as head coach at Waukomis High in Waukomis, Okla., he hasn’t had “a big man inside. I’ve had some good size kids who played inside for me but not a dominant inside player to revolve the offense around.
“That’s the case again. We have a lot of guard-type players here at Iola from what I saw in camp and the summer tournament I watched. You have to start with players who can handle the basketball and we seem to have those here,” he said.
Peeper said when he and his wife decided to look for a new position, he made the calls when the Iola position opened.
He said he talked to Steve Taylor, who had been the Mustang head coach the past two years but left when his physical education teaching job was a budget casualty.
“Coach Taylor was very positive about the administration here and the kids. He said the program was going in the right direction,” Peeper said.
“I could see that Iola had not had a lot of success of late but the boys were in a lot of close games. There were more positives than negatives. Also it was an opportunity for me to coach at a different level — stepping up from Class 2A to Class 4A.”
The Oklahoma State University graduate said he liked challenges. So moving to Class 4A competition is a challenge for himself.
Peeper said basketball was a simple game if executed correctly. Each coach brings a set of criteria, defensively and offensively, to the table then adjusts to the personnel and situations to fit a team.
“First, I’m focused on the team itself. The character and chemistry of our team is core to what we want to do. The way we go about our business on and off the court,” Peeper said.
“Going all out to make it happen is what we’re looking for each time out. We had a great start with the team camp. These kids want to improve and they are great workers.”
Defensively, Peeper said his teams were hard-nose, attacking and aggressive. “We’ll put on as much pressure as possible.”
Offensively, it’s simple. “Limit mistakes. One of my pet peeves is turnovers. Our decision making has to be good. Push in transition but be smart enough to pull up and reset and work our half-court offense,” he said.
The Mustangs have gone 14-50 over the past three seasons. They have had three straight 3-13 seasons in Southeast Kansas League play.
“I love history. I’ll know the Iola High basketball history before the season starts and we’ll go from there,” Peeper said.
Peeper ready to guide Mustangs
