The press release on Coach Peterson

Below is the official Ohlone College press release on Coach John Peterson's departure:

After 14 years as the full time head men’s basketball coach at Ohlone College, John Peterson has resigned and will accept a position as an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.  This marks the second time in his career that he has worked as an assistant for new LMU Head Coach Mike Dunlap.  Peterson leaves as the second-longest tenured basketball coach in Ohlone history, and as the longest tenured coach in the Coast Conference North.

“While I am excited about the new challenges that lie ahead, Ohlone is one of the top three jobs in Northern California and that makes it tough to leave.  I have been fortunate to work in a great department with tremendous coaches and administrators,” says Peterson. “Thanks to former AD Paul Moore and former Ohlone President Floyd Hogue, who took a chance on a guy with no head coaching experience when they hired me back in 2000, Ohlone has been a phenomenal place for me to grow, as a coach and as a person, and I will miss it dearly.”

Peterson leaves Ohlone College as the all-time leader in wins (300), win percentage (300 – 126, 71%), Conference titles (5), winning seasons (14), most wins in a season (28), and 20-win seasons (11). In addition, his teams participated in the playoffs in 13 of his 14 years, including two appearances in the Elite 8, and finished ranked in the top 20 in 13 of his 14 seasons. Most importantly, 93 of his players in the 14 years have moved on to the four-year level. 

Chris Warden, Dean of Athletics and Kinesiology, says that Peterson will be difficult to replace. “JP is an exceptional coach, one of the finest. We knew this day would come because it’s hard to hang on to this kind of talent. We wish him all the best in his future.”