By Rob Potter
LOCH SHELDRAKE — The search for a new head coach to guide the men’s basketball team at Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) is over.
On Monday afternoon, Tim Perry formally accepted the position. He was one of three candidates who interviewed for the job last month.
Perry takes over for Chris DePew, who was the SCCC Generals head coach for six years and an assistant coach for five years. DePew will remain the Director of Athletics at SCCC.
Coaching at six different levels in high school and college basketball, Perry brings a wealth of experience to Sullivan.
His first stop was as an AAU coach in Iowa City, Iowa and his most recent job was serving as the top assistant to Coach Craig Fletchall at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan.
Perry is looking forward to leading the Generals.
“I’m very excited, I can’t sleep at night,” he said in a telephone interview Wednesday evening.
Perry is well aware of the SCCC men’s basketball tradition and wants to continue that success.
“I have a lot of respect for what Will [Brown] and Chris [DePew] have done at Sullivan,” he said. “They are great coaches.”
“I know my work ethic,” Perry added. “I will work hard to help the program continue to prosper.”
Prior to coaching at Barton County CC, the 34-year-old Perry spent three seasons as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at The College of Saint Rose in Albany. During that time Saint Rose notched 59 wins and a trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II tournament.
“My family and I are very excited about moving to Sullivan County,” said Perry, referring to his wife, Kelly, and their 4-year-old twin boys, Timmie and John Patrick. “It’s a gorgeous area and we’re excited to be part of the community. When you think about community college, the word ‘community’ is so important.”
DePew is very confident that Perry will do a great job.
“I’m extremely happy that Tim is joining our program,” DePew said. “Tim is the right man for the job.”
DePew said he will be keeping a close eye on the program.
“I won’t be too far away,” he said. “In addition to my family, the men’s basketball program here at Sullivan is one of the things closest to my heart.”
Perry, who will also assist with day-to-day operations and coordinating recruiting efforts at SCCC, said he has talked with about a quarter of the Generals since accepting the head coaching job on Monday.
“And I’ve seen about half of them play when they were in high school,” he said.
“They are excited about next season,” Perry added.