NEW YORK — Twenty years after Nolan Richardson won the NIT in his first year as Tulsa coach, Buzz Peterson did it again.
Now Peterson must decide whether to follow the tradition Richardson set and turn success at Tulsa into a big-time coaching job.
Marcus Hill scored 24 points and shut down Alabama's leading scorer as the Golden Hurricane won the NIT championship for their first-year coach, beating the Crimson Tide 79-60 Thursday night.
"The eerie part about the whole thing is, 20 years ago Nolan Richardson took a club and won a championship," Peterson said.
Four years later, Richardson left for Arkansas, setting off a pattern that has also seen Tubby Smith, Steve Robinson and Bill Self launch their careers from Tulsa.
Peterson, who spent the previous four seasons as the head man at Appalachian State, is at the top of Tennessee's wish list and could interview for the Volunteers' opening soon.
"Nobody has contacted me yet," Peterson said. "But if something comes up, I'll never shut the door on anything."
Peterson added an NIT title to the NCAA one his college roommate, Michael Jordan, won for him in 1982. But this was sweeter than North Carolina's 63-62 win over Georgetown.
"As a player, you're just kind of on the coattails of Jordan, Sam Perkins and James Worthy," Peterson said. "As a coach, this is more satisfying."
If Peterson does leave Tulsa, the new coach will inherit a talented team with seven of its top nine players returning.
Hill, one of the few seniors on the team, ended his career with a school-record 100 wins, a trip to a regional final and the MVP of the NIT.