Former EKU head coach reportedly hired as Knicks’ new general manager
The man the New York Knicks have reportedly hired as their new general manager was, in another life, the head coach of the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels.
Scott Perry, was head coach at EKU from 1997-2000. He was never a head coach before that, and after going 19-61 over three seasons, he was never a head coach again.
Perry, most recently joined the Sacramento Kings’ front office in April after five seasons with the Orlando Magic. On Friday, CSN Chicago reported that Perry has reached an agreement to become the new general manager of the Knicks. Steve Mills, the team’s current GM, is expected to become Knicks’ president, the job recently vacated by Phil Jackson.
Perry was an assistant to Steve Fisher at Michigan when he was hired as Eastern Kentucky’s head coach in 1997. At the time, he was reputed to be a strong recruiter, and several of his Eastern recruiting classes were praised by analysts.
That never translated to success on the floor for Perry at EKU, however.
His first Colonels team went 10-17. His second team went 3-23 in 1998-99.
Eastern doubled its wins total in 1999-2000 (6-21), but lost its final 16 games.
After that season, Perry resigned as EKU coach. Eastern eventually hired Travis Ford to replace him.
Perry quickly joined on as a college scout for the Detroit Pistons and has been in the NBA ever since. Upon Perry moving into the Pistons’ front office, the team reached the Eastern Conference finals six consecutive years, made the NBA Finals twice and won the championship in 2004. He later joined the Seattle Supersonics front office and was there when the team drafted Kevin Durant.
Last month, Perry assisted in a widely praised Kings draft night that yielded college stars De’Aaron Fox of Kentucky, Justin Jackson of North Carolina, Harry Giles of Duke and Frank Mason of Kansas.
This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Former EKU head coach reportedly hired as Knicks’ new general manager."