Stadium hires Derek Pegram as next boys basketball coach

Derek Pegram wasn’t out of coaching for long.

Stadium High School on Friday introduced Pegram as its next boys basketball coach — coming a little more than a month after he stepped down as the girls basketball coach at Auburn Riverside.

“When I met the kids (Friday morning), I felt this was absolutely where I need to be,” Pegram said.

Pegram takes over for Dennis Johnson, who coached Stadium for two seasons. It’s Pegram’s first varsity boys coaching position, though he coached Auburn Riverside’s junior varsity boys team for six years, then Franklin Pierce’s JV in 2010.

Pegram, a graduate of Auburn Riverside, coached the girls team to at least a share of back-to-back 3A SPSL titles and this year coached the team to a 23-0 start and the regional round of the 3A state tournament before resigning in March.

Stadium went 2-16 and finished last in the 4A Narrows League this past year. It will play in the newly created 3A Pierce County League next year.

“The first year — it’s all about culture,” Pegram said. “I don’t know what their culture was like last year or the year before, but I know the style of play I like to coach and the culture I like to build. The first year will be about having kids buy in.”

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 12:35 AM with the headline "Stadium hires Derek Pegram as next boys basketball coach."