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SALT LAKE CITY - Another familiar face will be returning to the Utah basketball program.
Norm Parrish, a former graduate assistant under Lynn Archibald in 1988-89, has been named as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Utah men's basketball program.
Parrish joins the Utes after coaching at Salt Lake Community College for the past 20 years.
The full press release is below.
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SALT LAKE CITY - Utah men's basketball has hired Norm Parrish as its new Director of Basketball Operations, head coach Larry Krystkowiak announced Wednesday. Parrish joins the Runnin' Utes after 20 years as the head coach at Salt Lake Community College.
"Norm is a tremendous basketball coach and a great person," said Krystkowiak. "He is going to be involved in several key areas of our program. He had tremendous success at the junior college level, winning a national championship in 2009 after reaching the finals the year before. He is very well-respected in basketball circles and will be a great representative of the University of Utah. We are very excited that he wanted to join us and help us move forward."
This will be Parrish's second stint with Utah basketball, after serving one year as a graduate assistant under the late Lynn Archibald in 1988-89.
"As a Utah native I am very excited to become part of this staff. It's an honor to get back to the great tradition of Utah basketball," said Parrish. "I have known everyone on this staff for a number of years and I am very confident in them."
Parrish has guided SLCC to unprecedented success, including another 20-win season in 2011 and a trip to the Region 18 championship game. Two years ago, the team won the NJCAA national championship, the first in school history, along with its second consecutive Region 18 championship. Parrish was awarded the 2009 NJCAA National Coach of the Year honor for his efforts. In 2008, he guided the Bruins to a first-place finish in the Region 18 tournament and a runner-up finish at the NJCAA national championships.
A five-time Region 18 Coach of the Year, Parrish also led the Bruins to the 2000 SWAC regular season championship. In 1994, just his third season as head coach, Parrish steered SLCC to the Region 18 tournament title and a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA national championships. Parrish finished with a career record of 447-198 (.693), eclipsing the 20-win mark 14 times.
Under Parrish's stewardship, SLCC has had 20 NJCAA All-Americans and 24 NJCAA Academic All-Americans. Nearly 50% of his players have moved on to compete at the NCAA Div. I level, with several now playing professionally in the NBA and overseas.
Parrish has recruited and coached players from all over the United States and many foreign countries. Players have come from Greece, England, Turkey, Australia, Switzerland, Brazil, Russia, Serbia, and the West African countries of Senegal, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast. Returned LDS missionaries were also an integral part of his recruiting process.
"I owe a great deal of thanks to [SLCC Athletic Director] Norma Carr and the Salt Lake Community College family for taking a chance on a young coach so long ago," said Parrish. "I had an unbelievable experience in 20 years at SLCC and it was a hard place to leave. I could not have left if I wasn't so confident in Coach Krystkowiak and his staff."
Before coaching at Utah under Archibald, Parrish was an assistant at Nampa High School in Idaho, coaching football and basketball. Parrish played his collegiate ball at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, and then at Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa. He received All-Region honors at both institutions. Parrish attended Viewmont High School in Bountiful, UT where he received All-State honors in football and basketball.
Parrish earned his Bachelor's degree from Northwest Nazarene in 1987 and received a Master's from Utah State in 1993. He and his wife Kaye have three sons, Travis (20), who is serving an LDS mission in Singapore, Matt (17) and Collin (13).
