• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

Dan Peters (Akron Assistant Coach)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Buckskin86

Buckskin86

Moderator
University of Akron's Dan Peters? life shaped by move to Jackson
By Joe Dunn
The Suburbanite
Posted Jul 17, 2010

g12c000000000000000f0449b6034d18531953827617ed8b4d5a8370e4a.jpg

Jackson TWP, Ohio ?

The University of Akron's Director of Basketball Operations, Dan Peters, was 10 years old when his father moved the family from Cleveland to Strouble Drive in Jackson Township.

?I thought he was nuts,? Peters remembers. ?It seemed like it was all farmland and there was no Belden Village. There was nothing to do but play sports.?

Little did Peters know that his move to Jackson would set in motion a chain of events that would change the course of his life. Forty-five years later, after basketball coaching jobs in Ohio, Mississippi, North Carolina and Indiana, Peters is ready to acknowledge that Jackson Township is where his dream began.
And it all started on Strouble Drive.

?Greg and Karen Rufo were my first friends in Jackson,? Peters said. ?We all played at what is now Fischer Fields, and then I met a lot more kids when I started little league baseball. I loved baseball and only started playing basketball because all my friends in my neighborhood were playing.?

It was on to St. Michaels' grade school where Peters played football, basketball and baseball.

?I remember going to the C.Y.C. in downtown Canton and meeting a coach named Rey Dempsey,? Peters said. ?He ran a basketball program and kept track of all the good athletes in the area and tried to recruit them for Central Catholic. He sold me on going to Central and I really enjoyed my four years at the school.?
Click to expand...

University of Akron's Dan Peters’ life shaped by move to Jackson - Akron, OH - The Suburbanite
 
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...in-support-of-cancer-stricken-akron-assistant

A beloved man in college basketball circles is enduring a hellish battle with one the grimmest of cancer diagnoses: pancreatic cancer.

Dan Peters is the director of basketball operations at Akron. Not even two months ago, he was given a 5-percent chance to live after doctors told him the life-altering news. Surgery to remove the tumor in his pancreas was not successful, and so now he is undergoing chemotherapy to overcome the hideous disease.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the annual Coaches vs. Cancer awareness weekend in college basketball, where nearly every coaching staff will bring attention to the fight against all cancers by wearing sneakers on the sideline instead of typical dress shoes. Some schools, like Marquette, will wear different-colored uniforms as well.

And next Wednesday, against Ball State, Akron will be handing out purple "4 Pete's Sake" shirts. Patches have been sewn onto jerseys at Akron. Lapels will be adorned with a purple pin, signifying the fight against pancreatic cancer.

Per Akron officials, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Delta State, Eastern Michigan, Houghton College, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Ohio State, St. Joseph's (Ind.) College, Toledo, Walsh College, Western Carolina, Western Michigan and Youngstown State will all show their support for Peters.

As will West Virginia, whose coach, Bob Huggins, has known Peters for decades.

And top-ranked Arizona will also be showing its support. Peters' son, Danny, is the assistant director of operations for the Wildcats.

Peters, 59, began chemotherapy this week. Akron coach Keith Dambrot told Yahoo Sportsthat Peters will be rotating work weeks, two on and two off, for the next six months. Inspiring and scary. Dambrot lost his composure during the National Anthem at a recent game, letting tears roll down his face after Peters came back for his first game since the diagnosis.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal, complications from the unsuccessful surgery led Peters to lose 20 pounds. He's been able to gain that weight back, and he'll need it for the fight ahead with chemo.



“I teared up when I saw him,” Dambrot said. “Before the game I had trouble emotionally. That sounds like I'm immature, but I struggled during the national anthem, during the starting lineups, when I first saw him. When one of your friends is stricken, everything else becomes secondary.” Peters is facing the longest of odds, but remains amazingly upbeat. “I get a little anxious because I'm not sure what's going to happen,” Peters said. “But the one thing I would say is whatever happens is OK. I believe God has always taken care of me. I'm in his hands. As much as I would like to live, that may not be the option. I have no regrets. I'm going to try as hard as I can to fight this. I know there have been a lot of people who have been praying and I'm very appreciative. I'm actually in a very good place, I guess.”



The school will distribute the first 3,000 fans at Wednesday's game with the "4 Pete's Sake" shirts.

Peters has been at Akron since 2009. Prior to that he was with Ohio State (2004-09) and Cincinnati (1999-2004) as an assistant coach. He coached Youngstown State in the 1990s.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Coach Dan Peters passed away from his pancreatic cancer today.

I've had the misfortune of seeing that cancer do its damage first-hand. It is a truly devastating disease. My one hope is that Dan was finally able to feel peace. Thoughts to his family on the loss.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top