Mike Anderson: Image STLToday.comToday, we profile Coach Mike Anderson of the Missouri Tigers. In an attempt to give you an idea for why he's such an appealing commodity, let's look at the profile pieces on his coaching styles around the country.
- The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball - NY Times
- The New 40 Minutes of Hell - Memphis Commercial Appeal
- Run, Tigers, Run - Detroit Free Press
- 20-20 Visionary - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Creating his own legacy - Tulsa World
Anderson currently makes $850,000 plus incentives. After the best record in Missouri history, that's certainly going to change. It'll either change because they take care of him or we do. BTW -- If you're researching Anderson's tenure at UAB, remember that Marquette, Louisville and Cincy all played in Conference USA for the bulk of his years there.
The tricky part with Anderson will be navigating his agent. Anderson is represented by Super Agent Jimmy Sexton, and this is Sexton's first marquee college basketball coach relationship. Will he try to leverage Anderson's next contract into a defining moment for both of them?
Elsewhere:
On the Anthony Grant front, Bama is in the wait and see mode. Grant has 3-4 days to make up his mind on their enormous offer, or they'll move on to the next guy. With a few breaks, UGA could be deep into contract negotiations with their finalist.
Speaking of coaching searches, UK may terminate Billy Gillispie within the next 48 hours. After which their rumored list of candidates are (1) Donovan (2) Calipari and (3) Travis Ford. The more time they spend screwing around with Donovan the better.
The next 48 hours are everything in Georgia's search.
PWD
22 comments:
Don't you mean Anderson's tenure at UAB?
Yes. Thanks. Fixed it.
The more I read about Anderson the more I like. He seems to have his act together and (except for the Illinois bed wetting in Chicago) I have probably enjoyed watching his team more than any other this year.
I'd love to see us running that in Stegeman next year.
I'm really liking the sound of Mike Anderson as head coach at UGA. I would love to see an offense like his in Athens, after sitting through painful showings of Felton's scheme... Anderson's style of play would be a breath of fresh air.
I just hope this is more than conjecture and we really are going after him.
Great post!
I like what I read. Can't wait to see them against Memphis.
Me thinks Mr. Grant is hoping Kentucky will hurry up because he really, really wants a pair of jorts.
On another note, I know that UK is in love with Donovan...
But why would you fire a coach for not making the NCAA tournament only to hire a coach who has been in the NIT the past two years?
Yeah he won the national championship two years in a row and those players left to go to the NBA. The excuse is that he has to replace that talent, but in recruiting rankings since the first Natl. Champ. for Donovan:
2006: 20
2007: 1
2008: 10
Now recruiting rankings aren't everything, but that ought to be good enough to at least make the tournament.
Gillespie went to the NIT this year. Donovan went to the NIT the last two years. Gillespie lost to a terrible Georgia team. Donovan lost to a terrible Georgia team.
Both are good coaches but I'm just not sure Donovan and Gillespie are all that different at this point. If I was a UK fan I'd be pushing for Calipari.
I am all for Anderson, but I thinking it is an overstatement to say recruits love to play in his system. Sure, he seems to have an eye for talent and recruits to his system, both welcome sights in these parts after six years of Felton, but he has recruited very few elite players. I am not saying he isn't close to a perfect coach for us given our situation, but I don't think people should get the idea that we'll be roping in 3 top 50 players a year any time soon. A lot of kids don't want to share minutes and the ball like his system demands.
When Donovan almost bolted for the NBA a few years ago, didn't UF put some clauses into his contract stating that he couldn't jump to an NBA team for a certain period of years? I seem to remember some clause relating to Kentucky being in there as well but maybe I am misremembering...
RedCrake, I agree. I think Calipari would probably jump at the chance as well. While there will be many multitudes more pressure at UK, the stage will also be greater from which to shine. He can also go a long way towards erasing his "Pitino-lite" reputation he's carried since his days at UMass, both by occupying the seat Pitino once held, and also by going head-to-head with him in the context of a bitter rivalry on a regular basis.
I think Calipari would go after that. He's got the ego to want to take on the Kentucky cauldron.
Would Grant get Memphis, if so? Maybe.. or maybe Memphis goes after Anderson.
If Memphis wins tonight, we need to lock Mike Anderson down (if that the direction Damon wants to go) before something crazy like that has a chance to develop -- and while Calipari is still in the tourney.
Why do we have a 48hr window?
Alright, Officially really rooting against Missouri tonight, the longer they win, the worst for UGA in several ways. (not to mention I had them losing their last game to Marquette).
Great post, thanks for the blog.
I like Mike Anderson. Mizzou plays his scheme well, and it would probably work well with the Georgia talent.
But I have a questions about the Anthony Grant situation...
Does anybody know anything about Fletcher Page's article in the R&B today?
I can't find anything about this on the B'ham News website
"In addition, the Birmingham News' Kevin Scarbinsky reported that Parker Executive Search, the search firm Georgia hired to tap into potential coaching candidates, did something that turned Grant away from coaching the Bulldogs."
http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/03/26/Sports/Report.Alabama.Latest.To.Offer.Anthony.Grant-3683108.shtml
What the heck did the search firm do to turn away a coach!?!? I know he might not have been at the top of our wish list, but we can't be burning the opportunity before we check it out.
#1- Why would Calapari leave Memphis? The only reason I can think of would be $$. Anyone seen what he makes at Memphis?
At Memphis he basically is guaranteed a NCAA bid almost every year, he has a talent pipeline built, he has built in job security for probably the next 5 years even if he goes in the tank, and he competes for national championships every year (2 elite 8 appearances, 1 finals game appearance, and a TBD finish in 2009).
If Billy G proved anything in Lexington, you can't just walk into Kentucky and win. It is a sizable risk that I'm not sure Calapari would take. (I'm not sure Billy D takes that risk either). Both of those guys will have the gyms named after them if they stay 10 more seasons.
Now...for guys like Miller, Anderson, Grant, Ford, Capel does Kentucky become a factor? Absolutely, but Calapari or Donovan isn't going to UK without a stop in the NBA to buffer the move (like Pitino and Calapari did the first time).
The bottom line for UGA is that if the list we are all drooling over is correct and we end up with Sean Miller, Anderson, Capel, or Grant...we are moving in 100% the right direction. My biggest worry is that these names are the ones being thrown about and we end up with none of the above. That would hurt...b/c if we are going for none of the above, we should have made the hire already....
I guess my point is that Damon better be darn sure he can get one of the guys he is waiting on or else it is going to be painfully obvious that we swung and missed.
Read Scarbinsky's column, first I have heard or read about the search firm "dissing" Grant. A cited source, even an anonymous one (people close to Grant, whatever) would have been nice. I take it with a grain of salt, Crabs and Finnebaum try to be news makers, not news reporters.
I heard from a player that Damon Evans wants a coach who is going to run the floor. This seems to fit that description.
"#1- Why would Calapari leave Memphis? The only reason I can think of would be $$. Anyone seen what he makes at Memphis?"
It doesn't matter. Kentucky can pay him similar or slightly less, even, and Calipari may be interested because it is a prestigious job and it is easier to recruit with the name of the school.
"At Memphis he basically is guaranteed a NCAA bid almost every year, he has a talent pipeline built, he has built in job security for probably the next 5 years even if he goes in the tank, and he competes for national championships every year (2 elite 8 appearances, 1 finals game appearance, and a TBD finish in 2009). "
That doesn't matter. Coaches, like players, want to compete with the best competition and with the best players.
"If Billy G proved anything in Lexington, you can't just walk into Kentucky and win. It is a sizable risk that I'm not sure Calapari would take."
Any coach worth a snot believes he can win anywhere and that, at a place like Kentucky, not winning would have been the fault of the last coach.
To sum up...do you often hear of coaches turning down places like UNC, UCLA, Kansas? It's a huge ego trip just be courted for such a program.
Anon 2:29,
I would imagine the thing we've done to annoy Grant is not call him.
I mean seriously. If he wants a job offer, and we're not interviewing him at all. Well.
There you go. UGA has not asked for permission to talk to Grant. There's nothing else to know.
PWD
Absolutely no way, no how Calipari leaves Memphis this year. If he does, I'll donate $100 to PWD's favorite charity. Why? Well just look at his current '09 recruiting class. Its already rated as perhaps the best recruiting class in the history of basketball. Even better, they are waiting on yet another 5 star player (who is rumored to be a Memphis lean) that is among the best in the country as well.
Given how Memphis is dominating their league while playing a few OOC heavyweights yearly, Calipari knows he has it GOOD in Memphis. He has also getting the top recruits and many have predicted that, which the absolutely sick class coming in, he has a great chance to win it all at least once over the next few years.
He knows this, thus he's not leaving the great class he has coming in and all his effort to rebuild somewhere else.
Rbubp-
Sorry to crack back, but you aren't making any sense.
"It doesn't matter. Kentucky can pay him similar or slightly less, even, and Calipari may be interested because it is a prestigious job and it is easier to recruit with the name of the school."
What are you talking about? Name the last time a coach left his old job for a new job for LESS. Name one time...That's just asinine.
"That doesn't matter. Coaches, like players, want to compete with the best competition and with the best players. "
Again, what the hizzle? Best competition = NCAA tournament. All Americans the past three seasons= Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas Roberts, and Rodney Carney.
"Any coach worth a snot believes he can win anywhere and that, at a place like Kentucky, not winning would have been the fault of the last coach."
OK...so by your own reasoning, any coach 'worth a snot' would believe he could win anywhere. So if Calapari is worth a snot, he believes he can win anywhere ergo he believes he can win at Memphis. Was this supposed to help your argument?
"To sum up...do you often hear of coaches turning down places like UNC, UCLA, Kansas? It's a huge ego trip just be courted for such a program."
Well, considering Williams left Kansas to go to Carolina, obviously, maybe you could say he 'turned it down' but regardless, Ben Howland didn't leave Pitt to go to UCLA b/c it was UCLA...he left b/c (a) they offered him a boat load of cash, (b) he felt it was a better chance for him to win consistently than at Pitt b/c it was UCLA and (c) he had ties to UCLA being from So Cal (aka 'it was his dream job').
If the money is the same, I'm not sure you can say that Kentucky offers Calapari a better chance to win National Championships, coach all americans, and go to final fours, than Memphis does.
Plus, Calapari doesn't have the ties to Kentucky that Self had to Kansas (being a Big 12 and Oklahoma native), Williams had to UNC, and Howland had to UCLA.
Not to mention all three of those coaches got HUGE raises to leave Kansas, Illinois, and Pitt. They didn't just leave for the beauty of coaching at a traditional power.
Anyway...what makes any one think Kentucky isn't slowing evolving into Indiana. Most high school players know more about Kentucky and Rupp b/c of Glory Road than b/c they have seen them in a Final Four. UK doesn't have any stars left in the NBA. They have had as many players drafted in the past 6 years (1-Rondo) and Western Kentucky (1-Courtney Lee). That isn't good.
UK should have kept Tubby and if they didn't they absolutely had to get the hire right. They didn't and now they are paying the cost of their risky decision.
"Anyway...what makes any one think Kentucky isn't slowing evolving into Indiana. Most high school players know more about Kentucky and Rupp b/c of Glory Road than b/c they have seen them in a Final Four. UK doesn't have any stars left in the NBA. They have had as many players drafted in the past 6 years (1-Rondo) and Western Kentucky (1-Courtney Lee). That isn't good. "
Ok, Anon...That's a good point. My primary point was that Kkentucky has the prestige factor, which I think you knew. I guess we'll see if they still do.
I also think that a coach like Calipari--I think there's an ego there--would be interested in leaving the good stuff because maybe the name and the possible savior status are just that much more at a Historically Impressive U.
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