Mike Anderson: Great For College Basketball

After seeing Mike Anderson coaching at the University of Missouri these past few years, I have been quite torn. As a Kansas student and fan, I naturally want to see Missouri fail in everything that they do. But as a sports fan, it is tough not to appreciate Mike Anderson. This hire was a slam dunk for Mizzou. After Quinn Snyder, they needed someone who was going to not only lead the Tigers back to prominence, but do it the right way. Anderson is nothing but a class act and deserves everything good that comes to him.

On top of being a great and likeable person, Anderson’s teams are also fun to watch. He reminds me of Kansas coach Bill Self in his ability to check his players’ egos and get them to buy into a defensive team first philosophy. Anderson’s 40 minutes of hell scare every team on the Tigers schedule, no matter how much they’ll deny it coming in. Anderson quite simply is not only great for the Big 12, but great for college basketball.

With all of the things Mike Anderson has going for him, he can expect to be involved in rumors for several big name jobs that come up in the near future, and he absolutely deserves to be. While the Missouri-hater in me wants to see Anderson take one of those jobs as far away from Kansas as possible, the college basketball fan in me wants to see him stay at Missouri and leave his mark on that university. It’s rare in college basketball today that you can get talented players to buy into a defensive style like Coach Anderson and Self have, so when it happens, you need to appreciate it. And how much fun would it be to have those two great coaches match up for years to come in one of the best rivalries in the country?

#1 Kansas Loses To Volunteers In Knoxville

It was a tough loss for the top ranked Kansas Jayhawks this weekend. They were simply outmatched all game against a united Tennessee Volunteers team. Tennessee fans should be very proud of this win. Bruce Pearl got his team to come together and manhandle arguably the most talented team in the country for 40 minutes to win 76-68. And the crazy thing is, it shouldn’t have even been that close! In what was an odd game, Tennessee shot 50% from 3-point range and only 48% from the field. On top of that, the Vols only shot 52% from the free-throw line. Sure, the passionate Vols caught some breaks. Kansas didn’t play the defense that people have begun to expect from Bill Self’s teams. Top role players Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed struggled to convert on the open looks that typically go in. And of course the awkward 3-point basket made by Skylar McBee in the last two minutes as the shot clock expired. Despite all of these breaks however, Tennessee absolutely controlled this game from the early stages.

For Tennessee fans, you should feel great. I am a huge fan of Bruce Pearl and think he has the chance to be of the elite coaches in the game, if he is not already. He certainly showed why on Sunday by getting his players to play together despite losing a third of their team to suspension/dismissal. For Kansas fans, I wouldn’t worry. Bill Self is one of the top coaches in the nation and I’m sure he silently was wanting this as a motivation tool for his team. Self has said it before, this Kansas team was given the #1 ranking because of last year’s success. This year’s team absolutely has not deserved that ranking for much of this season, yet Kansas’ players have all had a demeanor as if they had already won the championship. Make no mistake, Self will get this team hungry and on track. It is a long season and either one of these great coaches will tell you it’s all about how you finish.