Michael Tillery.com

Alabama-Birmingham : Mike Anderson

02/20/2006
by Michael Tillery

Coach Mike Anderson has proven that he is focused in his attempt to rule Conference USA. He has built a defensive minded up-tempo squad that doesn't quit until the clock reaches zero. He is a disciple of former legendary Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson in every sense and has brought a refreshing and disciplined sense of winning to a school that was known for winning games against perceived superior competition. They have won fifteen of the last seventeen games they've played and presently have a record of 19-5 (9-2 conference). This team with its intimidating defensive presence will wreak havoc on teams not accustomed to deal with the press. This is a team that should not be overlooked when filling out your brackets come March Madness.

BlackSports:Coach Anderson, I'm Michael Tillery from Blacksportsnetwork.com. Congratulations on getting UAB back on the map and we at BSN thank you for the interview. You are one of the rising stars in the coaching profession. Hopefully we can help in giving Black coaches more positive exposure so you can be looked at more than just motivators and recruiters.

Mike Anderson:Thank you BSN for the opportunity to speak about the UAB program. I appreciate the encouraging words.

BlackSports:Comment on the way your teams play defense and their ability to disrupt the passing lanes. You've led the country in steals the last three seasons which is an amazing accomplishment.

Mike Anderson:The first year you go like OK that was nice, after that you say to yourself that we're on to something here. The way we play up-tempo offense. We call it the "Fastest 40 minutes." I've coached under and played for Coach Nolan Richardson who was the original architect of the "40 minutes of hell" so I guess you can call what we do the 40 minutes of hell part two. We've been successful doing some things here and hopefully we will continue to be successful.

BlackSports:Three straight 20 win seasons and 3 straight tournament appearances including sweet 16. Entering your 4th year as UAB's head coach what are you most proud of to date?

Mike Anderson:I think number one is they have done extremely well, they've come in and worked hard, and I think we've built a program to be proud of. I think coming in we came into a program that has a tradition. The thing I'm most proud of is the pride that is taken place in the city of Birmingham. I'm from Birmingham.
BlackSports:Do you have any family in Birmingham that is presently playing basketball?

Mike Anderson:Well, my son is on my team. He's actually a red shirt freshman playing for me. That's kind of neat. A have a nephew that's at Vandy, my sister's son, he's a good player. My daughter is sophomore, she has a chance of becoming a pretty good ball player. So there are many of my family members that play.

BlackSports:How do you feel you match up against Memphis?

Mike Anderson:we played them up at their place and we played them even. Conference USA was on display. Most schools thrive on intimidation at home. Part two is when they come here on March the 2nd. We are going to be on ESPN II. I am focused right now on playing one game at a time, one day at a time. Hopefully we will be in position to take on Memphis--who is the number three team in the country--which is a tremendous challenge. We have a few challenges before that that we have to be ready for.

BlackSports:Critics have claimed that with the departure of Louisville, Cincy and DePaul from Conference USA that it no longer has a "big conference cache" look and feel. Your Thoughts?

Mike Anderson:Well, first of all it's a league in transition. You don't lose programs like that and not take a hit. There are still some good programs here. When you look at the teams that are already here, you look Memphis with what they are doing, Coach Calipari has assembled a tremendous program. You look at our program here and over the last three years, no one else has had as much success as we have had, especially in the NCAA tournament. Then you look over and you see some great coaches-Larry Eustachy at Southern Miss, Tom Penders down in Houston where he has done a tremendous job. The programs that are coming in such as UTEP, the subject of Glory Road, have won a national title. It is just a matter of time before the rivalries start happening. Tulsa--my alma mater--no program has won as much as they have in the last few years. It is just a matter of time before the conference evolves back into a great name. People are starting to again notice conference USA.

BlackSports:What did you learn from Coach Richardson and what that has meant for you from a Coaching standpoint?

Mike Anderson;He came in 1980 and we played against his junior college team, Western Texas. They went 37-0. We were victim number 37 in the championship that year. He then got the job at University of Tulsa. So then in early 1980 he came in and told my Mom you have a young boy that should come back here and mentor. I didn't know it was going to take twenty-two years. I came back to Birmingham in '02. I learned quite a bit from coach. Be who you are, don't try to be like anyone else. Don't try to be like me, be better than me. Don't try to be like Dean Smith. Be better than a Dean Smith or a Roy Williams. Those are things that I shoot for. When I put my program together, I didn't just want to be one of the better teams of Alabama, I want to be one of the better teams in the country. He's a mentor, he's a father figure. When one sees our team out there playing they think about the better teams of the 90's coached by Nolan Richardson. They played a tremendous up-tempo style of basketball and they won.

BlackSports:Did you ever envision when you played in the junior college championship game that you would eventually play for Coach Richardson?

Mike Anderson:No. I never did. We were the Cinderella team and they were the team that was favored to win. As a matter of fact, in that game we were up by 8 points at half-time. When I fouled out we were up by six points and then it went the other way. Before the game, Coach Richardson had already locked the job up at Tulsa. Players from this area don't go west of the Mississippi, they stay here in this area. Staying in the area gave me the opportunity to play against his team. I look back at that decision there and it was one of the better decisions that I have made.

BlackSports:What does your team have to improve on as it prepares C-USA and NCAA tournament?

Mike Anderson:I think number one, we need to get consistent. We played UTEP last week and it was probably one of the worst games we ever played. We couldn't shoot the ball. We looked as though we were moving in slow motion. We have to rebound a whole lot better and get back to the up-tempo and the scrambling to where there is a street fight -- what we call it. One thing about when we play the way we play, you have to play with energy. Our guys have done at tremendous job. You don't lose your leading scorer like Demario Eddins like we did on January 2nd and play teams on the road and at home and do the things that we've done. We have to keep the confidence going and believe in one another.

BlackSports:What type of student athletes are you looking for to represent the University of Alabama-Birmingham?

Mike Anderson:We try to bring in guys who have sound character, which is very important. Character counts in a lot of things. Raw talent is also important as well as having the right kind of kids. I like the athletic, tall and lanky, a guy who understands the game of basketball. I like the guys who can run like gazelles but you also have to have guys that can play the game. I like kids that are instinctive and kids that have character as well.

BlackSports:Do you think the NCAA is doing enough to hire Blacks in Division I football?

Mike Anderson:You only have to look at the numbers. Statistics show that there are not many opportunities for Black head coaches. Most of them are staying in the realm of basketball. You have a lot of minorities that are playing these sports and later not getting the opportunity to coach. My role as Mike Anderson and other key guys like Coach Richardson, Coach Chaney, Coach Heath, and Coach John Thompson is to provide the opportunities for minorities to coach through our success. Coach Richardson was the first Black to coach college basketball in the state of Oklahoma. He opened up doors and then Coach Tubby Smith gets the job at Tulsa. He moves on to the state of Arkansas and becomes the first Black head coach at a major institution. He was a guy that opened up doors and I was there on the front line with him. So I understand the value of having a role model as I take the task of coaching UAB.

BlackSports:Martin Luther King once said "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." Please comment on that quote as well as the recent passing of his beloved wife and fellow civil rights activist Coretta Scott King.

Mike Anderson:We live in a society where we sometimes look at things and we do not think that they are fair. I have a saying "the harder you work, the luckier you get." You have to stay solid in what you are doing. You have to stick to what you are doing. Dr. King believed we lived in a nation where you are judged by the color of your skin and not by your character. When you see that you have to build a foundation and you stay true to who you are. The coaches and the roles that they play in society are huge. Sports attracts a lot of people from different cultures and backgrounds. We have a commitment to continue to work hard and continue to carry out the words of Martin Luther King.

BlackSports:Do you believe that athletes today do not comment on social issues for the sake of making money or for the betterment of society?

Mike Anderson:Coach Anderson laughs. There are athletes out there that are very outspoken and then there are some that are very reserved in nature. You cannot judge and say that all of them do this or all of them do that. Certain situations create things that we can do or we can't do. The good Lord puts us in position to speak out. I go back to guys like Coach Richardson and John Thompson, when they have something on their mind they speak out no matter what the consequences. Guys like Charles Barkley, who is from Alabama and is a friend of mine, speaks his mind even though a lot of people don't like him. He tells it like it is.

BlackSports:What's it like to coach at home?

Mike Anderson:Well, its kinda tough coming back home because of all the distractions, but I feel I was blessed to have the opportunity to come back home. My first two years here, my Mom got the chance to see not only see me coach but also be successful as a head coach. She passed away in 2004. But at least she got a chance to see me be a head coach. All my family is here. I am from a family of eight kids. You do the math and multiply. They give me tremendous support. My family and the surrounding community fill the stands.