FAYETTEVILLE — Rob Evans no longer is the interim coach for Arkansas’ basketball team.
“We’ve got a coach now,” Evans said.
Mike Anderson, a former Arkansas assistant, was hired from Missouri on Wednesday to be the Razorbacks’ new men’s basketball coach. He has a 200-98 record and six NCAA Tournament appearances in nine seasons as a head coach at Alabama-Birmingham and Missouri.
“I know Mike well. I’ve known him since he was a junior college player,” said Evans, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant on Coach John Pelphrey’s staff at Arkansas. “I think hiring Mike is a home run for Arkansas.
“Mike’s done extremely well everywhere he’s been. He’s a great fit to lead the Arkansas program.”
Evans said Anderson’s “familiarity with everything” at Arkansas and being part of the program’s successful history while assisting former Coach Nolan Richardson for 17 seasons - including three Final Four appearances and the 1994 national championship - will make him a big winner with the Razorbacks.
“I think Mike has a demeanor that fits this situation,” Evans said. “He’s a tireless worker. He understands the recruiting areas. He also understands the pressure that comes with this job. He understands all of that, because he’s lived it.
“He can be tough when he needs to be tough, but he also can be very understanding and thoughtful and do a good job teaching-wise when he needs to do that.”
Evans had served as Arkansas’ interim coach since March 13, when Pelphrey was fired.
While the Razorbacks didn’t receive an NIT bid and their season ended at 18-13 with their SEC Tournament loss to Tennessee on March 10, Evans has stayed busy during Athletic Director Jeff Long’s search for a new coach.
“I’ve been wearing myself out,” Evans said with a laugh. “I’ve been dealing with the players on a daily basis, staying in constant contact and making sure they’re doing what they should be doing.
“I’ve been talking a lot with [the players’] parents and staying in touch with our recruits, making sure that they were hanging tight until they could see who was going to be the coach.”
Evans, working in his Walton Arena office Thursday, said he’s also been giving Anderson “an overview of everything” in terms of the players on Arkansas’ roster and the team’s five high school signees.
“I’m doing fine,” Evans said. “But this has kept me really, really busy.”
Evans said he’s been helped by director of operations Damon Evans and director of student-athlete development Scotty Thurman, but said assistants Tom Ostrom and Brett Nelson have not been in the office.
So what about Evans? Will he be leaving Arkansas, too?
Anderson, who will hold his introductory news conference Saturday, hasn’t indicated how many of his staff he’ll be bringing from Missouri or whether he might want to retain Evans.
Evans, a former head coach at Ole Miss and Arizona State, joined Arkansas’ staff when Pelphrey was hired from South Alabama four years ago.
“Mike’s got enough on his plate right now already without needing to worry about that,” Evans said when asked if he might stay at Arkansas. “That information will come in due time, and we’ll see what happens. At some point Mike and I will sit down and talk, and decisions will be made from there.”
Evans, 62, said he’s been “networking” and plans to continue coaching, whether it’s at Arkansas or another school.
Sports, Pages 24 on 03/25/2011