ST. LOUIS — Billed as “The Fastest 40 Minutes in College Basketball,” Missouri never quite became a must see team in five seasons under Mike Anderson.
The search began Thursday for Anderson’s replacement, and for someone who can build more excitement at a school that’s coming off its third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid but seemed to regress this season after briefly cracking the Associated Press Top 10. Missouri was 23-11 and especially vulnerable away from Mizzou Arena with a 1-7 Big 12 road record, limped in as an 11th seed, and quickly bowed out against Cincinnati.
Athletic Director Mike Alden believes Missouri is a destination hire, and wants the new coach to feel that way, too. That didn’t always seem to be the case with Anderson, who had flirtations with Georgia in 2009 and Oregon in 2010 before saying yes to Arkansas on Wednesday.
Alden has a history of hiring coaches from midmajor schools who have been assistants at the Division I level. Football Coach Gary Pinkel was a longtime assistant at Washington under Don James before becoming head coach at Toledo; women’s basketball Coach Robin Pingeton was at Iowa State before making a name at Illinois State, and Anderson was Nolan Richardson’s right-hand man for 17 seasons at Arkansas before climbing the ladder at Alabama-Birmingham and Missouri.
Among potential early candidates are three coaches with area ties: Matt Painter of Purdue, Cuonzo Martin of Missouri State and Ben Jacobson of Northern Iowa. The latter two fit the midmajor profile while Painter is a former assistant and head coach at Southern Illinois.
Missouri has hired an outside firm to assist in the coaching search, just as the school did before hiring Anderson. Alden wants someone who can recruit nationally and keep the program’s graduation rate high.
“I just think we have to identify the person out there that identifies with the characteristics,” Alden said Wednesday. “Wherever that person comes from, we need to make sure it’s the right fit.”
Given Missouri had a junior-laden team, it’s unlikely that many players will transfer.One prime possibility might be freshman guard Phil Pressey, the son of former NBA player and Anderson teammate Paul Pressey.
Junior Matt Pressey, Phil Pressey’s older brother, was a backup this year.
Sophomore guard Michael Dixon tweeted “Ima Missouri Tiger 4 Life” on Wednesday, not long before Anderson’s departure became official.
Junior guard Laurence Bowers said Anderson’s decision was tough to swallow, given he’s known the coach “almost my whole life.”
“Hopefully we can get somebody good that can take this senior leadership to the promised land,” Bowers added.
Sports, Pages 24 on 03/25/2011