FAYETTEVILLE — There was no doubt that Mike Anderson was the right man for the job when he was hired as Arkansas basketball coach eight years ago.
In most minds, Anderson was the only choice. He was trained by Nolan Richardson and was marvelous at both Alabama-Birmingham and Missouri.
The only question in my mind was whether or not Anderson would take the job, given the team that returned at Missouri. It was loaded with superb talent, built to play Anderson's uptempo style.
Of course, the reason Anderson did was what was going on at the grass roots level of Arkansas basketball at the time. The state was loaded with even better talent. Why couldn't he reap a huge recruiting harvest and win at the same level?
The only reason it might not happen is what happened: Anderson did not harvest that talent in his own backyard.
I always chuckled when basketball fans – even those with long backgrounds watching the sport – critiqued Anderson's style. They argued that changes in the rules impacted that style in a huge negative way. Hand checking in full-court defenses were routine fouls and hard traps with reaching hands were judged fouls.
There were also arguments that Anderson wasn't a “set play coach.” Or, that his coaching style did not develop players.
There are always going to be some elite coaches that call out the plays from the sidelines. There are going to be a few coaches that I'd be willing to say were above Anderson.
But it wasn't coaching that doomed Anderson. I saw players in the right position to make plays more often than not. I'm not 100 percent in love with his system, but I understood it and can't fault him for sticking with it. Forcing him to change would have been wrong.
What I saw over and over was a short bench and team with middle-of-the-road SEC talent. Anderson didn't get outcoached in his eight years at Arkansas. Mostly, he was out-recruited, and in his own backyard. Never did he find all of the right pieces in recruiting, for whatever reason. His teams always were more flawed in talent than in coaching style.
There were a few wins in recruiting, but not enough. For every Bobby Portis or Daniel Gafford that came into the program, there were misses on two or three others. Plus, too often good players didn't stay.
There was an obvious turning point in the process, when Michael Qualls did not return for his senior season. That, coupled with Portis' exit to the NBA, led to a rebuilding process that included Anderson's worst season, a 16-16 record in 2015-16.
It was during that time that players like Kevaughn Allen (Florida) and Malik Monk (Kentucky) left the state.
The final blow in recruiting could have been Anderson's crowning achievement, Reggie Perry's decision to change his commitment from Arkansas to Mississippi State. He was long committed to Anderson, then switched to the Bulldogs just a few weeks after dropping his Arkansas commitment.
I first began to feel Anderson's time was over at Arkansas in the second half of the Mississippi State game. Perry and his bigger, more physical teammates dominated the Hogs, 45-29, after halftime in Bud Walton Arena.
That was in the heart of a six-game losing streak that put the NCAA Tournament out of reach for the Hogs. It also was hard evidence that Anderson's last team was also one of his softest.
Of course, playing mostly freshmen and sophomores makes you look soft. It was telling that Mississippi State beat the Hogs up with a short roster. The Bulldogs went with a rotation of just seven players, with six playing the bulk of the minutes.
That should be a recipe for a big second-half advantage in the Anderson system – if he had a bench. There wasn't one for most of his time at Arkansas.
That's why I point to recruiting, not coaching or system problems. It wasn't just a lack of talent in the starting rotation, although there were no forwards with shooting ability on this team. There can't be more than one player the defense does not have to cover from beyond 10 feet. There were often two or three players on the floor together that fell into that category this year.
Richardson's teams never lacked for shooting power. And, when Anderson had it rolling, there were often five, six or seven with range even at the forward position. This team did not have a big man who could shoot from beyond point-blank range. That's recruiting, not coaching.
I heard complaints about not enough screens for Isaiah Joe. The freshman from Fort Smith got plenty of screens, but the forwards setting the screens did not have to be honored as potential shooters. I saw plays that called for as many as three screens in a set, but each time Joe was covered by both defenders involved in the play.
Adrio Bailey, Gabe Osabuohien and Gafford could set screens until the cows come home, but they were not going to be able to punish defenses for leaving them to cover Joe. Of course, point guard Jalen Harris was not going to make a defense pay for leaving him, either.
Recruiting is to blame. I think the firing came about because there was no belief that recruiting was about to take a jump forward.
In some ways, I understand the recruiting woes. Anderson was fighting an uphill battle because of the way things have changed in college basketball.
The last two SEC champions – Auburn and LSU – have been front and center in the FBI wire-tap scandal. Auburn fired basketball staffers during its title run last year. LSU is playing without its head coach after a stunning championship this season.
Anderson is squeaky clean. I've known him since his playing days at Tulsa. There is no one I trust more to do things right. His players graduate. They conduct themselves in magnificent fashion. Those who travel with the basketball team marvel at the sparkling way they treat complete strangers. It's a reflection of their coach.
There have been some odd bad actors in the program, but they were shown the door. Sometimes transfers made no sense to those outside the team, but those close understood in every case.
I pulled hard for Anderson. I didn't understand when players like Allen and Monk didn't want to play for him. Ultimately, I figured there was something shady in the works when they did not.
There was never anything shady with Anderson or any of his staff members. Maybe in that way, the game passed him. If that is the case, then it's a sad commentary on what college basketball is about now.
So what do you do? I've heard whispers that you go after a coach that will operate in the gray areas, or worse. That has never been the Arkansas way.
I do know that the right way is about recruiting a deeper roster. Maybe an elite Xs and Os guy is out there that I don't see, but it's probably not a lock that a better man or better coach will be next at Arkansas.
I do know that Arkansas is a great basketball job. I don't want it to be tainted by unethical practices. That's the good thing about what I've seen most of the time, especially from Richardson and Anderson. They were pure in thought about the NCAA rules, almost to the point of being stubborn. That's just fine with me.
Here is wishing good things for Anderson going forward. Good people deserve that.