A Day with Missouri Basketball's Mike Anderson

Last Friday in St. Louis, I was fortunate enough to spend a good part of my “Mike Anderson Day” with the man of the hour as he was recognized by several different groups in the Gateway City.

It was a fun experience that allowed me to see a side of the coach I had rarely seen and also enabled me to have some candid conversations with some other members of the Missouri basketball staff and the Anderson family.

The Mizzou athletic department was kind enough to grant me some excellent, exclusive access, and for that I am very grateful.

 

My day began at the Juvenile Court, where I got to see Anderson speak candidly to young criminals about basketball as well as much more important things like family and education. With few cameras or members of the press around, the coach seemed (unsurprisingly) to be a lot more comfortable and easygoing.

It was the first time I’d heard him talk about being the first African-American coach at Missouri and how important it was to him to be a good representative of that community.

He also told the children the inspiring story of Kalen Grimes, who was kicked off the team after an incident in the summer of 2007 that involved him assaulting someone with the butt of a shotgun. Anderson allowed Grimes to stay on scholarship, and rather than just give up on life without basketball, Grimes completed his degree and now plays professional basketball in Uruguay.

Although sometimes he tried too hard to use basketball metaphors (i.e. equating his team’s unselfishness on the basketball court to making good decisions in life), Anderson’s overall message was a good one. While emphasizing the importance of family and education, he stressed that in the end, it was up to the kids themselves to determine whether or not they succeeded in life and overcome their difficulties and the bad decisions they made in the past.

He also touched on some themes he would reiterate throughout the day, most notably his loyalty to Missouri, his belief that the best is yet to come for the Tigers, and his intense drive to win at everything he does in life.

To emphasize this last point, he told the kids and the rest of the audience, “I don’t want to be Roy Williams. I don’t want to be Nolan Richardson. I want to be better than them.”

Anderson poked some fun at the kids for a weak rendition of the “M-I-Z Z-O-U" chant, and before his speech, three young girls were congratulated personally by Anderson for academic excellence. They also received warm hugs from the coach’s wife, Marcheita.

Before leaving the facility, Anderson took the time to go around the room and give fist pumps to each and every juvenile at the facility (probably somewhere between 40 and 60).

Judge Jimmie Edwards, who is apparently somewhat of a controversial figure in St. Louis, was extremely grateful for Anderson’s visit and truly believed it had a profound impact on the children. Anderson followed visits from other notable people such as Gary Pinkel and T.I. (to be fair, this was part of his court-ordered tour of juvenile facilities).

Former Mizzou football star and St. Louis native Demetrius Johnson (also a bit of a controversial figure who has been accused of trying to stay in the spotlight a little too long in his hometown) and Anderson both said when the coach was asked if he wanted to visit, his immediate answer was “no doubt about it”.

The coach seemed truly happy to be there, and both he and Edwards later said that his visit would be worth it if it had a positive impact on even one of the children at the facility.

The coach’s next stop was City Hall, where there were significantly more cameras and reporters while he received a the Key to the City from Mayor Francis Slay—meaning more recycled quotes and clichés. Anderson received plenty of love from everyone present and there were plenty of smiles and jokes to go around.

One member of the mayor’s staff even expressed his hope that he could hang a signed Anderson jersey in his office if Slay were to forget about it or not want it in his own office.

Friday evening, I met up with Anderson, his wife and kids, assistant coach Matt Zimmerman and sports information director Dave Reiter at Busch Stadium, where Anderson threw out the first pitch before the Cardinals handed the Royals a 5-0 loss.

The coach and his entourage arrived at 5:45 p.m., and we hung out in the Royals’ and Cardinals’ dugouts for a little over an hour before it was finally time for the big moment.

While we were waiting, Zimmerman told me how coach was keenly aware that he couldn’t show any support for either team, since he has to recruit heavily from both places. Fortunately Zimmerman, a big Royals fan, doesn’t have those concerns since he’s mostly responsibly for recruiting in the Kansas City area (Recent successes include Leo Lyons, Marcus Denmon and Steve Moore).

I also learned that most of the staff had attended Matt Lawrence’s graduation, but unfortunately Lyons didn’t quite get all the credits he needed to become the first person in his family to graduate. His focus shifted to the NBA draft shortly after the season ended.

For most of that hour, the coach was busy signing autographs (I don’t think he ever denied a request) and giving interviews to Cardinals and Royals announcers. Finally, Anderson avoided a lot of potential grief from his family, especially Mike Jr. and Yvonne, by lobbing in a pretty decent pitch to the delight of the crowd.

All in all, it was a fun day for everyone involved, and gave me a new level of respect for the class act that Anderson is as a person and a leader off the basketball court. He seems to realize and cherish the opportunity he has to touch people’s lives because of his status as a hero and role model to many Missouri fans.

So many people in his position tend to either dislike the attention and expectations that they sometimes unfairly receive, or simply worry about their job and nothing else. Fact is, great coaches like Anderson are getting paid enough, they should be doing their best to develop and nurture positive relationships within their communities.

In less than a month, on June 19-21, the Cardinals head to Kansas City for another three-game set. Let’s hope the Royals can follow St. Louis’s example and show some love for the man who has given Missouri basketball fans so much for which to be thankful.