Anderson out at Arkansas after eight seasons
Arkansas has parted ways with coach Mike Anderson after eight seasons, the school announced on Tuesday.
Anderson, 59, is a former Nolan Richardson assistant who returned to Fayetteville in 2011. He guided the Razorbacks to the NCAA tournament in three of the last four seasons heading into this season, but the Razorbacks struggled en route to an 18-16 (8-10 in the SEC) campaign. They also failed to reach the tourney in four of his first five seasons at the helm.
Overall, Anderson went 169-102 during his time at Arkansas.
The Houston head coach has rebuilt the Cougars. Could he be in line to do the same for the Razorbacks?
“After a review of the program, including an analysis of the past eight years and a look forward, I have made a decision that a change in leadership will best position our men’s basketball program for future success,” athletic director Hunter Yurachek said. “In the past eight seasons, we have won a number of games and have made appearances in both the NIT and NCAA tournaments. However, in my evaluation, we have not sustained a consistent level of success against the most competitive teams in the nation to enable us to compete for SEC and NCAA championships on an annual basis. That will continue to be the benchmark for our success throughout our athletic program.”
Prior to being hired at Arkansas, Anderson spent five seasons at Missouri. He was also the head coach at UAB for four seasons after spending 17 seasons as an assistant under Richardson, including a two-game stint as the interim head coach in 2002.
One name expected to be a primary candidate for Arkansas is Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, sources told ESPN. Sampson worked under Yurachek at Houston, and has led Houston to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons. The Cougars face Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Friday.