When Mike Anderson was introduced as the next head coach of St. John's in April, the overall reaction was what might be termed respectful surprise.
On the one hand, Anderson is highly regarded within the profession, and his 350-plus career win total as a head coach certainly speaks for itself. On the other hand, it isn't every day that a Catholic university in Queens hires a candidate whose basketball career, from player to assistant to head coach, has transpired entirely in the states of Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas.
Nor was Anderson necessarily the Red Storm's first choice. Reports had St. John's pursuing a number of other candidates prior to Anderson, including Arizona State's Bobby Hurley, Loyola Chicago's Porter Moser, Iona's Tim Cluess and UMBC's Ryan Odom.
Of course, if geographic "fit" were all there is to hiring the right coach, one might guess that Brooklyn native and SJU legend Chris Mullin would have recorded a longer run at the helm for the Red Storm. Basically, St. John's tried going local, and the results were found wanting.
Now it's Anderson's turn. Here's what we've learned about the basketball areas in which the coach has excelled and how those skills might translate at St. John's.
Pressure D and postseason success
Make no mistake, Anderson can build a winning team. In just his second and third seasons as a head coach, he led UAB to a combined 22-10 record in Conference USA play from 2003 to 2005. Moreover, this was when C-USA included the likes of Louisville, Marquette, Cincinnati, Memphis and Houston. In the 2004 NCAA tournament, his No. 9-seeded Blazers beat top seed Kentucky 76-75 to reach the Sweet 16.
From the beginning of Anderson's career, his teams have excelled at forcing turnovers. That's exactly what you'd expect from a coach who served a long tenure as an assistant to Nolan Richardson at Arkansas. Anderson's style might not have a catchy label like Richardson's "40 minutes of hell," but the eye-popping 29 percent opponent turnover rate recorded by UAB in 2005-06 helped the then-46-year-old coach land the job at Missouri in the wake of Quin Snyder's departure.
In his third season in Columbia, Anderson led a No. 3-seeded Tiger team to the 2009 Elite Eight. When the Arkansas job opened in 2011, the former Razorback assistant was an obvious choice to be the next coach in Fayetteville.
No breakthrough with the Razorbacks
Alas, things didn't pan out as planned for Anderson at Arkansas. Although the Hogs were a respectable 78-64 in SEC play during his tenure, the program recorded just two NCAA tournament wins (and made just three appearances) in his eight seasons. After a disappointing 8-10 run through the SEC in 2018-19, Anderson was let go by the Razorbacks (who promptly hired former Nevada coach Eric Musselman).
If you're a St. John's fan looking to see this glass as half full, you start with the example of veteran coaches such as Bruce Weber and Rick Barnes. They too were fired once upon a time (at Illinois and Texas, respectively) but went on to win regular-season major conference titles (at Kansas State and Tennessee).
Not to mention, there's a lot to like about the style displayed by Anderson's teams. Over the past eight years, Arkansas was a consistently fast-paced team that placed a premium on offense. As recently as 2017-18, in fact, the Hogs had one of the best offenses in the country, one distinguished by its high shot volume and excellent 3-point shooting.
Perhaps there's even (potential) good news in Anderson's relative shortcomings. For example, the Razorbacks in recent years were exceptionally weak on the defensive glass, a liability that was a significant issue in an SEC that ranked No. 1 in Division I last season for offensive rebound percentage in conference play.
Conversely, the Big East has been much less focused on offensive boards (particularly since Chris Mack left Xavier to take the reins at Louisville). Bad defensive rebounding by Anderson's team, should it occur, projects to be less of a drawback in the coach's new conference.
St. John's needs a backcourt
Anderson will likely build his first St. John's team around LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron. Figueroa announced this month that he'll return for his junior season, and though Heron hasn't offered an affirmative declaration, he is expected to be in uniform for his senior campaign.
On the flip side, the rest of the Red Storm's nucleus from 2018-19 is, barring unforeseen surprises, gone for good. Shamorie Ponds and Justin Simon both declared for the draft, and Marvin Clark was a senior last season. That leaves plenty of holes to fill in the backcourt. Anderson has already signed incoming freshman point guard John McGriff, and St. John's is one of several head programs reportedly pursuing USC transfer (and onetime Duke freshman) Derryck Thornton.
Although the Johnnies improved markedly on offense last season, this was a team that scored just 1.04 points per possession in a Big East season in which the average mark league-wide was 1.06. Anderson is certainly capable of boosting that number once he gets his players in place, but one thing to watch will be how well a defense based in part on takeaways fares in the traditionally low-turnover Big East.
Anderson was a surprising choice at St. John's, and Madison Square Garden is a long way from Bud Walton Arena. But that doesn't mean this can't work. (Anderson has never had a losing season as a head coach; St. John's has recorded three in the past four years.) Rather, a post-Mullin Red Storm renaissance led by a longtime SEC fixture would be merely the latest surprise in this curious yet compelling saga.