Starting in a few minutes. Will post updates and relevant info here.
Says the staff has been busy recruiting and he wanted to let postseason stuff happen prior to addressing the media.
Opening statement covering a lot of ground: Thanks Tim Fuller for his contributions. Today is Fuller's last day. Says he has conducted interviews both on the phone and in person at Final Four. Doesn't have a timetable for a new hire, wants to do it quickly, but do it right. Looking for a good coach, a good scout, game prep, an excellent recruiter. "Trying to get the right fit with the right area of the country we want to recruit." Says the new hire has to be good at skill development and building relationships with current players.
Now talking J3. "I enjoyed coaching Johnathan. He's a great young man. Wonderful human being. I hope in some small way that I've hoped him become a better player. I do think he's improved as a player. I want to wish him good luck, wish him the best in his endeavors and I know that he'll be successful."
Anderson won't specifically list the schools they're restricting. "What we did is not uncommon at a high major university with a high profile player. It's been done here before. It's been done in other sports. All we did was basically restrict him from any potential opponent for the 2016-17 season."
Deuce Bello on track to graduate in the summer and Mizzou will help him find a landing spot.
"As far as any other transfers, at this point, I don't have anything else to say on that. I'm smart enough to know any time you have a season like we had it is tough, it's hard on guys. But right now I don't have anything else to say about that."
"It's my first year so obviously I learned a lot." Says they're evaluating every aspect of the program in order to improve.
Injuries: Wes Clark "making good progress." Says Clark will return this summer, potentially at the beginning. Teki played most of the year with a bad back. "I'm really proud of him." Hopefully he will be pain free by next season. Rosburg played the last 8-10 games with a broken finger on his right hand. "It's not easy and he never complained, just kept going out there every night doing the best he could." Keanau Post played with a torn ligament in his wrist "probably for at least half the year." Had successful surgery and will rehab for 3-6 months. "I don't say that to make excuses, I just say that as a matter of fact that we did have some guys that played through injuries. Not sure it would have made a huge difference, but I appreciate those guys playing while they were hurt."
Things Anderson believes Mizzou needs to work on during the offseason:
*Strength and conditioning combined with nutrition. Says he has visited with Matt Herring about what needs to be done and guys getting stronger.
*Individual development.
*Team chemistry. "Not sure it was the best. Again, I think we didn't have that true leader." Hopeful as guys get older they will become leaders and staff needs to work on developing leadership.
*Staff realignment. Says he will tweak some duties and responsibilities to emphasize strengths of each individual coach. Says that won't be done until the new hire is made.
*Academics.
*Recruiting. "Maybe that should be the first thing." "I think we need to continue to strengthen our visibility in this part of the country but also in order to be successful at this level, you have to recruit nationally. That's a goal we want to do…Depending on who we hire maybe a realignment of who is recruiting where."
"I remain very excited and committed to getting Missouri basketball back to where we're used to seeing it. It's not going to be easy, but I obviously think it can be done."
On last season: "You've got to learn from it. I learned a lot. There's some things in there you don't want to do again."
Anderson said at the beginning of the year he hoped the team could 15 games.
"I think our guys have learned a lot. It's hard when you're young and you lose."
On comments from J3's dad that he didn't mesh with teammates: "I knew this team didn't have great chemistry, okay? I knew that…I knew that team chemistry would be a challenge especially if you weren't successful. I think that's probably where the issues came. We struggled in the league and we went a long time without winning games."
"When you have a season like we have you have many, many contingency plans. Certainly I was hopeful that Johnathan wouldn't transfer because not only he's a good basketball player, but he's a great guy. To be candid, we were a little heavy at that spot anyway…We did have to change some things up (in terms of recruiting strategy). We had to go back and kind of recruit some other guys, some bigger guys."
Anderson said they really had to hurry recruiting last year because he got the job late. "I'm looking forward to slowing down a little bit and maybe spending more time with the players and more time maybe preparation for next year."
On what he learned: "This job requires an inordinate amount of problem solving and time management and dependability on your staff. I learned that I have to delegate more to my staff and they have to be, not that they weren't, they have to be more responsible maybe. I don't want to say they weren't. They just have to be responsible…Coaching and game preparation, I really enjoy and I want to be able to do it more than I was able to this year."
Anderson says he's hopeful the freshmen will stay together. "Don't read into that, I'm not thinking anyone is going to leave, but they're young guys." Says his conversations with them have all been very positive and he believes they can develop into something special if they stay. "I think we have a good core."
Says he's optimistic about the young players and the recruits. "I'm optimistic about the future."
Says he's met with Mack Rhoades several times. One was in Indianapolis. "Very impressed. I think that he'd be a great fit for the University of Missouri. When you know you're gonna have a new boss, you immediately turn to fellow coaches." Says he's talked to other coaches and all were positive in their reviews of Mack Rhoades.
Says they've talked about the hoops program and that Rhoades understands the situation he is in and believes they're on the same page.
Anderson said he's quit listening to sports talk radio and doesn't read the paper much. Of the criticism, he says "some of it's justified."
"You know why it's hard? It's hard because this is my school. I think you don't ever want to let anybody down. While it's hard I think it makes you more determined."
Says the new coaching hires speak to the commitment from the SEC to basketball.
On his relationship with Fuller, he doesn't really answer the question. Also asked whose decision it was not to renew Fuller's contract he won't discuss it.
On his plan for recruiting: "What we have to do at Missouri is, and every school has to do this, I think they have to know who they can recruit. Who fits the University of Missouri? I'm not saying that, I think you have to know who you can successfully recruit and then recruit those people. I think that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to recruit guys that fit into our program, guys that hopefully want to be here, guys that we can develop into good players. I'm not saying we don't want the five-star guy. I'm saying we have to know who we can recruit."
"If you have a guy that you have a connection to, then I think that's a safe or a legitimate reason to recruit him."
Says they're lifting weights four days a week, working on individual skill stuff. When school ends they get three weeks off and return in June and start doing team stuff. Says the new guys will be here in the summer. Right now they're working to get better on fundamentals.
Says the summer will be geared more toward offense than last year. "I rode in here last year on that white horse and said we're gonna play defense. Then we couldn't score…I think we're gonna work more on offense this summer."
On filling the spots that are open: Need another scoring wing, a combo guard and a big man.
Asked how he prioritizes hiring a coach, filling the roster and keeping everyone here, he says: "You don't sleep a lot. Those are the three priorities." Says he relies a lot on Matt Herring who sees the players pretty much every day. Late signing period begins on the 15th and he says they'll be bringing some people in. "April's really a busy month."
Says Mizzou could look at a fifth year graduate transfer. Also won't rule out taking a transfer who would have to sit a year. Says it is dependent on who is available.
Asked if there is an obvious candidate to step forward as a leader on the current roster, he says "I can only hope so…I think there is, but I think everybody kind of stands back and waits for that person to step up. It's hard when you're young. We have to do a better job as a coaching staff."
"I think we need some experience" as far as recruiting jucos, transfers, etc.
Says he was very impressed with the senior seasons of Puryear and Van Leer. Says Puryear has a really high ceiling, he's really excited about both "but understanding they're going to be freshmen." Says he will have a better grasp of expectations to put on freshmen.
On following Wisconsin's model: "I think everybody in the country would like to build that model today…If you could build your program that way, that would be great."
This post was edited on 4/8 2:04 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 4/8 2:07 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 4/8 2:10 PM by GabeD
Says the staff has been busy recruiting and he wanted to let postseason stuff happen prior to addressing the media.
Opening statement covering a lot of ground: Thanks Tim Fuller for his contributions. Today is Fuller's last day. Says he has conducted interviews both on the phone and in person at Final Four. Doesn't have a timetable for a new hire, wants to do it quickly, but do it right. Looking for a good coach, a good scout, game prep, an excellent recruiter. "Trying to get the right fit with the right area of the country we want to recruit." Says the new hire has to be good at skill development and building relationships with current players.
Now talking J3. "I enjoyed coaching Johnathan. He's a great young man. Wonderful human being. I hope in some small way that I've hoped him become a better player. I do think he's improved as a player. I want to wish him good luck, wish him the best in his endeavors and I know that he'll be successful."
Anderson won't specifically list the schools they're restricting. "What we did is not uncommon at a high major university with a high profile player. It's been done here before. It's been done in other sports. All we did was basically restrict him from any potential opponent for the 2016-17 season."
Deuce Bello on track to graduate in the summer and Mizzou will help him find a landing spot.
"As far as any other transfers, at this point, I don't have anything else to say on that. I'm smart enough to know any time you have a season like we had it is tough, it's hard on guys. But right now I don't have anything else to say about that."
"It's my first year so obviously I learned a lot." Says they're evaluating every aspect of the program in order to improve.
Injuries: Wes Clark "making good progress." Says Clark will return this summer, potentially at the beginning. Teki played most of the year with a bad back. "I'm really proud of him." Hopefully he will be pain free by next season. Rosburg played the last 8-10 games with a broken finger on his right hand. "It's not easy and he never complained, just kept going out there every night doing the best he could." Keanau Post played with a torn ligament in his wrist "probably for at least half the year." Had successful surgery and will rehab for 3-6 months. "I don't say that to make excuses, I just say that as a matter of fact that we did have some guys that played through injuries. Not sure it would have made a huge difference, but I appreciate those guys playing while they were hurt."
Things Anderson believes Mizzou needs to work on during the offseason:
*Strength and conditioning combined with nutrition. Says he has visited with Matt Herring about what needs to be done and guys getting stronger.
*Individual development.
*Team chemistry. "Not sure it was the best. Again, I think we didn't have that true leader." Hopeful as guys get older they will become leaders and staff needs to work on developing leadership.
*Staff realignment. Says he will tweak some duties and responsibilities to emphasize strengths of each individual coach. Says that won't be done until the new hire is made.
*Academics.
*Recruiting. "Maybe that should be the first thing." "I think we need to continue to strengthen our visibility in this part of the country but also in order to be successful at this level, you have to recruit nationally. That's a goal we want to do…Depending on who we hire maybe a realignment of who is recruiting where."
"I remain very excited and committed to getting Missouri basketball back to where we're used to seeing it. It's not going to be easy, but I obviously think it can be done."
On last season: "You've got to learn from it. I learned a lot. There's some things in there you don't want to do again."
Anderson said at the beginning of the year he hoped the team could 15 games.
"I think our guys have learned a lot. It's hard when you're young and you lose."
On comments from J3's dad that he didn't mesh with teammates: "I knew this team didn't have great chemistry, okay? I knew that…I knew that team chemistry would be a challenge especially if you weren't successful. I think that's probably where the issues came. We struggled in the league and we went a long time without winning games."
"When you have a season like we have you have many, many contingency plans. Certainly I was hopeful that Johnathan wouldn't transfer because not only he's a good basketball player, but he's a great guy. To be candid, we were a little heavy at that spot anyway…We did have to change some things up (in terms of recruiting strategy). We had to go back and kind of recruit some other guys, some bigger guys."
Anderson said they really had to hurry recruiting last year because he got the job late. "I'm looking forward to slowing down a little bit and maybe spending more time with the players and more time maybe preparation for next year."
On what he learned: "This job requires an inordinate amount of problem solving and time management and dependability on your staff. I learned that I have to delegate more to my staff and they have to be, not that they weren't, they have to be more responsible maybe. I don't want to say they weren't. They just have to be responsible…Coaching and game preparation, I really enjoy and I want to be able to do it more than I was able to this year."
Anderson says he's hopeful the freshmen will stay together. "Don't read into that, I'm not thinking anyone is going to leave, but they're young guys." Says his conversations with them have all been very positive and he believes they can develop into something special if they stay. "I think we have a good core."
Says he's optimistic about the young players and the recruits. "I'm optimistic about the future."
Says he's met with Mack Rhoades several times. One was in Indianapolis. "Very impressed. I think that he'd be a great fit for the University of Missouri. When you know you're gonna have a new boss, you immediately turn to fellow coaches." Says he's talked to other coaches and all were positive in their reviews of Mack Rhoades.
Says they've talked about the hoops program and that Rhoades understands the situation he is in and believes they're on the same page.
Anderson said he's quit listening to sports talk radio and doesn't read the paper much. Of the criticism, he says "some of it's justified."
"You know why it's hard? It's hard because this is my school. I think you don't ever want to let anybody down. While it's hard I think it makes you more determined."
Says the new coaching hires speak to the commitment from the SEC to basketball.
On his relationship with Fuller, he doesn't really answer the question. Also asked whose decision it was not to renew Fuller's contract he won't discuss it.
On his plan for recruiting: "What we have to do at Missouri is, and every school has to do this, I think they have to know who they can recruit. Who fits the University of Missouri? I'm not saying that, I think you have to know who you can successfully recruit and then recruit those people. I think that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to recruit guys that fit into our program, guys that hopefully want to be here, guys that we can develop into good players. I'm not saying we don't want the five-star guy. I'm saying we have to know who we can recruit."
"If you have a guy that you have a connection to, then I think that's a safe or a legitimate reason to recruit him."
Says they're lifting weights four days a week, working on individual skill stuff. When school ends they get three weeks off and return in June and start doing team stuff. Says the new guys will be here in the summer. Right now they're working to get better on fundamentals.
Says the summer will be geared more toward offense than last year. "I rode in here last year on that white horse and said we're gonna play defense. Then we couldn't score…I think we're gonna work more on offense this summer."
On filling the spots that are open: Need another scoring wing, a combo guard and a big man.
Asked how he prioritizes hiring a coach, filling the roster and keeping everyone here, he says: "You don't sleep a lot. Those are the three priorities." Says he relies a lot on Matt Herring who sees the players pretty much every day. Late signing period begins on the 15th and he says they'll be bringing some people in. "April's really a busy month."
Says Mizzou could look at a fifth year graduate transfer. Also won't rule out taking a transfer who would have to sit a year. Says it is dependent on who is available.
Asked if there is an obvious candidate to step forward as a leader on the current roster, he says "I can only hope so…I think there is, but I think everybody kind of stands back and waits for that person to step up. It's hard when you're young. We have to do a better job as a coaching staff."
"I think we need some experience" as far as recruiting jucos, transfers, etc.
Says he was very impressed with the senior seasons of Puryear and Van Leer. Says Puryear has a really high ceiling, he's really excited about both "but understanding they're going to be freshmen." Says he will have a better grasp of expectations to put on freshmen.
On following Wisconsin's model: "I think everybody in the country would like to build that model today…If you could build your program that way, that would be great."
This post was edited on 4/8 2:04 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 4/8 2:07 PM by GabeD
This post was edited on 4/8 2:10 PM by GabeD
