St. John’s Head Basketball Coach Mike Anderson has been named the 2020-21 BIG EAST Coach of the Year.
Anderson is the first St. John’s head man in nearly three decades to receive the league’s top coaching honor. Brian Mahoney last claimed that award in 1993 while his predecessor, Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca, won it three times in 1983, 1985 and 1986.
In his second year leading the Johnnies, Anderson guided the Red Storm to a 16-10 regular season record, including a 10-9 mark in BIG EAST play. St. John’s, picked ninth in the preseason coaches poll, finished with a league record of .500 or better for the first time since 2014-15 and secured a top-four seed in the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since winning it all as the no. 3 seed in 2000.
Under Anderson’s tutelage, the Red Storm wrapped the regular season with the league’s top scoring offense, averaging 77.5 points per game against BIG EAST foes. Prior to this season, the Johnnies had last topped the BIG EAST in scoring output during league play in 1998-99, a year that ended with the program’s sixth trip to the Elite Eight. Defensively, the Red Storm ranks ninth nationally in steals per game (9.2) and places four players among the top 10 in the BIG EAST steal rankings. Since 2002-03, Anderson has seen his teams lead the country in steals four times and finish inside the top 30 nationally on 15 separate occasions.
Anderson, who won his 400th career game on Feb. 16 against Xavier, was also named the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 2004, a year that saw him lead the Blazers to an appearance in the Sweet 16. After guiding Missouri to the Elite Eight in 2009, Anderson was named the NABC National Coach of the Year and Clair Bee Coach of the Year.
In his 19th season as a head coach, Anderson has never finished a campaign with a sub-.500 record. He is one of only four active Division I head coaches to coach 15 or more years and never turn in a losing record alongside Mark Few, Tom Izzo and Sean Miller. Prior to taking over at UAB in 2002, Anderson spent 17 seasons on the staff his former coach and mentor, Hall of Famer Nolan Richardson. He helped those Tulsa and Arkansas teams to 390 wins, including the 1994 National Championship with the Razorbacks.
Anderson captures Big East Coach of the Year honors
