FIU men’s basketball head coach Jeremy Ballard announced the promotion of Zavier Anderson to assistant coach on Friday. Anderson previously served as the program’s video coordinator from 2018-21.
“I am absolutely thrilled to announce the promotion of Zavier Anderson to the role of assistant coach,” Ballard said. “Zay has been a trusted and invaluable member of our coaching staff from the onset of our hiring and has helped play a major role in the success that we have had here at FIU. He has a brilliant basketball mind, is a tremendous relationship builder with our players, excels in both evaluating and recruiting, and most importantly, is a great human being. Zay is a star in the coaching profession and we are fortunate to have him help maintain our seemingly unprecedented staff continuity.”
Anderson has helped the program 48-44 record over the past three seasons. During the inaugural season under Ballard, FIU posted 20 wins for just the third time in program history.
Before the 2019-20 season was cut short due to COVID-19, Anderson played an instrumental role in Osasumwen Osaghae earning the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year award. The forward was the first Panther in program history to take home a C-USA superlative honor.
“I am blessed and thankful for Coach Ballard believing in me and providing me my first opportunity as an assistant coach,” Anderson said. “I am excited to get on the court with our players and build a championship team.”
Last season, Anderson mentored a team that broke a pair of program records during the squad’s dominant 111-34 victory over Carver. The Panthers’ 34 assists and 20 made three-pointers were the new program records set. The previous mark for assists was set in 1990, while the last record from three was set at Cleveland State in 2019.
