Antonio Anderson and Mike Pollio have been named as assistant coaches as Wheelock College.
Anderson joins the Wheelock Athletic Department as an assistant men’s basketball coach. Anderson is excited to join Head Coach Matt LeVangie’s staff with the aim of supporting and implementing the vision of the head coach. In supporting the head coach, he will give back what he learned as a professional player and help manage athletes with various personalities and skillsets to win as one unit.
Anderson played Division I basketball at the University of Memphis from 2005 to 2009 under John Calipari (currently the head coach at the University of Kentucky). During his time there, Anderson was named a First Team Defensive All-American three times and the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. In those four years, Anderson’s teams were the Conference USA regular season and tournament champions every year as well as reaching the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2008. Anderson compiled 137 wins throughout his career at Memphis which are the most in NCAA history in that time period.
After graduating from Memphis with a Bachelor of Liberal Studies, Anderson went on to play in the NBA Development League on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In his one year with the squad Anderson was the team captain and led them to the D-League Championship.
In 2010, Anderson was signed by the Oklahoma City Thunder for his play with the Vipers. During his time with the Thunder Anderson facilitated basketball clinics for youth at local middle schools and participated in NBA charitable events to give back to the community.
Following his time with the Thunder, Anderson went abroad to play in Puerto Rico and Germany before stopping back in the NBA D-League for a season with the Maine Red Claws where he was again named team captain in 2012.
Pollio enters Head Coach Matt LeVangie’s staff on the heels of two years as a graduate assistant coach at Division I Western Kentucky University.
Pollio worked closely with the Hilltoppers men’s basketball staff in a multitude of ways. He helped break down game film, prepared scouting reports for opponents, assisted with team academics, developed recruiting materials and co-ordinated on campus visits, designed and created a presence for the team on social media, represented the team in fundraising and community service events, and maintained an advanced knowledge of NCAA compliance rules through monthly meetings. In his time with Western Kentucky the squad won the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Mike’s coaching experience includes serving as the junior varsity head coach at the Louisville Collegiate School from 2006 to 2008 and guiding the team to the All "A" Regional Championships in 2008. He was a student assistant coach at Georgetown College from 2008 to 2010 before becoming the junior varsity head coach at Kentucky Country Day from 2011 to 2012.
Pollio earned his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Georgetown College in 2010 and his Master of Science in Recreation and Sports Administration from Western Kentucky in 2014.
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