The St. John’s Red Storm have hired former Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson for the same position. The move comes after former head coach and St. John’s alumni Chris Mullin decided to step down from the position. The former Arkansas head coach was fired by the program and eventually replaced by Nevada’s Eric Musselman.
Welcome to New York, Mike Anderson!
PRESS RELEASE: https://t.co/AV6kCFKl0F#WeAreNewYorksTeam pic.twitter.com/ACaCIGmdyt
— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) April 19, 2019
The 59-year-old head coach will take over a St. John’s program in disarray and will need a serious overhaul. There are some questions about how he fits the culture with the Red Storm, but the former Razorback is used to rebuilding once great programs.
He is credited with beginning to turn around the Arkansas program before he was fired for not making the NCAA Tournament. It will be an interesting fit for the Red Storm, but the program had run through a few other options that had turned them down. UMBC’s Ryan Odom and Iona’s Tim Cluess both turned the Red Storm down before the program looked at Anderson.
I just don’t comprehend the Mike Anderson inclusion in St. John’s search. No New York ties, didn’t get Arkansas past the first weekend in eight seasons in Fayetteville. IMO, would be a train wreck in Queens.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 18, 2019
The former Arkansas head coach went 169-102 in eight seasons with the Razorbacks including three NCAA Tournament appearances. These results are mixed at best, but St. John’s isn’t the same program it used to be and could use some shaking up. The program has not seen much success in the 2000s and they hope their new hire will turn things around. The demand for success is hard to determine considering the history of the program and their recent failures.
