The End of an Era

Kim Anderson was asked to stabilize the Mizzou program. Although he didn't produce wins, he reflects on the task at his final press conference.

Kim Anderson knew from the moment he was hired at the University of Missouri that he would be fired. It’s been a long three years, shackled with unwanted inheritance, but, alas, it has come to a close.

“If you would have asked me when I knew I was going to get fired, I would have said the first day,” he said, deep in voice, at his final press conference last night in Nashville, Tennessee. “I knew it was going to be challenging.”

Challenging is a program routed with internal cuts, bruises and an NCAA investigation; it’s a roster left vulnerable from Haith’s band-aid recruiting approach; it’s retaining a staff not your own; it’s a team in constant flux, with 13 players either dismissed or transferring after his acceptance and seven of 11 scholarship players in his first season disciplined to some extent.

“I maintain when I was hired I was pretty much asked to kind of stabilize this program,” he said. “It took a while. Obviously, it took too long. But I’m proud of what we’ve done.”

Anderson is someone you want to root for. He’s the good guy. His players praise him. Coaches across the conference commend his leadership. He’s loyal, poised and, if nothing else, honest. But he didn’t win, and when your teams are 27-68 overall, 9-47 in the SEC, nothing else matters.

“Obviously we didn’t win enough games. And we didn’t generate enough money,” he said at the Bridgestone Arena podium. “And when you don’t do that in college athletics, you don’t get to do your job. And I’m not bitter. I certainly understand that.”

There’s nothing that hasn’t already been said of the last three seasons on the court. They were dismal, and the end came last night. Like the majority of the season, it lacked suspense. The 86-74 loss to Ole Miss was sealed with foul trouble — 29 personal fouls on the Tigers to be exact. The Rebels shot 47 free throws, and the end got chippy, if not to add drama to a frustrating season. The typically calm-demeanor Anderson even got slapped with his first technical of the year, let that set in. The Tigers finished 8-24 on the year.

“I saw a game that got a little bit physical, a little bit rough. We made some fouls that weren’t very smart,” he said. “These guys have always played hard. They probably haven’t always played smart.” But there’s no one questioning that they’ve played hard for their Sedalia-native coach. Last night’s locker room was emotional, “We have a great deal of love for him,” said Kevin Puryear, who tallied 45 points over the past two days, with a career-high 30 and a game-winning buzzer beater on Wednesday night. “He always has and always will have our best interests. It’s never easy saying goodbye.”

“I think Coach A’s leaving this program in great shape with some great guys,” said Terrence Phillips. Puryear chimes in, “I think we can do something great if everyone sticks together. I’m confident we’ll stick together.”

After Wednesday’s overtime win against Auburn, Anderson was happy for another day to be the coach at Mizzou. Today, that dream is gone, and reality once again sets in, as Athletics Director Jim Sterk, who was in Nashville for each game, searches for a replacement.

“This decision has been very difficult for me personally because of the tremendous respect I have for Kim,” Sterk said in a statement following the announcement. “I know how hard he and his staff have worked to turn the program around over the last three years. However, the lack of on-court success has resulted in a significant drop in interest surrounding our program, and we could not afford for that to continue another year.”

As Anderson concluded last night, “I certainly hope that whoever the coach is that we have provided a little bit of a building block for them.”

Anderson, in the third year of his five-year contract, will receive $450,000 in a negotiated lump-sum buyout, as well as an additional $200,000 for ‘meeting or exceeding’ an academic accomplishments and social responsibilities incentive.

Photo Credit: Timothy Tai-USA TODAY Sports

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Terrence Phillips:

‘I’m not letting basketball use me’

Terrence Phillips was laying in bed in Italy after an international men’s basketball game when he got an email that would change the course of his life at home — he just didn’t know it yet. That was in August, when Phillips had been chosen as Mizzou’s representative to the Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Leadership Committee. In September, his peers would vote him Chairman of the committee.

“I’m not a quiet person; I can talk all day,” Phillips says. “At the first committee meeting, I kept talking about ideas and things we’d like to change, not knowing I’d be picked to be head chairman. It was an honor, not just for myself, but to represent Mizzou.”

The sophomore from Orange County, California, has been a standout player since joining the team last year, making his mark with a recorded 107 assists and as one of only two players on the team to start all 31 games. But, as shown by his nomination, he’s also been a strong leader off the court. Phillips still can’t believe how far the sport has taken him, especially since he almost decided to pursue football instead.

“If you ask my family and friends, I’m forever stupid for giving up football,” he says.

Phillips’ dad, uncle and two older cousins played football but always said he was the one with a “real chance” at playing varsity, and ultimately college. Although he loved the game, Phillips was presented with the chance to play basketball at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, a “road-to-the-NBA” school with a list of notable alumni that includes Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. Phillips’ brother, Brandon Jennings, who currently plays for the New York Knicks, also graduated from Oak Hill. If you ask Phillips, he’ll admit it factored into his initial hesitance.

“Growing up, I was always ‘Brandon’s little brother,’ so I really wanted to keep it separate and try to do my own thing,” he says. “But in the end I chose basketball. I can’t really say why. I’ve always had a passion for it, and I’ve worked hard to get where I am.”

Much of that work happened at Oak Hill, a small boarding school with only 150 students in grades 8-12. Phillips said the remote campus is “in the middle of nowhere,” with no cell reception, so he had no choice but to focus on improving his game.

“The only thing to do was play basketball and go to school,” he says. “I just kept working and didn’t look back.”

During his time at Oak Hill, Phillips became known for his speed and smart decisions on the floor, leading him to shed the title of “Brandon’s younger brother” quick. He always looked ahead to play ball in college, and, when it came time to make a decision about where that might be, considered Mizzou and Loyola Marymount University, which is right on the beach in Los Angeles.

“I told both schools I wouldn’t commit right away,” Phillips says. “I visited LMU, and it was right by my family and friends, and they had chicken and waffles right down the street.”

But even the lure of good food just a few sandy steps away couldn’t keep him from Mizzou, which he says felt like home.

“I visited over Christmas break and no one was there.” he says. “But within five minutes of stepping on campus, I knew.”

Although the Tigers were coming off their worst two-season stretch since 1966-1968, Phillips came out of the international games this summer with a feeling that the team was brand new, and perhaps even good. But even he, with his high energy and love for talking, knows he needs to step back—he learns the most by listening to other people’s opinions as he leads the team.

“As a leader, you’re not always going to be correct,” Phillips says. “Being able to listen and adapt and take what you learn into action is important to bringing the team together.”

He’ll also be listening in his role as as chairman, where Phillips will work to improve players’ lives both on and off the court. As part of his role, he’ll meet with Commissioner Greg Sankey, as well as other officials and head coaches to discuss issues including transfer regulations and summer league rules.

“One thing I’ve brought up so far is that we should let the off season be more of an off season,” he says. “This year we were only really off a week and a half, and that’s a big concern with resting your body before the season.”

But when he’s not resting, Phillips is planning for the future, and hoping that his career in basketball might lead him to the NBA.

“That’s a lot of work and I’m all for that,” he says. “But wherever this game takes me, I’m not letting basketball use me. I’m using the game of basketball to get to where I’m supposed to be.”

Photos: Travis and Jenn Smith | ContentAllStars.com

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