Former NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson hired as Fisk basketball coach

Mike Organ
The Tennessean
Kenny Anderson, center, was hired Monday as Fisk's new basketball coach. The former NBA All-Star is pictured here with Fisk President Kevin Rome, left, and athletics director Larry Glover.

Montreal Nabors had to check Google when he heard Fisk had hired Kenny Anderson as its new basketball coach.

Nabors, a senior and the Bulldogs' leading returning scorer from last season, wasn't old enough to know about Anderson, 47, in Anderson's heyday.

"I did some research to see how big he really was, and I was like, 'Man, this could really help me as a senior,'" Nabors said. "I want to push my basketball career further after this season, so I was like, 'I could really learn a lot from him.'"

Nabors learned that Anderson, a native of Queens, N.Y., was a McDonald's All-American high school player, led Georgia Tech to the Final Four in 1990 and played 14 seasons in the NBA. He was an NBA All-Star in 1994 while playing for the New Jersey Nets and finished his career with 10,789 points, 5,196 assists and 2,641 rebounds.

Anderson was officially introduced Monday as Fisk's new coach. He replaced Larry Glover, the school's athletics director who spent the past three years coaching the team. 

It was a huge hire for the historically black school with an enrollment of fewer than 800 students and that plays in the NAIA.

"I knew the time was right for me to get into coaching, especially on the college level," said Anderson, who spent the previous seven years coaching travel youth basketball. "I just think the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and the small and the humbling beginning will be a great start for me."

Anderson is confident he will be able to offer his players guidance on and off the court.

"I just felt I could give so much to the student-athletes here, especially since it's an HBCU and with how I came up in life; I know some of these kids have experienced the same problems that I did," Anderson said. "Things that they could bounce off me and I can help them with. It's more than basketball. It felt like the right fit for me."

It also is the right fit for the program, Fisk President Kevin Rome said.

Rome said he received more than 200 applications for the position but pretty much shut down the interview process when he was contacted by Anderson.

"We believe we've found the best coach in the world for Fisk University right now," Rome said. "Really, it's an opportunity to take Fisk University to new heights when it comes to athletics."

More:Ex-NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson will be basketball coach — but president won't confirm

Coming up with the funds to pay a high-profile coach such as Anderson was not a problem for Rome. Anderson agreed to accept the same salary Fisk pays its other coaches. Rome declined to say exactly how much Anderson is being paid.

"He agreed to take it at our regular salary for our coach," Rome said. "We were able to do it within our current budget."

Anderson is inheriting a solid team. Fisk posted a 17-8 record last season, its best record in 35 years.

The entire team attended the press conference.

"I watched them in open gym and there are some good players," Anderson said. "Mostly, I see good human beings, good student-athletes. These guys didn't have to be here this morning for this press conference. They came and supported me. They supported me on the visit when I came here. It makes my job a lot easier when you find great student-athletes that you can work with."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.