Arkansas Hires Mike Anderson as Men's Basketball Coach

Despite the level of commitment Missouri showed to him, Mike Anderson has decided to return to Arkansas to take the head basketball coaching job.

A quick recap from this morning: Anderson played and coached for Nolan Richardson at Tulsa and followed him to Arkansas. Anderson was an assistant there for 17 years from 1985-2002, even filling in as interim coach after Richardson was fired, before taking his first head coaching job at UAB.

Anderson is best known nationally for his work at Missouri, where he won 77 games and went to the Elite Eight in 2009. He coaches a very uptempo style similar to his mentor, though it's not a straight copy of Richardson's 40 Minutes of Hell regimen. He's a higher profile name than outgoing coach John Pelphrey was, and while he's not a household name country-wide, he is a guy who will resonate with the Arkansas fan base.

I'll give Anderson the final words:

"It is a tremendous honor to be named the head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas," Anderson said. "I want to thank Chancellor (Dave) Gearhart and Athletic Director Jeff Long for this opportunity to lead the Razorback Basketball program. I am extremely excited to once again be a part of this special University and Razorback Athletics. With the continued passionate support of all Razorback fans, I am confident that we will have the opportunity to succeed on and off the court and continue to build on the University of Arkansas' championship tradition."