David Anderson enters his first year as associate head coach for the Mulerider basketball team after spending the previous five seasons as the program’s top assistant. Prior to coming to SAU, Anderson spent two seasons (2010-2012) as assistant coach at NAIA-affiliated Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College under current SAU head coach Andy Sharpe.
In his time at SAU, Anderson has helped turn the men’s basketball program around into a serious contender within the Great American Conference. In the first four years at SAU, Anderson helped the Muleriders better their overall and conference records each season, and has helped guide the program to the GAC Tournament five-straight years with semifinal appearances in 2014 and 2016.
A number of milestone achievements have also occurred with Anderson on staff as he continues to help to restore the rich history of Mulerider basketball.
In 2015-16, the Muleriders posted a 17-13 overall record and had a 13-9 mark in conference play. It was the second-straight winning season for the Muleriders after a 15-12 record the year prior. It also marked the first consecutive winning campaigns for the program since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
The 17 wins in 2015-16 would set a NCAA Division II standard for the Muleriders and were the most wins overall since 1991-92. Additionally, the 13 conference wins were also the most at SAU in the DII era (1995-96 first year in DII).
Anderson has coached six All-GAC players while at SAU with Alre’k Brown and CJ Elkins receiving “of the Year” honors, respectively. Brown, a first-team selection in 2014-15, was named the Defensive Player of the Year that season, while Elkins, now a two-time All-GAC player, took home Freshman of the Year honors in 2015-16.
In his two years prior to SAU while at Martin Methodist, Anderson helped guide the RedHawks to back-to-back TranSouth Conference tournament and regular season championships. The RedHawks advanced to the final four of the NAIA national tournament in 2011 and the Sweet 16 in 2012. In those two years the RedHawks compiled an impressive 62-10 mark highlighted by a record-breaking season of 34-3 in 2010-11 while spending 21 consecutive weeks ranked in the top 10 of the national poll.
Anderson’s tenure as assistant at Martin Methodist was capped off by 5-10 guard James Justice claiming the Denny’s Slam Dunk championship at the State Farm college slam dunk and three-point championships in New Orleans in conjunction with the NCAA men’s basketball championship tournament. Justice, a two-time NAIA first team All-American and TranSouth Conference player of the year, was entered in the contest by winning the “Dark Horse Dunker” voting competition.
Before coaching at Martin Methodist, Anderson coached in 2009-2010 at Nashville Christian High School as assistant under legendary coach Charlie Anderson, no relation. Charlie, with over 1,000 career wins, was a longtime coach at Aquinas College in Nashville where he led the team to the 1991 NJCAA national championship. He is also a member of the Junior College Sports Hall of Fame, Tennessee Junior College Hall of Fame, Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, and TSSAA Hall of Fame.
While at Nashville Christian, Anderson was also assistant coach of the middle school team under Head Coach Chris Coleman. They led the squad to the Greater Athletic Conference tournament championship while going undefeated in the conference with an overall record of 14-3.
Prior to coaching, Anderson played guard for Martin Methodist from 2005-2008 and played his last season under former Martin Methodist head coach and current SAU head coach Andy Sharpe. He received his B.B.A. in management from the school, and earned his M.S. degree in Kinesiology-Coaching from SAU in August 2015.
Anderson is a native of Nashville, Tenn., and a 2004 alum of Nashville Christian School. While playing for the Eagles, he helped lead the team to the 2003 Region 5A tournament championship and the 2004 District 10A tournament championship. For his efforts, he was named the 2003 Region 5A tournament MVP and received all-tournament honors in the 2003 and 2004 District 10A tournament. Anderson scored over 1,000 points in his career at Nashville Christian.
