Tevester Anderson to Lead Jackson State Men's Basketball Program
April 9, 2003
(JACKSON, Miss.) After an extensive search, Tevester Anderson has been named head coach of the Jackson State University men’s basketball program.
Tevester Anderson
He will be the program’s sixth head coach since 1949. Anderson inherits a program slowly on the rise that finished the 2002-03 season with a 10-19 overall record and a 9-9 mark in conference play.
Anderson comes to Jackson State from Murray State where he spent the last five seasons at the helm of the Racers’ basketball program. During his tenure, he accrued an overall record of 103-52 with two Ohio Valley Conference titles and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
“Anderson fits well within the Jackson State athletic program,” said JSU director of athletics Roy Culberson. “He has several years of experience as a head coach and even more experience as an assistant on the Division I level. And that wide range of experience was what we were looking for in a head coach.”
The Canton, Mississippi native graduated from Canton High School before attending Arkansas AM&N University (now University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff).
He received a bachelor’s degree in pre-medicine from Arkansas AM&N in 1962.
He earned a master of science in biological science from North Carolina A&T University in 1971.
Anderson got his start in coaching at Canton High School where he served as head basketball coach and biology teacher. At Canton, he had an overall record of 416-98 from 1962-71. He later had two stints in the Georgia Public School system before landing a job at Auburn University in 1982.
While at Auburn, the program enjoyed a Sweet Sixteen finish in 1985 and an Elite Eight finish in 1986. He spent four seasons under Auburn coach Sonny Smith before moving to another institution in the Southeastern Conference, the University of Georgia. From 1987-1995, Anderson served as associate head basketball coach and chief recruiter for the Bulldogs. During that time, Georgia earned six postseason tournament appearances, including three NCAA berths.
In 1995, he was named associate head basketball coach at Murray State University. Again, he served as the chief recruiter on a team that slowly became one of the more recognizable mid-major programs in the nation. The team earned two NCAA berths and one trip to the NIT postseason tournament.
After three seasons as associate head coach, Anderson was named head coach of the Racer basketball program in 1998. He averaged 20 wins in five seasons at Murray State including two Ohio Valley regular season titles, two OVC championships, and two appearances in the NCAA. He was named Ohio Valley Coach of the Year as he reached 100 victories faster that any coach in Murray State history.
He has coached several players who ended their careers in the National Basketball Association, including Charles Barkley (Auburn University/drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers) and Chuck Person (Auburn University/drafted by the Indiana Pacers).
