As Tobin Anderson leaves FDU basketball, what's next?
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Tobin Anderson was the head coach of Fairleigh Dickinson men’s basketball for just one season, but what a season it was – and as he moves to a bigger job, he’ll hand off a Knights program on a vastly different trajectory than the one he took over.
Anderson is set to replace Rick Pitino as the new head coach at Iona, as first reported by CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein and confirmed by USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. This comes two days after he guided the Knights to the most memorable March in program history – the Northeast Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, a First Four romp of Texas Southern and a takedown of top-seeded Purdue – the biggest upset in Big Dance history.
More:Tobin Anderson to become Iona coach, leaving Fairleigh Dickinson and replacing Rick Pitino
Although the Knights top two guards Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton – postgrads Anderson brought over from his previous gig at Division 2 St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, N.Y. – are out of eligibility, plenty of talent remains. There’s junior guards Joe Munden Jr. and Sean Moore and sophomore forwards Ansley Almonor and Cameron Tweedy, -- all major contributors to FDU’s improvement from 4-22 last season to 21-16 in this campaign.
It behooves FDU to move quickly, to avoid a Saint Peter’s-style exodus that took place after the Peacocks made a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight, head coach Shaheen Holloway took the job at his alma mater Seton Hall and the top seven players entered the transfer portal before the vacancy was filled.
That means either promoting from within – the ultimate continuity move – or bringing in someone local, who knows the lay of the land, or from elsewhere who already has ties to Anderson’s coaching tree or the university.
More:Fairleigh Dickinson upset of No. 1 Purdue makes our NCAA Tournament history shock list
More:F-D-Who? Some facts about Fairleigh Dickinson University
One thing is certain: The new coach takes over a program that now has a well-known brand, which should help in recruiting, an interim university president that is fully supportive, and plenty of momentum. If the timing is right, they’ll have a good chance to retain a decent amount of talent as well. The cupboard won’t be bare.
Anderson, meanwhile, will get to showcase his run-and-press system a level up at Iona, a MAAC program rich in resources, in an area he already knows well. It’s a tough loss for the Knights, no doubt, but if Anderson’s tenure there proved anything, it’s that FDU’s leadership knows how to fill a vacancy.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fairleigh Dickinson basketball: What's after Tobin Anderson?
