Fairleigh Dickinson's Lovable Head Coach Still Has Wicked Handles At 51 Years Old, Was A Baller In College
Fairleigh Dickinson is the greatest story in college basketball right now. The Knights, who didn't even win their conference tournament, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on a technicality because of one of the NCAA's dumbest rules.
They weren't even supposed to be here in the first place, but New Jersey is taking over March Madness!
Despite how they got into the tournament, the smallest team in college basketball became just the second No. 16 seed in March Madness history to win a First Round game over a No. 1 seed. They are a team of literal Davids and took down Goliath with the University of Dayton band at their back.
At the helm of the Fairleigh Dickinson program is head coach Tobin Anderson. The 51-year-old Iowa-native took over the team last May and led the Knights to a 21-15 record in his first year.
It was a remarkable turnaround for a program that went 4-22 in 2021/22, highlighted by Friday's upset.
Tobin Anderson is America's coach!
Anderson has quickly become a household name because of his team's start to the NCAA Tournament. Also because he's extremely likable.
Anderson went viral for calling his shot — something that rarely goes well — before beating Purdue.
His postgame speech will tug on your heart strings.
And he always keeps it real.
Anderson, who spent time coaching at Clarkson, Le Moyne, Hamilton, Siena and St. Thomas Aquinas before FDU, played at Wesleyan University from 1991 to 1995. He is the school's 11th leading scorer all-time!
Like his current players, Anderson was not the biggest guy on the court. He stood 6-foot-1, 160 pounds as a senior co-captain.
1994/95 Wesleyan Basketball
As such, he had to work around bigger defenders with his handles. Anderson, though more than two decades removed from his playing days, has not lost that skill!
How can you not love everything Tobin Anderson?! Fairleigh Dickinson and its head coach epitomize all of the greatness that is March Madness.