W. Harold Anderson

One of the first coaches in college basketball to record 500 victories, game after game the superstitious Harold Anderson wore the same suit when his team was on a winning streak. But despite his idiosyncrasies, Anderson cemented a national reputation for producing consistent teams that played hard, clean, and fair basketball. He pioneered the run-and-gun, up-tempo style of play, a brand of basketball that developed a host of All-America athletes, the most prominent being Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond. Anderson coached in six NIT and three NCAA Tournaments and was the first coach in history to take two different teams – Toledo and Bowling Green University – to the NIT. In his 29 seasons on the sidelines, his teams compiled a .800 winning percentage or better on ten occasions. As an officer and president of the NABC, Anderson was instrumental in forging the East-West All-Star Game.