Wimp Sanderson

Last updated
Wimp Sanderson
Biographical details
Born (1937-08-08) August 8, 1937 (age 86)
Florence, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
1955–1956 Abilene Christian
1956–1959 Florence State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1960–1961 Alabama (GA)
1961–1980 Alabama (assistant)
1980–1992 Alabama
1994–1999 Arkansas–Little Rock
Head coaching record
Overall352–177
Tournaments12–10 (NCAA Division I)
1–2 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
5 SEC Tournament (1982, 1987, 1989–1991)
SEC Regular Season (1987)
Sun Belt Regular Season (1996)
Awards
2× SEC Coach of the Year (1987, 1989)
Sun Belt Coach of the Year (1996)

Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson (born August 8, 1937) [1] is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Alabama from 1980 to 1992 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999.

Contents

Sanderson was born in Florence, Alabama. He prepped at Coffee High School and graduated from Florence State College, in 1959. [2] In 1960 he became a graduate assistant under Hayden Riley at Alabama, and in 1961 he was made a full-time assistant. He served in this capacity for 20 years under both Riley and C. M. Newton, eventually becoming Newton's top assistant. When Newton resigned to become assistant commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Sanderson was named his successor. In 12 years as head coach his teams averaged 21.8 wins a year, with a 267–119 record, and they won 5 SEC tournaments. They played in one NIT and ten NCAA tournaments making the Sweet 16 six times. He is only coach in Alabama history to win 200 or more games in his first 10 years. He was the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1987, 1989 and 1990, and was the National Coach of the Year in 1987.

Sanderson was known for wearing plaid sport jackets on the sidelines. During his tenure at Alabama, the Coleman Coliseum was known as the "Plaid Palace" (with its midcourt logo painted crimson-and-white plaid), the Million Dollar Band was known as the "Plaid Players", and many fans came to games wearing plaid in Sanderson's honor.

Early life and playing career

Winfrey Sanderson was named for his uncle, Hayes Winfrey, who died from kidney problems in his twenties after he blocked a punt in his stomach during a high school football game.

His father, who worked for an auto parts company, died when he was six, and Sanderson, an only child, shared an apartment with his mother, Christine, a secretary for the Veterans Administration. During his senior year in high school, he became class president. [3]

In 1955, Sanderson went to Abilene Christian College to play basketball. He planned to go into radio and television, but flunking Spanish soured his plans. He transferred home to Florence State (now the University of North Alabama) and continued his hoops career while graduating in physical education. He took a high school head coaching job in Carbon Hill, Alabama and one year later, in 1959–60, he went to Alabama as a graduate assistant under Hayden Riley for $75 a month. Sanderson figured it was a stepping stone for a better high school job. [3]

"When he was hired, Wimp felt a tremendous amount of pressure", said his wife, Annette. "He had his doubters. People wondered, 'Why did they ever hire Wimp?'" [3]

Sanderson played his freshman season of college basketball at Abilene Christian before transferring back to Florence State. In three seasons with the Lions, from 1957 to 1959, he scored 1,076 points and averaged 14.9 points over his 72-game career. He was named team captain as both a junior and a senior and led the Lions in scoring in 1958 with 403 points. His best single-game performance came against Jacksonville State University in 1958 when he scored 31 points. Sanderson graduated in 1959. [4]

Coaching career

Alabama

Before he resigned in 1992, Sanderson had been at Alabama for 32 years—one year as a graduate assistant, 20 as a full-time assistant and 12 as head coach. He led the Crimson Tide to 10 NCAA Tournaments and six trips to the Sweet 16. He lived 32 of his 58 years in Tuscaloosa, watching three decades of history pass from one season to another. In 1963, as Governor George Wallace stood at the schoolhouse door, Sanderson, an assistant coach without political convictions, watched from a window in a building across the street, unaware he was privy to history. Six years later, as Alabama Coach C.M. Newton became the first Southeastern Conference coach to heavily recruit African-Americans (Vanderbilt's Perry Wallace was the first African-American to play in the conference, in 1967-68), Sanderson was pounding the recruiting trail, helping to lure players like future All-American Wendell Hudson to Tuscaloosa. [3]

"I have a lot of respect for C.M. and Wimp," says Hudson, the first African-American athlete at Alabama and now the assistant AD at Alabama. "I would talk to a lot of guys who came in the league at the same time as I did, who didn't have as easy of a time as I did. There were no special rules. Everyone was treated equally." [3]

Sanderson's skills as a recruiter were legendary. Enticing Robert Horry, Derrick McKey and Latrell Sprewell to football-mad Tuscaloosa was considered remarkable. In addition to Sprewell, Horry and McKey, eight other players recruited when Sanderson was head coach made it to the NBA, including James Robinson and David Benoit. [3]

Scandal and resignation

Sanderson resigned from Alabama on May 18, 1992, days after Nancy Watts, his longtime secretary, filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit against him and the university with the US Equal Opportunity Commission. Both Sanderson and Watts admitted they had had an affair from about 1970 to 1985, but both offered conflicting stories about what happened on March 17, 1992. [3] Watts said that on that day, two days before Alabama was to play Stanford in the NCAA tournament, Sanderson punched her in the face during an argument, giving her a black eye. Sanderson said Watts had become hysterical and that, in an effort to defend himself, he extended his hand and she collided with it, resulting in the injury. More than a year later, Watts' lawsuit against Sanderson, the university and then-athletic director Hootie Ingram, was settled out of court, days before it was scheduled to go to trial.

Alabama and Sanderson's homeowner's insurance policy paid Watts $275,000. Sanderson's employment with the university ended after 32 years. [3] "It was a situation where if you're accused of anything, you're guilty, and that's not right. I know what happened," Sanderson has said. "I gave the university 32 years, all I could give them. Tried to do everything the right way. It was a sad day in my life. I loved the school, but it's behind me. It's over." [3]

David Hobbs, a former assistant, was promoted as head coach when Sanderson resigned. [5] Mark Gottfried, a former player under Sanderson, followed Hobbs and coached for 10-1/2 seasons before he resigned [6] on January 26, 2009.

Arkansas–Little Rock

Sanderson resurfaced in 1994 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was the Trojans' coach when they appeared in the National Invitation Tournament in 1996, and he notably coached future NBA champion Derek Fisher. [3]

Personal life

As of 2007, Sanderson currently resides in Birmingham, Alabama. [7]

Awards

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Alabama Crimson Tide (Southeastern Conference)(1980–1992)
1980–81 Alabama 18–1110–84th NIT Second Round
1981–82 Alabama 24–712–63rd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1982–83 Alabama 20–128–10T–8th NCAA Division I First Round
1983–84 Alabama 18–1210–85th NCAA Division I First Round
1984–85 Alabama 23–1011–7T–3rd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1985–86 Alabama 24–913–5T–2nd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1986–87 Alabama 28–516–21st NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1987–88 Alabama 14–176–12T–8th
1988–89 Alabama 23–812–6T–2nd NCAA Division I First Round
1989–90 Alabama 26–912–62nd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1990–91 Alabama 23–1012–62nd NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1991–92 Alabama 26–910–63rd (Western) NCAA Division I Second Round
Alabama:267–119132–82
Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans (Sun Belt Conference)(1994–1999)
1994–95 Arkansas–Little Rock 17–129–9T–5th
1995–96 Arkansas–Little Rock 23–714–4T–1st NIT First Round
1996–97 Arkansas–Little Rock 18–1111–73rd
1997–98 Arkansas–Little Rock 15–1310–84th
1998–99 Arkansas–Little Rock 12–155–9T–7th
Arkansas–Little Rock:85–5849–37
Total:352–177

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Davis (basketball, born 1960)</span> American basketball player and coach

Michael Davis is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Detroit Mercy, a position he has held since 2018. Davis served as the head men's basketball coach at Indiana University Bloomington from 2000 to 2006, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 2006 to 2012, and Texas Southern University from 2012 to 2018.

Charles Martin Newton was an American collegiate basketball player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Transylvania University from 1956 to 1968, the University of Alabama from 1968 to 1980, and Vanderbilt University from 1981 to 1989, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 509–375. He was chairman of the NCAA Rules committee from 1979 to 1985 and was the president of USA Basketball from 1992 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Drew</span> American sports coach (1894–1979)

Harold Delbert "Red" Drew was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach for over 40 years. He was the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1947 to 1954, compiling a 54–28–7 record and leading the team to appearances in the Sugar, Orange and Cotton Bowls. He also served as an assistant football coach at Alabama from 1931 to 1941, including the undefeated 1934 team that won the national championship and played in the 1935 Rose Bowl. Drew also served as Alabama's track and field coach for 23 seasons continuing into the mid-1960s. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball</span> Mens College Basketball team

The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama in NCAA Division I men's basketball. The program plays in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In the conference it trails only long-time basketball powerhouse Kentucky in SEC tournament titles, is third behind Kentucky and Arkansas in total wins, and is second behind Kentucky in SEC regular-season conference titles. Alabama was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion for the 1929–30 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. The team has appeared in the NCAA tournament 23 times, most recently in 2023. Alabama's current head coach is Nate Oats.

David A. Hobbs is a former American basketball coach. Hobbs previously served as a special assistant to Iowa State's head coach Steve Prohm. He was the men's head coach at the University of Alabama from 1992 to 1998 and also was an assistant coach at Alabama, the University of Kentucky and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Charles H. "Sonny" Smith is a retired American college basketball coach. Originally from Roan Mountain, Tennessee, Smith served as a head coach for 22 seasons. Best known as the head coach at Auburn from 1978 to 1989, he also coached at East Tennessee State (1976–1978) and VCU (1989–1998). Smith won the 1985 SEC tournament championship while at Auburn, and won both the CAA regular season and tournament titles in 1996 while at VCU. He made six NCAA tournament appearances as a head coach, five at Auburn and one at VCU. Smith was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene Lambert (coach)</span>

Eugene Wasdon Lambert Sr. was an American football and basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as head basketball coach at North Texas Agricultural, Kenyon, Arkansas, Memphis State, and Alabama. He served as head tennis coach in 1957 at the University of Alabama, and head football coach at both North Texas Agricultural and Kenyon.

Loyd Hayden Riley was an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide for eight seasons during the 1960s, and the Tide's head baseball coach for ten seasons in the 1970s. Riley was also a recruiting coordinator for football at Alabama under Paul "Bear" Bryant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Crisp</span> American college coach and athletics administrator

Henry Gorham Crisp was an American football, basketball, baseball and track coach and college athletics administrator. In spite of an accident when he was 13 years old that resulted in the loss of his right hand, Crisp went on to letter in football, basketball and track at both Hampden–Sydney College and Virginia Tech – then known primarily as VPI.

Paul Burnum was a coach of multiple sports at the University of Alabama, having served as head coach of the school's men's basketball and baseball teams and an assistant for the football team. He was also the head football coach at Tuscaloosa High School in the university's home city of Tuscaloosa, where he led the Black Bears to an undefeated record, five state championships and a pair of national championships during his five-year tenure there. After his career as a coach ended, Burnum worked in private business and served as a member of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. After his death in 1981, Burnum was posthumously inducted into Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clyde Propst</span> American football player and coach (1898–1959)

Ralph Clyde "Shorty" Propst was an American college football player and coach. He served as head coach at both Howard and Southwestern from 1934 to 1937. During his tenure as a head coach, Propst had an overall record of 19 wins, 14 losses and 6 ties (19–14–6).

The 1979–80 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was C.M. Newton, who was in his 12th season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season 18–12, 12–6 in SEC play, finishing in a tie for third place.

The 1980–81 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his first season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season 18–11, 10–8 in SEC play, finishing in fourth place.

The 1981–82 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his second season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season 24–7, 12–6 in SEC play, finishing in third place.

The 1982–83 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his third season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season 18–12, 8–10 in SEC play, and finished in a tie for eighth place.

The 1983–84 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his fourth season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season 18–12, 10–8 in SEC play, finishing in fifth place.

The 1987–88 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his eighth season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 14–17, 6–12 in conference, finishing in a tie for eighth place. It was the Tide's first non-winning season since the 1971–72 season.

The 1990–91 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1990-91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his eleventh season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 23–10, 12–6 in conference, good for fourth place.

The 1991–92 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his 12th season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 26–9. The team's conference record was 10–6, which was good enough for third place in the SEC Western Division, third behind new SEC member Arkansas and LSU. This was the first season of divisional play in the SEC, due to the addition of new teams Arkansas and South Carolina.

The 1992–93 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1992-93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was David Hobbs, who was in his first season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 16-13. The team's conference record was 7-9, which was good enough for fourth place in the SEC Western Division.

References

  1. ↑ "Wimp Sanderson". Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  2. ↑ "Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson". UNA Athletic Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2007-03-17. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Harrison, Steve (1996-02-12). "The Color of Plaid". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  4. 1 2 3 "Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson". UNA Athletic Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2007-03-17. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  5. ↑ "Hobbs Gets the Job at Alabama". New York Times. 1992-06-13. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  6. ↑ Editor, Cecil Hurt Sports. "Gottfried out, Pearson to take over". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 2024-01-27.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. 1 2 3 "Wimp Sanderson". Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.