Former Wildcats Derek Anderson and Tony Delk believe they could help Kentucky coaching staff

A single tweet from former Kentucky Wildcat player Derek Anderson shook the Big Blue Nation earlier in the week when he announced that he wanted to join the coaching staff. His post was met with mixed reviews from the fan base, with some questioning Anderson’s approach while others were yearning for a former player to roam the sidelines.

Anderson, who played under Rick Pitino at Kentucky from 1995-1997, tweeted out on Feb. 8 that he wants to “join the Staff NOW!” and has regularly posted his thoughts from what he’s seen when Kentucky has taken the court this season. Back in 2015, the 1996 NCAA Champion was critical of current Kentucky head coach John Calipari and his coaching methods, saying it was the reason UK didn’t win the 2014 title.

A day after Anderson publicly asked for a coaching job on social media, he went on the Bleav in Kentucky podcast, hosted by Vinny Hardy and another former ‘Cat, Tony Delk, who fills in as the co-host. As he has in the past, Anderson was quick to criticize the AUU basketball programs, which he believes hinders the development of fundamentals in the early stages of learning the game. He’s a big advocate for keeping players in a Kentucky uniform past one season under the idea that they’ll only get better year after year.

During the podcast, Anderson spoke about his tweet asking for a coaching position, ultimately saying that he wants to do best for the program–but also that he wants to be involved in that process.

“My end goal is what I just posted. I’m here to help,” Anderson said. “I don’t want to see the program go 5-11, I don’t wanna see us do it next year… Let me get on the staff, let me try to help out. Listen, I know the game in and out, I know to prepare, I know how to stretch, I know how to do this, I know how to do that.”

Anderson continued on about how his knowledge as a former player would play into his ability to help the program going forward. Even though he has been outspoken about his schematic differences with Calipari in the past, he doesn’t think it would affect their philosophical approach.

“It’s not differences at all, it’s the truth,” Anderson said about how he would interact with Calipari if they disagreed. “You try to explain to him what he might have messed up. You name one coach that can’t say he hasn’t messed up. You get pro coaches right now, they’ll be like I made the wrong decision, but you can make that wrong decision. My thing is, don’t make that same decision. As a coaching staff we’ll all look and be like okay we messed that up… I felt like we should have had different players in the game at the time and this is the reason why.”

He was careful to differentiate the meaning between being critical and being suggestive when potentially interacting with Cal, adding that his method would be more of the latter. Sure, the two might not always see eye to eye, but Anderson thinks it would be beneficial for his voice to be inside the locker room as a former player. Even Tony Delk chimed in to add that he and Anderson don’t necessarily need to be members of the coaching staff, but at the very least, someone players can come to with questions.

“Even if I’m not coaching, I can still be a consultant, a mentor, and get these kids prepared,” Delk said.

Bringing in former players to help relay the experience they had in the past sounds like a smart move in theory. The main issue? Anderson has zero college coaching practice. Even if he could provide some helpful insight, it might be a tough sell to the people in charge.

One of his central arguments is that players who come back are almost always more likely to improve the following year, even if it costs them short-term NBA money. While Anderson failed to mention the risk of serious injuries, his point does hold weight. Kentucky has plenty of examples that prove that to be right–P.J. Washington, Immanuel Quickley, the Harrison twins, etc.–but it’s definitely not as simple as “come back and you’ll improve your stock by 20 picks”.

It’s clear that Anderson is not a fan of the “one-and-done” rule and it’s not something he would push if he somehow joined the staff in whatever capacity that might be. He also, on multiple occasions, was critical of the younger generation and their parents for not knowing their kid’s limitations. While it feels like a longshot that Anderson finds his way onto the bench alongside Calipari, bringing on a former player with championship experience can’t be the worst thing in the world, especially if it’s in a minor role.

[Bleav in Kentucky]