HOF’er Anderson passes

Bob Anderson, a hall of fame coach whose name became synonymous with Gratiot County basketball, has died. He was 73.
A 1967 Ithaca High School graduate, when Anderson retired as Ithaca’s girls coach in 2016 he had coached 1,145 high school games – a state record. He had a career record of 702-443.
Anderson’s coaching career began with the Gaylord St. Mary’s girls team in 1979 – reaching the Class D state semifinals in 1983 — then at Vanderbilt from 1986 to 1992. It was at St. Mary that Anderson started coaching both genders, when the girls season was in the fall. He had three 20-0 regular season marks with St. Mary’s boys teams.
Anderson returned home to Ithaca to coach the Yellowjackets boys team in 1993, which he did until 2010, accumulating a 240-140 record. He was named the 2010 Associated Press Class C Coach of the Year after a 22-3 season.
“I’m just an old guy who loves basketball and I love being around young men or young women because they make me feel much younger than my age,” Anderson said after he broke the all-time games coached record held by Lansing Eastern legend Paul Cook. “Sometimes when you’re old you’re not very good at a lot of things, but I think I’m a pretty good basketball coach still.”
He had the coaching touch until the end. In Anderson’s last full season on the bench, Ithaca’s girls team, a program that had previously struggled, went 21-3. The Yellowjackets were 9-0 when Anderson resigned for health reasons in 2016.
From 1997 to 2007 Anderson coached Alma’s girls teams to three league championships.
He was inducted into the Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018
Anderson is survived by his wife, Jeannie, sons Matthew (Kelly), and Jeremy (Brandee), and five grandchildren.
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