Former NBA player Antonio Anderson takes over as boys basketball coach at Darrow School

The new boys basketball coach at Darrow School did not have to think about what a team in his image will play like.

"We're going to be tough, gritty, defensive guys. That's one thing for sure," Antonio Anderson said with a laugh. "We're going to wear our hard hats every day. We're going to compete. We're going to get after it.

"We're going to make sure that win or lose, people are [saying] that's the hardest team we've played. They give it their all every time."

Anderson learned that style playing for Hall of Fame basketball coach John Calipari at Memphis. Anderson, a Lynn native who is the younger brother of former UMass standout Anthony Anderson, was hired late last week to replace Assane Sene as the head coach of the NEPSAC Class AA Ducks. Sene left Darrow in September to take a player development position with the NBA's Detroit Pistons.

"We started our search a few weeks ago and it netted us some pretty awesome candidates," said Darrow School athletic director Kris Magargal. "We narrowed the search down to four people and the person we chose was Antonio Anderson."

Magargal said Anderson would be a dorm parent, student advisor and a learning skills coach to go along with his varsity basketball duties.

"The guys are extremely excited. When I introduced him, they were kind of blown away," Magargal said. "After losing such a big figure in their lives, this is pretty much the best-case scenario. It's been a long couple of weeks for them, but they're a resilient group."

Anderson comes to Darrow from Busche Academy in Chester, N.H. Before that, he spent two years as the head coach at Springfield Commonwealth prep school, and was the coach at Lynn English for four seasons.

A native of Lynn, Anderson led English to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I state championship in 2019, beating Putnam 64-57. Lynn English made it to the 2020 state championship game and was due to play Springfield Central, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the winter tournaments.

"I'm super-pumped. I'm excited," Anderson said in a phone interview with The Eagle, about his new job. "It means a lot to coach at a historic school with administrators who want to see the program succeed. The academic people want to see the program succeed. It's a great community. I was there the last two days visiting, got to meet everybody and seeing how tight knit the school is, the communication with the administration and how everybody is in sync with each other.

"That makes it so much easier for me."

Anderson played for Calipari and his teams went 137-13. As a player, Anderson was the first at Memphis to score 1,000 points (1,277), get 500 rebounds and 500 assists.

He went on to get a little time in the NBA with Charlotte and Oklahoma City, and was on the roster of the Celtics' G League team in Maine. Anderson also played overseas.

Anderson heaps tons of praise Calipari's way for helping him develop.

Sene, who graduated from and played at the University of Virginia, spent four years as the Darrow coach, growing the program into a NEPSAC AA squad. He won the Class D title back in 2020.

"That's so awesome," Berkshire School coach Jeff Depelteau said of Sene's hiring. "It shows obviously, that people are seeing his talent, his ability to identify what talent looks like at that level."

"We're extremely happy" for Sene, Magargal offered, when his former coach left to join Detroit. "It's a unique opportunity. It's a huge loss, both literally and figuratively for our school. When the NBA comes calling, you have to answer."

Magargal said the school had a good number of applicants for Sene's job, but Anderson stood out.

"If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I wasn't sure how this was going to play out," the athletic director said. "For us, this was the best-case scenario. We had some other [candidates] who were really accomplished as well, but none quite with the resume that he brought to the table." 

Anderson, who is now on campus, will be assisted by Ray Pennucci and Owen Carlson, who were on Sene's staff last year.

"We've got some pieces there, man. I'm excited," Anderson said of the players on his new team. "Guys that can shoot it from out deep, really good athletes, shot blockers and some really good defenders. I'm looking forward to working with them. I have to get to know them, working with them on and off the court. Making sure they're on top of their academics, making sure they're doing what they're supposed to do."

When asked about the style of play, the new Darrow coach said that some of the dribble-drive offense Calipari has used at Memphis and now at Kentucky will be in the playbook.

"We'll incorporate some of that. We'll get up and down," Anderson said. "We'll be able to slow down when we need to in our sets, but we'll be a fast-paced team. We're going to get in shape. We're going to be able to defend. We're going to be able to get out in transition and make shots. We're going to be able to make plays from all different spots on the floor. Everyone gets involved, sharing the basketball, playing unselfishly.

"When you do things that way, everybody becomes successful."