Coach Anderson has amassed 423 wins as the Engineers Coach and is an inductee into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

Coach Anderson wth his family, son Paul, wife Dawn and daughter Skyy.

During his career, Larry Anderson has been a Two-time New England Coach of the Year and a Three-time NEWMAC Coach of the Year.

Question: Name the winningest men’s basketball coach in the history of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mr. Larry Anderson holds that title and distinction. Recently retired after 30 years of coaching basketball at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions, Anderson, the quiet gentleman who came from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, back in 1995, took time with the Banner to reflect on his 30 years spent building a winning basketball tradition at the school nicknamed “The Pentagon on the Charles River.”

“The story of me coming to MIT somewhat reflects my basketball life. Coming out of high school, I had little thought of going to college. My mother (full name here) was my biggest influence to stay in high school and graduate. By staying in high school (Noxubee County High School), I gained valuable ‘life lessons’ from men like Coach Willie C.Triplett, who saw something in me, and Coach Richard Mathis, who opened a significant door to my basketball career.

“Coach Mathis saw me playing in a pick-up game and recruited me to play for him at East Mississippi Junior College. I played two years at E. M. Junior College before moving on to Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. I was named captain of my team the last two years I played at Rust College (under Coach Nayland Hayes), maintaining a record of being named captain on every team I ever played on. I always believed I possessed leadership skills, but it was nice that people noticed them as well.

“I stayed on as an assistant coach at Rust while also holding down the positions of associate athletic director and director of student activities. As a child from a family of 20 siblings, I learned to deal with various personalities — something that has served me well throughout my life. Being raised in the South and watching my mother negotiate every day for our lives taught me that there is more than one way to get your message across to people.”

At 25, Anderson was elected an alderman, steering his life toward politics. “It was a way to get things done for different groups of people.” And while serving a second term in office, his life would be changed again when he had an interview for the men’s head basketball coaching job at MIT.

“Truth be told, I had thrown the ad from a national basketball publication (about the MIT job) in the trash, feeling that there was no real chance of me getting the job. After receiving a telephone call from MIT Athletic Director Dr. Richard A. Hill and realizing that the offer was legitimate, I dug the application out of the trash, filled it out, and headed to Boston for an interview. This part of my story may seem crazy, but it is true.”

So, at 31, Larry Anderson became the men’s head basketball coach at MIT. Following his first two seasons of losing (4-21 in 1995 and 3-22 in 1996), Anderson’s third year at MIT produced his first winning campaign with an 18-8 record. “I always knew that Larry was an astute coach who had a special feel for the game of basketball — even during our first two losing seasons,” said former assistant coach Wallace Johnson. “You just knew he was special and that he had a solid plan. He just needed time to make it work. I left him to take a coaching position at Brandeis University, but I knew that the seeds of success had been planted and would produce a winning tradition under Larry’s stewardship.”

Johnson’s words proved prophetic over the next three decades as the MIT Engineers under Larry Anderson became a national power in NCAA Division 3 competition, and he became the winningest coach in school history with 432 wins and 160 NEWMAC victories. The program reached its zenith in 2013 with a number one ranking in America and has been ranked in the top 25 for eight of the last 14 years. The program has produced seven All-American players.

But Larry Anderson is more than a basketball coach. His philosophy is centered on building winning teams of “Straight A People, Straight A Students, and Straight A Ballplayers” — in that order. His 100% graduation rate exemplifies the final product of his 30-year tenure at MIT. The proud father of two children (Skyy and Paul) with a wife (Dawn) of 36 years credits so much of his success to “people around me wanting me to be successful. No one could have accomplished what I have done without the help of so many good people. I embraced the ‘MIT Family Culture’ from the day I came here.”

And while remaining “true to his roots” by continuing to serve as vice chairman of the board of trustees at Rust College as well as board director for East Mississippi Community College (formerly East Mississippi Junior College), Larry Anderson is a very special human being, who happens to be: “The Winningest Coach in the history of Men’s Basketball at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”