Businessman Rick Anderson hadn’t coached basketball in about 10 years, before a fateful call from his best friend’s daughter drew him to the West Central Community Center in Pfafftown.
“Rick Ball (as he is called), could you possibly come and help run our practice tonight, because our coach can’t be there?” asked Brittany Meadows.
Anderson agreed, thinking it was only a one-night deal. When he got there, Meadows told him that the youth team’s coach had actually quit and wondered if he could take over.
“Next thing I know, I’m coaching this team the rest of the year and with that, we got to the championship,” Anderson said. “Dennis Ring comes up to see the championship game to see if there are any girls coming to Mount Tabor. Well, he sees me coaching, comes over, talks to me after the game and that’s how this all started.”
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On Wednesday Anderson, 67, sent in his letter of resignation, officially ending the longest tenure — that began in 2001 — for a Spartans girls basketball head coach. In that span, Anderson was a six-time conference coach of the year, reached two of the program’s three regional appearances and served as the N.C. Coaches Association West All-Stars coach in 2018, as selected by his peers.
Anderson cited his health, including a major heart attack suffered six weeks ago, which took him out of coaching from Jan. 17 onward, as his main reason for resignation. He will continue his role as an Occupational Course of Study job coach and baseball assistant at Mount Tabor.
Anderson, a self-described Dean Smith disciple, has an old-school approach, believing more in mentoring young women than producing WNBA players. Although he has coached over 30 who became college players, including Wake Forest’s Millesa Calicott Covington.
Anderson had a policy in which players had to show him their report cards in and out of season. He emphasized sportsmanship, being a firm opponent of trash talking and running up the score on weaker teams.
“He’s always willing to get his hands dirty in helping kids,” said Ed Weiss, a former 13-year Mount Tabor principal. “A team player, he is a consummate professional and always tried to do things the right way.”
Weiss said Anderson had a tireless work ethic that included traveling for in-person scouting. His wife, affectionately called Ms. Terry, always went with him, keeping stats with shot and rebound charts. Terry has also been a Tabor scorekeeper.
During his career, Anderson’s teams won approximately 325 games. His 2011 team, led by senior Calicott, went 21-4 and 10-0 in conference play. It went 27-2 the next season, falling in the third round of the NCHSAA playoffs.
In 2014, the Spartans upset then-undefeated McDowell on the road to reaching the fourth round of the NCHSAA playoffs. The elite eight run is the most recent regional appearance for the program.
“I got known — I guess if you want to say it in the coaching world — for coaching girls basketball even though I was not that good of a basketball player, to tell you the truth,” Anderson said. “I’ll never forget: my high school coach (Olon Shuler), who has since passed way — I went to North Forsyth — he came to watch us play.
“He came down after the game and said, ‘Coach, man, your girls look really good. I got a question: Where in the world did y’all learn how to play defense like that?’ I said, ‘Well coach, I went back and I remembered playing for you. I didn’t play that much and you told me why: It was because I couldn’t guard a water bucket and I never forgot that.”
In addition to basketball, Anderson also coached Mount Tabor softball for 10 seasons, making two playoff appearances from 2012-2021.
Anderson is still undergoing cardiology rehabilitation three days a week. His cardiologist told him that he wouldn’t have survived if not for his good physical condition.
“I love to try to help kids develop and chase their dreams as much as anything,” Anderson said.