Dave Jones:
Dwayne Anderson is 27 years old and has never been a coach at any level. Patrick Chambers just hired him to be his third assistant at Penn State.
But if you can teach kids how to be winners by simply having been one, Anderson knows the method. He was never much about stats but all about winning during an exemplary career at Villanova while Chambers was Jay Wright’s top assistant there.
It was smack in the prime of what could now be described as the golden age of Villanova hoops – 2006-09. The Wildcats went 102-37 during that span with four straight NCAA tournaments and an overachieving Final Four appearance and 30-8 record in Anderson’s senior year when he was team captain. Not a coincidence.
“I think that’s why I’m coming aboard,” said the D.C.-area native this afternoon when I spoke with him. “It’s because I’ve been there, done that. Everything that these kids are about to experience, on the court, off the court, I think that’s what I bring to the table.”
It was that 4-year run that ultimately got Chambers his first head coaching gig at Boston University. There were valleys amid the peaks where both fought through and he and Anderson became close. Chambers didn’t forget.