You could say, Antonio Anderson needs no introduction in the City of Lynn. You could even say, the former Lynn Tech standout is one of the greatest basketball players Lynn has ever produced.
Anderson, who started on the Final 4 Memphis Tigers’ squad under John Calipari and was teammates with former NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose, has had his fair share of experience.
Anderson found himself on multiple NBA teams, in the G-League, and overseas. Now, he is the head coach of the Darrow School in Upstate New York after being hired in 2023.
Although he’s working in the Big Apple, Anderson still comes back to Lynn – a place he says will always be special to him.
“It means a lot. I grew up here my whole life. My childhood friends and my family are here. It’s a great place,” said Anderson, the younger brother of former UMass standout Anthony. “It’s a great place and a great sports city. I enjoy it and embrace being from Lynn.”
Not only does Anderson still visit, but he keeps an eye on Lynn Tech basketball to see how it’s progressing under coach Corey Bingham.
“Corey and I are like family. We grew up playing basketball together. He was on my coaching staff at English,” Anderson said. “That’s like a brother to me. I was always checking on those guys. I keep track of their seasons and see how they’re doing. He’s been doing a great job over there. I’m excited for him.”
Anderson got into coaching in 2013. He began as an assistant coach for a few Division 2 and 3 schools before, eventually, landing a head coaching position at Lynn English.
“A year-and-a-half [after I got injured], I got into coaching and started coaching in college,” Anderson said. “Then, the Lynn English job opened up. I went for it and got it.”
While with the Bulldogs, Anderson won back-to-back championships in 2019 and 2020.
“We had so much support from the school and the city, and to be able to bring the title back to the city was awesome, especially as a public school,” he said. “St. Mary’s has done a great job of holding that down for a long time, winning titles from a private school standpoint. But from a public-school view… it was special.”
For Anderson, however, the real success was witnessing how his team handled itself in the classroom, which helped the program gain more support from the entire school.
“We worked hard for that as a group. My guys did a great job in the classroom, which allowed them to be so successful on the basketball court,” Anderson said. “I think that was our biggest standpoint, that our guys were on the academic side of things. That allowed them to be so successful on the court. The entire school faculty supported them even more because they were great kids, great students, and were great in the community and school.”
Anderson was proud to help send 20 of his student-athletes to college.
“With the help of my assistants and coaching staff, we built a program that was very dominant in the state,” Anderson said. “We had a lot of success there. Over 20 kids went to college in a four-year span. That brought more joy to me than playing.”
Anderson eventually left Lynn English and went to Western Massachusetts to coach at Springfield Commonwealth Academy, a perfect place for him to take the next step in his coaching career.
“It was challenging, but as part of coaching, it put me in a position that I’m in now, coaching basketball in New York at the Darrow School in the NEPSAC (New England Preparatory School Athletic Council),” he said. “Springfield Commonwealth Academy was like a stepping stone for me to be where I always wanted, which was to be a coach at the highest level and in the NEPSAC.”
Now at Darrow, Anderson has set similar goals.
“I’m trying to reinvent what I did at Lynn English, building a program and trying to make some noise,” he said. “I had opportunities to coach in college, and professionally, but that’s not what I want to do. I enjoy helping young men understand what it’s going to take to get to the next level, and how to help them get there. I want to show them the necessary steps that they’re going to need to get there.”
Anderson has played under some elite coaches, including Calipari. That said, he knows when to be tough, and how to get the most out of his guys.
“I’m tough on the guys. If they’re not going to listen or do their schoolwork, they’re not going to play. I’m tough on them on conditioning and how hard they need to work and prepare. Attention to detail is one of the biggest things I focus on,” he said. “You need to have a personal relationship with each kid. Everyone is different and I understand that some kids get going in different ways, so it’s on me as the coach to know what each kid needs to get the best out of them.”
The Darrow School is playing some competitive basketball. If Anderson can do what he did at Lynn English, it might be hosting a championship trophy sooner rather than later.
