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| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1937-08-08)August 8, 1937 (age 88) Florence, Alabama, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1955–1956 | Abilene Christian |
| 1956–1959 | Florence State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1960–1961 | Alabama (GA) |
| 1961–1980 | Alabama (assistant) |
| 1980–1992 | Alabama |
| 1994–1999 | Arkansas–Little Rock |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 352–177 |
| Tournaments | 12–10 (NCAA Division I) 1–2 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 5SEC tournament (1982,1987,1989–1991) SEC regular season (1987) Sun Belt regular season (1996) | |
| Awards | |
| 2×SEC Coach of the Year (1987, 1989) Sun Belt Coach of the Year (1996) | |
Winfrey "Wimp"Sanderson (born August 8, 1937)[1] is an American formercollege basketball coach. He coached at theUniversity of Alabama from 1980 to 1992 followed by stint at theUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999.
Sanderson was born inFlorence, Alabama. He attendedCoffee High School and graduated fromFlorence State College, in 1959.[2] In 1960 he became a graduate assistant underHayden Riley at Alabama, and in 1961 he was made a full-time assistant. Sanderson served in this capacity for 20 years under both Riley andC. M. Newton, eventually becoming Newton's top assistant. When Newton resigned to become assistant commissioner of theSoutheastern Conference, Sanderson was named his successor. In 12 years as head coach his teams averaged 21.8 wins a year, with a 267–119 record, and they won 5SEC tournaments. They played in oneNIT and tenNCAA tournaments making the Sweet 16 six times. He is the only coach in Alabama history to win 200 or more games in his first 10 years. He was theSoutheastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1989, and was the National Coach of the Year in 1987.
Sanderson was known for wearing plaidsport jackets on the sidelines. During his tenure at Alabama, theColeman Coliseum was known as the "Plaid Palace" (with its midcourt logo painted crimson-and-white plaid), theMillion Dollar Band was known as the "Plaid Players", and many fans came to games wearing plaid in Sanderson's honor.
Winfrey Sanderson was named for his uncle, Hayes Winfrey, who died from kidney problems in his twenties after he blocked a punt in his stomach during a high schoolfootball game.
His father, who worked for an auto parts company, died when he was six, and Sanderson, an only child, shared an apartment with his mother, Christine, a secretary for theVeterans Administration. During his senior year in high school, he became class president.[3]
In 1955, Sanderson went toAbilene Christian College to play basketball. He planned to go into radio and television, but flunkingSpanish soured his plans. He transferred home to Florence State (now theUniversity of North Alabama) and continued his hoops career while graduating inphysical education. He took a high school head coaching job inCarbon Hill, Alabama and one year later, in 1959–60, he went to Alabama as a graduate assistant underHayden Riley for $75 a month. Sanderson figured it was a stepping stone for a better high school job.[3]
"When he was hired, Wimp felt a tremendous amount of pressure", said his wife, Annette. "He had his doubters. People wondered, 'Why did they ever hire Wimp?'"[3]
Sanderson played his freshman season of college basketball at Abilene Christian before transferring back to Florence State. In three seasons with the Lions, from 1957 to 1959, he scored 1,076 points and averaged 14.9 points over his 72-game career. He was named team captain as both a junior and a senior and led the Lions in scoring in 1958 with 403 points. His best single-game performance came againstJacksonville State University in 1958 when he scored 31 points. Sanderson graduated in 1959.[4]
Before he resigned in 1992, Sanderson had been at Alabama for 32 years—one year as a graduate assistant, 20 as a full-time assistant and 12 as head coach. He led the Crimson Tide to 10 NCAA Tournaments and six trips to the Sweet 16. He lived 32 of his 58 years in Tuscaloosa, watching three decades of history pass from one season to another. In 1963, as GovernorGeorge Wallace stood at the schoolhouse door, Sanderson, an assistant coach without political convictions, watched from a window in a building across the street, unaware he was privy to history. Six years later, as Alabama CoachC.M. Newton became the first Southeastern Conference coach to heavily recruitAfrican-Americans (Vanderbilt'sPerry Wallace was the first African-American to play in the conference, in 1967-68), Sanderson was pounding the recruiting trail, helping to lure players like future All-American Wendell Hudson to Tuscaloosa.[3]
"I have a lot of respect for C.M. and Wimp," says Hudson, the first African-American athlete at Alabama and now the assistant AD at Alabama. "I would talk to a lot of guys who came in the league at the same time as I did, who didn't have as easy of a time as I did. There were no special rules. Everyone was treated equally."[3]
Sanderson's skills as a recruiter were legendary. EnticingRobert Horry,Derrick McKey andLatrell Sprewell to football-madTuscaloosa was considered remarkable. In addition to Sprewell, Horry and McKey, eight other players recruited when Sanderson was head coach made it to theNBA, includingJames Robinson andDavid Benoit.[3]
Sanderson resigned from Alabama on May 18, 1992, days after Nancy Watts, his longtime secretary, filed asexual discrimination lawsuit against him and the university with the USEqual Opportunity Commission. Both Sanderson and Watts admitted they had an affair from about 1970 to 1985, but both offered conflicting stories about what happened on March 17, 1992.[3] Watts said that on that day, two days before Alabama was to playStanford in the NCAA tournament, Sanderson punched her in the face during an argument, giving her ablack eye. Sanderson said Watts had become hysterical and that, in an effort to defend himself, he extended his hand and she collided with it, resulting in the injury. More than a year later, Watts' lawsuit against Sanderson, the university and then-athletic directorHootie Ingram, was settled out of court, days before it was scheduled to go to trial.
Alabama and Sanderson's homeowner's insurance policy paid Watts $275,000. Sanderson's employment with the university ended after 32 years.[3] "It was a situation where if you're accused of anything, you're guilty, and that's not right. I know what happened," Sanderson has said. "I gave the university 32 years, all I could give them. Tried to do everything the right way. It was a sad day in my life. I loved the school, but it's behind me. It's over."[3]
David Hobbs, a former assistant, was promoted as head coach when Sanderson resigned.[5]Mark Gottfried, a former player under Sanderson, followed Hobbs and coached for 10-1/2 seasons before he resigned[6] on January 26, 2009.
Sanderson resurfaced in 1994 at theUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock. He was the Trojans' coach when they appeared in theNational Invitation Tournament in 1996, and he notably coached future NBA championDerek Fisher.[3]
As of 2007,[update] Sanderson currently resides inBirmingham, Alabama.[1]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Crimson Tide(Southeastern Conference)(1980–1992) | |||||||||
| 1980–81 | Alabama | 18–11 | 10–8 | 4th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1981–82 | Alabama | 24–7 | 12–6 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1982–83 | Alabama | 20–12 | 8–10 | T–8th | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1983–84 | Alabama | 18–12 | 10–8 | 5th | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1984–85 | Alabama | 23–10 | 11–7 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1985–86 | Alabama | 24–9 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1986–87 | Alabama | 28–5 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1987–88 | Alabama | 14–17 | 6–12 | T–8th | |||||
| 1988–89 | Alabama | 23–8 | 12–6 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1989–90 | Alabama | 26–9 | 12–6 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1990–91 | Alabama | 23–10 | 12–6 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1991–92 | Alabama | 26–9 | 10–6 | 3rd(Western) | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| Alabama: | 267–119 (.692) | 132–82 (.617) | |||||||
| Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans(Sun Belt Conference)(1994–1999) | |||||||||
| 1994–95 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 17–12 | 9–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 1995–96 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 23–7 | 14–4 | T–1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1996–97 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 18–11 | 11–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 1997–98 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 15–13 | 10–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1998–99 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 12–15 | 5–9 | T–7th | |||||
| Arkansas–Little Rock: | 85–58 (.594) | 49–37 (.570) | |||||||
| Total: | 352–177 (.665) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||