Missouri Tigers Add Athletic Performance Coach To List Of New Hires
By Derek Franks
Kim Anderson isn’t taking things slow and steady when it comes to his new role as the Missouri Tigers head basketball coach.
The team announced Tuesday that yet another addition has been made to Anderson’s staff, rounding out a score of hires in recent weeks for the program.
According to a press release, Anderson is bringing on Matt Herring as the new strength and conditioning coach for the team. The role, officially titled “Director of Athletic Performance,” became vacant upon Mizzou’s coaching shake up last month.
Matt is a highly respected coach that has trained some of the elite basketball players in the world… he will mentor and train our young men in every phase of life – Kim Anderson
Herring has a strong pedigree. He spent 2011-2013 in the same position with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs where he coached the likes of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, who are appearing in their second consecutive NBA finals this year.
But Herring comes with an even more impressive college hoops background.
He most notably was a successful strengths coach in the NCAA ranks when he spent seven seasons as the Director of Performance with the Florida Gators basketball program and guided the team to back-to-back championships in ’06 and ’07.
He began his career on the Oklahoma State staff which made a Final Four appearance in 2004.
“This was a big coup for our program, not only because Matt is a highly respected coach that has trained some of the elite basketball players in the world, but because he will mentor and train our young men in every phase of life,” Anderson said in a release from MU athletics. “Matt has coached and trained at the highest levels throughout his career and has the ability to get the most out of his teams. We are excited to welcome Matt and his family to Mizzou.”
An Austin, Texas native, Herring knows a little bit about Missouri’s track record for basketball. He knows a great opportunity when he sees one.
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“I appreciate Coach Anderson, Mike Alden and the Mizzou Administration for this tremendous opportunity,” Herring said. “I became very familiar with Missouri during my time growing up in Texas and my time working at Oklahoma State, and I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for the Athletics Department as a whole, as well as this university. We are very excited to get to town, get to work and become a part of the Mizzou and Columbia communities.”
The new staff has its work cut out for it as they must dig a program out of a ditch. Mizzou nation watched as its Tigers team went sterile in the second half of the 2013 season and missed the tournament for the first time in eight years.
Anderson’s rapid fire of hires began in late April. The most significant was retaining assistant coach Tim Fuller, a move which was deemed critical by the Mizzou fan base and media.
Fuller has been one of the coaching staff’s most vital organs, taking up important roles as a leader on the bench and a very successful recruiter.
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The Tigers also tabbed Bryan Tibaldi to remain the director of Basketball of Operations. Tibaldi has spent the last three seasons building the program at Mizzou.
Another notable hire, Brad Loos, officially agreed to follow Anderson from Central Missouri as an assistant in May. The two guided UCM to two straight national championships in 2013 and 2014.
A few more additions later, and Mizzou’s coaching staff is looking more complete, most recently with Herring, who will look to build on his already highly successful career.
The Spurs went 108-40 under the direction of Herring, who spent the last year as a private instructor before jumping on board in Columbia.
He brings with him his wife Cindy, daughter Laney, a Bachelor’s from Southwest Texas State, a Masters from the University of Texas, and a whole lot of quality experience under his belt. The Tigers now appear to be in good hands moving forward.