Missouri Tigers AD Mike Alden flanked by Marcus Denmon, Laurence Bowers and Kim English announced at a Wednesday night press conference that the rumors were true -- head coach Mike Anderson is headed to Arkansas to become the head coach of the Razorbacks.
The rumors had been out there for over a week although the news didn't become official Mizzou made an announcement he was gone, and Arkansas announced his arrival. It wasn't until early Wednesday evening that we learned they were legitimate and it was happening.
The players clearly didn't come across as happy at times and, according to reports, looked mad walking into the 7:00 p.m. team meeting where Anderson told them the news. They said all the right things at the press conference, focusing on moving on, but you know this wasn't an easy moment for them.
Anderson told his players last week any news would come straight from him but that wasn't the case. Everyone, including the media, knew of Anderson's departure hours before he was able to get back to Columbia and tell the players. AD Mike Alden said he wasn't told until 6:45 p.m.
It's a disappointing day for Mizzou as they lose Anderson to Arkansas. The anger will be there for a while. We'll figure out what his legacy is. We'll move on.
The good thing about coaches leaving is that you'll immediately be occupied searching for a new one so you won't have to think about it too much.