Sherwin Anderson is a life coach — and a coach for life

June 6, 2022 Andy Furman
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It was inevitable.

For everyone—except Sherwin Anderson.

The Bishop Loughlin High School Hall of Famer was recently named head coach of the Ohio Kings – Cincinnati’s semi-pro basketball team and a member of the American Basketball Association.

“For me,” he told the Eagle, “This deal came out of left field.”

Not entirely.

The 47-year-old Anderson was with the Kings organization since their inception three-years ago. “I was their Assistant Trainer,” he said, “and I was the hype man on the PA system at games.”

But coaching? That was a long shot.

And that’s by no means because Sherwin Anderson doesn’t know the game of basketball.

He was a two-year captain for Xavier University in Cincinnati – and led the nation in steals his senior year. He graduated with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the Cincinnati school – and then he wanted to tour the world.

“I moved to Florida and played for the Harlem Globetrotters in Disneyland – and then I returned to Cincinnati,” he said.

“I fell in love with the people and the family atmosphere,” he said.

Pretty amazing basketball resume for a kid who was born in Georgetown, Guyana.

“My dad arrived in Brooklyn first,” he said, “and then he sent for the family. I came to Brooklyn when I was eight. And, all I knew was soccer. Basketball was nothing to me.”

But when in Brooklyn it’s all about the City Game.

“I started practicing with a pair of socks and a hanger in my room,” he said. “Then I advanced to shooting and dribbling.”

And then he was discovered – in Wingate Park.

“I remember like it was yesterday,” he said. “This one team needed an extra player. I even remember the team’s name – Ice Tea. And the coach – Coach Frank.”

Anderson says he was in the 5th or 6th grade competing with kids who were high school freshmen.

Not surprising at all. Perhaps it was his Brooklyn toughness and is own mental fortitude that helped him through the rough times of today – with his wife and six kids – five girls and a boy.

It was that same toughness on the basketball court while playing for the New York Gauchos that helped Anderson gain tuition assistance to Bishop Loughlin.

How good was he playing for the Lions?

“All I can say is I started as a freshman,” he said.

His Loughlin career saw him average around 15 points-per-game – many of those points come from his quick hands and steals.

“I had offers to Rutgers, Penn State, Manhattan and North Carolina State,” he said.

But Brooklyn’s Pete Gillen – the former Nazareth High coach – clinched the deal when he was the head coach at Xavier.

Sherwin Anderson is a life coach. He says “life coaching” is helping a friend while they struggle – and he’ll continue that work while coaching the Kings.

“I love dealing with kids with mental health issues,” he said. “It’s quite rewarding.”

The ABA season spans from November through April — but Anderson quickly notes his season starts now.

“I need to find a team, recruit players, set-up practice schedules and handle open gyms for workouts,” he said.

The schedule, he says, calls for about 10-15-games – depending on some teams and their rosters.

The Ohio Kings will play in the North Central region with teams from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Maryland.

And Anderson’s goals are pretty straight-forward.

“I want to teach young men how to live and be together,” he said. “I want them to get one-percent better everyday as a man, and at the end of the season they’ll be 100 percent ready.”

Sherwin Anderson is building a family within his team. He says he’ll be calling and checking-up on them daily. He wants to instill trust within each of them.

And even before the first red-white-and-blue basketball is tossed into play – Sherwin Anderson – the new coach – is already winning.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR

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