Wimp Sanderson

Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson (born August 8, 1937) is an American former college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Alabama from 1980 to 1992 followed by stint at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999.

Sanderson was born in Florence, Alabama. He attended Coffee High School and graduated from Florence State College, in 1959. In 1960 he became a graduate assistant under Hayden Riley at Alabama, and in 1961 he was made a full-time assistant. Sanderson served in this capacity for 20 years under both Riley and C. M. Newton, eventually becoming Newton's top assistant. When Newton resigned to become assistant commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Sanderson was named his successor. During his 12-year tenure as head coach, Alabama had a 267–119 record, averaging 21.8 wins per season, and won five SEC tournaments. The teams appeared in one NIT and ten NCAA tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 six times. Sanderson is the only coach in university history to record 200 or more victories within his first 10 seasons. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1989, and National Coach of the Year in 1987.

He was known for wearing plaid sport jackets on the sidelines. During his tenure, Coleman Coliseum featured a crimson-and-white plaid midcourt logo and was nicknamed the "Plaid Palace", while some fans and the Million Dollar Band adopted plaid clothing and nicknames in his honor.

Early life and playing career 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 school football 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 the Veterans Administration. During his senior year in high school, he became class president.

In 1955, Sanderson went to Abilene Christian College to play basketball. He planned to go into radio and television, but flunking Spanish soured his plans. He transferred to Florence State (now the University of North Alabama) where he continued playing basketball and graduated with a degree in physical education. He took a high school head coaching job in Carbon Hill, Alabama and one year later, in 1959–60, he went to Alabama as a graduate assistant under Hayden Riley for $75 a month.

Coaching career

Alabama Sanderson spent 32 years at Alabama, serving as a graduate assistant for one year, a full-time assistant coach for 20 years, and head coach for 12 years. During his head coaching tenure, he led the program to 10 NCAA tournament appearances and six Sweet 16 berths. Under head coach C.M. Newton, Sanderson recruited several African-American players to the program, including Wendell Hudson. Mark Gottfried, a former player under Sanderson, followed Hobbs and coached for 10-1/2 seasons before he resigned on January 26, 2009.

Arkansas–Little Rock In 1994, Sanderson was hired as the head coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He coached the Trojans to an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament in 1996, and coached future NBA player Derek Fisher.

Personal life Sanderson resided in Birmingham, Alabama.

Awards Named SEC Coach of the Decade for the 1980s by the Lexington Herald-Leader 1987, 1989 and 1990 SEC Coach of the Year 1987 National Coach of the Year Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 UNA Alumnus of the Year in 1990

Head coaching record