Mike Anderson brings entire Missouri staff to Arkansas

University of Arkansas head men’s basketball coach Mike Anderson on Wednesday announced he has brought his entire Missouri staff to the Razorback sidelines.

Joining Anderson at Arkansas are assistant coaches Melvin Watkins, T.J. Cleveland, Matt Zimmerman, director of operations Jeff Daniels and strength and conditioning coach David Deets.

“I’m very excited to have these guys join me at Arkansas,” Anderson said in a release. “They are very familiar with the system that I want to run. We enjoy working with one another and to me that makes the ultimate team. Having those guys want to be a part of what we are doing at Arkansas provides continuity which will ultimately help build a better team.”

A former head coach at Texas A&M (60-112) and UNC-Charlotte (42-20), Watkins served as interim head coach for seven games at Missouri before Anderson’s hiring in 2006. He then became Anderson’s associate head coach.

Cleveland and Zimmerman are both Arkansas graduates with ties to Razorback basketball.

Cleveland played under Anderson and then-head coach Nolan Richardson from 1999-2002. He helped Arkansas win the 2000 SEC tournament championship and upon graduating joined Anderson at Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) as video coordinator. He was later promoted to assistant coach for the Blazers and joined Anderson when he took the Missouri job.

A former manager for Anderson with the Razorbacks, Zimmerman returns to Fayetteville after spending the past nine years at UAB and Missouri. After graduating, Zimmerman coached at Plainview-Rover and Dardanelle High Schools in Arkansas.

Daniels has been with Anderson for the past six seasons, one at UAB and most recently at Missouri. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Daniels was a head coach at the University of Montevallo and associate head coach at Division II Valdosta State.

A graduate of Northeastern (Okla.) State in 2000, Deets has been with Anderson for the past five years at Missouri after two-year stints at both Oklahoma State and Texas Christian.

Arkansas Basketball 2010-11 Coaches

Melvin Watkins – Associate Head Coach
T.J. Cleveland – Assistant Coach
Matt Zimmerman – Assistant Coach
Jeff Daniels – Director of Operation
David Deets – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Scotty Thurman – Director of Student-Athlete Development