LaDell Anderson

LaDell Anderson

NCAA Champion | ABA Head Coach | Utah Basketball Pioneer

LaDell Anderson was born in Malad City, Idaho, but he spent majority of his career in the state of Utah, coaching 3 different teams, 2 college teams, and 1 ABA team. His playing career only lasted 4 seasons with the Utah Aggies, who he later coached.

After coaching, he became a scout for the Utah Jazz, reuniting with his former Aggies player Phil Johnson, who at the time was a longtime Jazz assistant coach. One of the notable players he scouted was John Stockton, who the team later drafted in 1984.

Coach Anderson passed away on December 29, 2019, in St. George, Utah.

After graduating from the University of Utah, Anderson started his coaching career with the Utah Utes as an assistant coach under Jack Gardner. In Anderson’s tenure with the team, the Utes made multiple post-season appearances:

  • 1957-1958: NIT first round
  • 1958–59: NCAA University Division Sweet Sixteen
  • 1959–60: NCAA University Division Sweet Sixteen
  • 1960–61: NCAA University Division Final Four

Notable Players Coached

  • Billy “The Hill” McGill (Future 1962 NCAA scoring champion & Future 1962 NBA No. 1 overall pick)
  • Jerry Pimm (Future Utah Utes head coach and 3x champion as a head coach)
  • Allen Holmes

Returning to his alma matter and his former team he played 4 seasons for, Coach Anderson spent 10 seasons as the head coach of the Aggies, their men’s basketball team. In his first season, the team was in the Mountain States Conference, where they finished with a 22-7 record and reached the NCAA University Division Regional where they finished in Fourth Place.

Over the next couple of seasons, now in the NCAA University Division, they made multiple post-season appearances including:

  • 1962-1963: NCAA University Division First Round
  • 1963–64: NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place
  • 1966–67: NIT First Round
  • 1969–70: NCAA University Division Elite Eight
  • 1970–71 NCAA University Division First Round

Coach Anderson had an overall coaching record of 173–96. As of 2026, is the 3rd most coaching wins in school history.

Notable Players Coached

  • Wayne Estes (No. 33 retired by Utah State Aggies & Consensus second-team All-American (1965)
  • Marv Roberts (No. 31 retired by Utah State Aggies & Future 1975 ABA champion
  • Nate Williams (Future pick in the 1971 NBA Hardship; round 1)
  • Greg Grant (1986 PCAA co-Player of the Year, 2× First-team All-PCAA, & 2× Second-team All-PCAA)
  • Phil Johnson (Future Utah Jazz Assistant Coach)

Coach Anderson succeeded Bill Sharman as the head coach of the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The prior season under Sharman the Stars won the 1969 ABA Championship.

In Anderson’s first season, the team finished with a 60–24 but lost against the Indiana Pacers in the division finals. The following season, the team finished with a 55–29 record but lost to the Pacers for a second year in a row in the division finals.

Coach Anderson also served as the head coach of the ABA All-Star Game head coach 1972 and 1973.

Anderson resigned after the season in 1973 and was replaced by Joe Mullaney.

Notable Players Coached

  • Zelmo Beaty
    • 1971 ABA champion
    • 1971 ABA Playoffs MVP
    • 2x NBA All-Star
    • 1963 NBA All-Rookie First Team
    • 3× ABA All-Star (1971–1973)
    • 2× All-ABA Second Team (1971, 1972)
    • ABA All-Time Team
  • Jimmy Jones (6× ABA All‑Star, 3× All-ABA First Team, & ABA All-Time Team)
  • Ron Boone (4× ABA All‑Star, 1971 ABA champion, & ABA All-Time Team)
  • Willie Wise (3× ABA All‑Star & 1971 ABA champion)
  • Glen Combs (3× ABA All‑Star & 1971 ABA champion)
  • Merv Jackson (1969 ABA All-Star & 1971 ABA champion)

Coach Anderson succeeded Frank Arnold as the head coach of the Cougars, the men’s basketball team of the University of BYU.

In his last head coaching job of his career, the Cougars made multiple post-season appearances while being part of the Western Athletic Conference:

  • 1983-1984: NCAA Division I Second Round
  • 1985–86: NIT Quarterfinal
  • 1986–87: NCAA Division I First Round
  • 1987–88: NCAA Division I Second Round

Coach Anderson won WAC Coach of the Year in 1988. At the time of his resignation in 1989, he had an overall coaching record of 114-71. As of 2026, is the 7th most wins by a coach in school history.

Notable Players Coached

  • Devin Durrant (1984 NBA 25th overall pick & 2× All‑American)
  • Michael Smith (1989 13th overall pick, 3× First-team All-WAC, & 1988 WAC Player of the Year)
  • Fred Roberts (2× First-team All-WAC & Future 1994 Spanish Cup Champion)
  • Andy Toolson (Future Utah Jazz player & BYU assistant coach)
  • Timo Saarelainen (1985 WAC Player of the Year & 1983 Finnish League champion)
  • Marty Haws