September 29, 2024

An East Mississippi Community College alumnus who coaches basketball at one of the leading universities in the nation and a Kemper County native who has served as a state legislator and firefighter were honored during the college’s 2024 Homecoming activities on the Scooba campus.

Macon native Larry Anderson was named the 2024 Alumnus of the Year, while Michael Ted Evans was presented with the 2024 Distinguished Service Award.

Anderson and Evans were recognized Sept. 28 at an alumni reception in the F.R. Young Student Union and again later that day on Sullivan-Windham Field during halftime of EMCC’s Homecoming football game against Coahoma Community College.

ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR

A 1981 game of pick-up basketball on the Scooba campus of what was then East Mississippi Junior College helped propel Anderson to the position of head basketball coach at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, where he has earned the distinction of becoming the winningest basketball coach in that storied institution’s history.

Anderson, who is in his 30^th season with the MIT Engineers, is a product of Noxubee County High School. During his senior year, his aspiration was to land a job at the former Macon Brick and Tile plant so he could afford “all the Coca-Colas I could drink.”

A random decision to participate in an open pickup game of basketball at EMJC led him down a different path. The game was attended by then EMJC head basketball coach Richard Mathis, some of his players and others from throughout the district.

 “I must have played pretty well that day because Coach Mathis offered me a scholarship and a position on the team,” Anderson said.

Mathis left to coach at Northeast Mississippi Community College and Anderson played during the 1981-1983 seasons, serving as team captain, under then EMJC head basketball coach Don Cunningham.

“It was home for me,” Anderson said of his time at EMJC. “I got the nurturing and academic support that I needed and learned social skills and how to be a college student. There were many skills that I picked up as a first and second-year college student that certainly helped prepare me for the rest of my educational journey.”

After graduating from EMJC, Anderson spent a year at Jackson State University before transferring to Rust College where he played basketball and served as captain for two years. He also served as the president of the student body and was selected by his fellow students as the college’s Student of the Year.

After graduating in 1987 with an undergraduate degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Anderson was hired by Rust to serve as an assistant basketball coach and director of student activities. He was later promoted to associate head basketball coach and filled the additional role of associate director of athletics. He served two terms as president of the Rust Alumni Association, from 2016 to 2020, and is a current member of the college’s Board of Trustees, having served nine years.

In addition to working at Rust, Anderson was elected in 1989 at the age of 25 to the position of Board of Alderman for the city of Holly Springs, serving two four-year terms.

He continued his studies, earning a master’s degree in Education of Leadership, Higher Education from the University of Mississippi. He enrolled in the PhD program, completing all but his dissertation. 

After seven years at Rust College, Anderson saw that MIT had an opening for the position of assistant professor of physical education and head men’s basketball coach and decided to apply. He was invited to interview for the position in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was offered the job. That was 30 years ago. He was later promoted to associate professor.

“Even to this day I pinch myself and can't believe that I'm employed at MIT, ranked the number one college in the world,” Anderson said.

Anderson’s regular-season accomplishments leading the MIT Engineers include 10 NCAA tournament victories and a Final Four run as a national semi-finalist in 2012. In addition, he is the only basketball coach in the program’s history to lead MIT to a No. 1 national ranking. The team ranked in the Top 25 eight of the past 14 seasons.

Anderson, who has 432 career wins, was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the Jack Bennett Man of the Year Award presented by CollegeInsider.com following the team’s successful 2011-12 season. In 2018, he was inducted into EMCC’s Sports Hall of Fame. A full list of Anderson’s numerous accomplishments is available on the MIT Athletics’ website.

“The reason I've been successful is because other people want me to be,” Anderson said. “Some of the best coaching I've done has been when I have gotten out of the way. When you teach people what to do and collaborate on that, it's a shared program. It's when you have a shared vision and a shared value that you have a tendency to succeed and I've been lucky enough to have great assistant coaches and great players and a supportive administration.”

Anderson was also awarded an honorary membership into the MIT Alumni Association, the institution’s highest honor granted to non-MIT graduates.

This past May, Anderson, who was the keynote speaker during EMCC’s graduation ceremonies on the college’s Scooba and Golden Triangle campuses, received his associate’s degree from the college, which was presented to him by EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks.

“Larry is a living testament to the power of education and the opportunities it can unlock for those who have the drive and determination to succeed,” Alsobrooks said. “We are proud of Larry and all that he has accomplished and couldn’t be more pleased that he is a product of EMCC. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the Alumnus of the Year Award.”

Anderson was one class short of graduating from EMCC when he transferred to Jackson State University. He was able to transfer credit he earned from a course at Rust College to EMCC to satisfy the requirements needed to receive his diploma 41 years later.

“The associate degree I received from EMCC this past May meant as much to me as any degree I’ve received from anywhere because EMCC is where I got my start,” Anderson said. “I had not planned to go to college and EMCC organically created an environment where I could stay for two years and get my bearings, which allowed me to progress and live a good life with my family and provided me with an opportunity to, hopefully, give a little bit back to the entire community.”

Anderson is married to the former Dawn Colquitt. The couple has a daughter, Skyy, and a son Paul.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Evans grew up in in the community of Preston, about 30 miles northwest of EMCC’s Scooba campus. Like many Kemper County residents, he was a regular attendee at the college’s athletic games.

A professional firefighter by trade, Evans served three terms and 12 years as the District 45 representative in the state House of Representatives, which covers portions of Kemper, Lauderdale, Neshoba and Winston counties.

“During my time in politics I spent a lot of time at EMCC and talked to the presidents at the college all the time,” Evans said. “One of the last things I did for the college as a representative was help get $2 million in state funding for the construction of a career technical center at the Scooba campus.”

During the regular 2023 session, Gov. Tate Reeves and members of the Mississippi Legislature approved the funding for the estimated $6 million project to be built west of Sullivan-Windham Field. Evans, who sat on the House Ways and Means Committee, helped steer the project during what would be his last year in the state House.

“We brought a lot of money back to my district over the past 12 years for projects like that,” Evans said. “The $2 million for EMCC was just a small part of it. Every year I made sure my volunteer fire departments back home received funding, along with the Neshoba County and Winston County sheriff’s offices. There were other projects for EMCC as well.”

“Michael has been a great partner to EMCC and we are grateful for all that he did for the college during his time as a legislator,” EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks said. “EMCC has been fortunate to have a great group of people representing our district in the Mississippi Legislature. Their support, along with that of Gov. Tate Reeves and a host of state agencies, has been crucial to our continued success.”

Last December, Evans was named the new chief of the Meridian Fire Department. His appointment to the position is the capstone of more than three decades of prior service as a firefighter.

When he was 15, Evans joined the Preston Volunteer Fire Department.

“I just loved being a firefighter,” he said. “When I graduated from high school, my father asked me what I wanted to do and I told him I wanted to go to the fire academy and become a fireman.”

After graduating from the Mississippi State Fire Academy in Jackson, he was hired by the Philadelphia Fire Department as a basic firefighter, working there for 23 years before retiring as a battalion chief. During his time with Philadelphia, the department added a third fire station and the daily roster grew from five firemen to 12.

“Meridian is totally different,” Evans said. “They’ve got 80-something guys and seven fire stations. It is a whole lot bigger department than what I was used to when I came to Philadelphia. I love it in Meridian. There is always something going on. If we keep averaging the way we are now, we are going to run right at 4,000 calls this year.

“We’ve got a really good group of guys that are well trained and care about the people. It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”

During the work week, Evans and his wife stay in an apartment they rent in Meridian. They return to their home in Kemper County on the weekends.

“I still volunteer with the Preston Fire Department when I’m home,” Evans said. “We live just north of DeKalb and if their fire department has a call, I will jump in my truck and respond with them too.”

The most rewarding part of being a firefighter is helping other people, he said.

“You are seeing people in what is possibly the worst moments of their lives,” Evans said. “They probably have something terrible going on and when you can do something to help them feel better, that is the best feeling in the world.

“There are some bad days. I’ve seen hundreds of people who have passed away in terrible accidents and that can wear on your mind, but the good you can do for people outweighs the bad.”

Evans said he found the same sense of satisfaction as a legislator.

“A lot of people think you are going to go down there and make all of these big laws and do all of these things but that is not what it is all about,” he said.  “Being a legislator is about helping the person back home who doesn’t have a voice. It’s about helping that poor little old lady who has been trying to get in touch with the Social Security Administration and couldn’t ever get them on the phone. You call them and tell them, ‘’Hey, you call this person right now. She needs some help.’

“I’ve always had a heart to serve others and that is what has been so rewarding about my work as a fireman and a legislator. I’ve been blessed to be able to help others and do what I enjoy.”

Evans is married to his high school sweetheart, Heather. The couple has a daughter, Hannah Johnston, who, along with her husband, William, have a son, Juan.

As a Kemper County native, Evans said EMCC has always been important to the community in which he was raised.

“Having EMCC in Scooba is a very big deal to people who live here,” Evans said. “You have a lot of families who can’t afford to send their kids off to college somewhere. They can go to EMCC for pennies on the dollar and get a degree in welding, nursing or all kinds of other fields right here at home. That’s a big burden off these families.”