Local hoops legend calls time on his career in hot seat
A LOCAL basketball legend has bade an emotional farewell to the team he moulded into an unstoppable force.
Rodney Anderson, who coached the Townsville Heat to back-to-back men’s State League championships, has decided the time is right to call time out and take a break.
The popular mentor took the reins as head coach after joining the Heat’s coaching ranks as an assistant in 2015, and he was in charge as the squad broke its Queensland Basketball League championship drought in 2017 and backed it up with another title in 2018.
“I have decided to move on to the next chapter of my life,” Anderson said. “I have been so lucky to coach some amazing players and great people throughout my time so I have to thank them for giving me the opportunity to lead them. We have built such a strong culture of mateship, togetherness and competitiveness in my time so I am confident that will be passed down into the future.
“I have left the Townsville Heat in a better place than when I started and that makes it easier to walk away.”
Anderson has been a lifelong fan of local basketball and if anyone can claim to be Townsville’s biggest hoops fan, it’s him.
He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of local basketball, and while Anderson says it’s an emotional time stepping aside as Heat coach, he sees a silver lining. “I have been a lifelong fan of the Townsville State League teams being a floor wiper as a junior, mascot Dunkin the Dragon, assistant coach and head coach but now it’s time to just be a fan,” he said.
“I’d like to thank my family who have been amazing supporters throughout my career. I’ll never forget the feeling of winning the 2017 and 2018 championships. That can never be taken away.”
Townsville Basketball general manager Mark Wrobel praised the work done by Anderson, saying it had left a lasting legacy. “We wish Rod all the best with his time away from the State League team and hope that he enjoys a little more time with his family,” he said.