Mike Anderson was born on December 12, 1959 (1959-12-12) and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. where he attended Jackson-Olin High School in the Ensley-Pratt City neighborhood, leading the Mustangs to the semifinals of the Alabama state basketball tournament and averaging 19 points per game in his junior and senior years and winning all-state honors. Anderson moved on to Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, where he was spotted by an opposing coach named Nolan Richardson. When Richardson was offered the coaching job at the University of Tulsa, he quickly offered Anderson a scholarship. In Anderson's two years with the Golden Hurricane he averaged 12 points a game, and the team won an NIT title and gained an NCAA tournament berth.
