dombross@stjohns.edu
TJ Cleveland Named Associate Head Coach of St. John’s Men’s Basketball Program
Mike Anderson protégé joins his mentor in Queens
Web Release
QUEENS, N.Y. (April 26, 2019) – Newly minted St. John’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mike Anderson has made the first formal addition to his staff, appointing TJ Cleveland to the position of associate head coach.
Cleveland, a former student-athlete at Arkansas, has been on staff with Anderson, his uncle, for the entirety of his head coaching career.
“TJ is going to impact Red Storm basketball in a big way,” said Anderson. “He’s a tremendous evaluator of talent, a great ‘on-the-floor’ coach and an excellent communicator. TJ brings so much to the table because he has played in this system and knows it so well. He’s a great head coach in waiting. We are lucky to have TJ Cleveland on our staff here at St. John’s.”
Widely regarded as one of the top young assistant coaches in the game, Cleveland brings with him a reputation as an avid and adept recruiter. In 2017 and 2018, Cleveland helped the Razorbacks land a pair of top 25 recruiting classes that featured seven of the top eight players in the state of Arkansas during that span. ESPN ranked Arkansas’ 2018 class as the 25th best in the nation, as the Razorbacks pulled in a quartet of four-star and a pair of three-star recruits. In 2017, Arkansas’ recruiting class checked in at no. 20 nationally according to ESPN with a pair of top 100 recruits highlighting the four-man class.
During his career, Cleveland has been invited to participate in Nike’s Villa 7 Consortium five times and was one of only 30 assistant coaches in the nation selected for the College Coaching Consortium at this year’s NABC Convention in Minneapolis.
“I am thrilled to join the St. John’s basketball family and honored to have this opportunity to work alongside Coach Anderson again,” said Cleveland. “St. John’s has such a rich basketball history and a winning tradition, so it will be privilege to represent this program on and off the court. I look forward to working with our student-athletes and helping them achieve the highest standards in everything that they do.”
A four-year letterwinner for the Razorbacks from 1998-2002, Cleveland began working on Anderson’s staff immediately following his graduation with a degree in communications, signing on as the video coordinator at UAB for the 2002-03 season. After serving three years in that role, Cleveland rose to the position of assistant coach for the 2005-06 campaign, a season that saw the Blazers earn an NCAA Tournament bid and rank third nationally in steals per game.
Following their time at UAB, Anderson and Cleveland embarked together for Columbia, Missouri, where they spent five years resurrecting the Tigers’ basketball program. Working primarily with the team’s guards, Cleveland helped Missouri register three NCAA Tournament appearances in his half a decade with the program, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2009. That year, Missouri won 31 games and claimed the Big 12 Tournament title. Missouri was led by DeMarre Carroll, a first round selection in the 2009 NBA Draft and current member of the Brooklyn Nets, who Cleveland mentored during his time with the Tigers.
During Cleveland’s tenure at Missouri, the Tigers ranked second in the NCAA in turnover margin for three straight seasons while leading the nation in steals during the 2009-2010 campaign. The previous year, the Tigers topped the nation in assists.
A teammate of Joe Johnson during his playing days at Arkansas, Cleveland has mentored nine future NBA players, including 2015 first round draft pick Bobby Portis during his most recent stint at Arkansas. In 2014-15, Cleveland helped guide Portis to SEC Player of the Year and Associated Press Second Team All-America honors.
With Cleveland on staff, Anderson-led teams have topped the nation in steals four times and have ranked among the top 30 14 times in 17 seasons. His teams also led the country in assists once and have ranked among the top 30 on eight occasions. Seven times as a head coach, Anderson has seen his squads rank in the top 30 in scoring offense. This past season, the Razorbacks ranked 22nd nationally in both steals and assists per game while placing 12th in blocks per outing.
As a player, Cleveland helped guide Arkansas to the 2000 SEC title, the lone conference championship in Razorbacks history. A two-year team captain, Cleveland made three NCAA Tournament appearances as a player in Fayetteville and currently ranks fifth on the program’s all-time steals list.
Cleveland and his wife, Ami (Watson), are the proud parents of twins Caynen Thomas and Cayden James.
