Boys basketball: Piner taps girls head coach Marc Anderson to take over boys program

Piner has found its next varsity boys basketball coach.

Head varsity girls coach Marc Anderson will take over the boys position, replacing longtime head coach Mike Erickson, who stepped down this past season after a 33-year coaching career.

Anderson will be just the third varsity boys basketball coach in the school’s nearly 60-year history and is the first Black head coach to lead the boys program.

“We knew that was a spot that we were going to have to fill and it couldn’t be filled by just anyone,” Piner High Principal Andrea Correia told the Press Democrat on Tuesday. “I think that Marc is not only just an amazing contributor to the campus at Piner as our student adviser, but he is someone who absolutely and positively represents Piner athletics and has spent eight years now participating as a coach with our girls program. He’s been an athletic director, you see him at every game here, and so when he wanted to make that switch over, we were super excited because we knew the program would be in good hands.

“Just based on everything, we think he’s going to be a wonderful addition to a super successful program over the last several decades.”

Along with his position at the school, Anderson also coaches for the North Bay Basketball Academy club program. He took over the girls program at Piner in 2019 and led the Prospectors to one of their best seasons in program history in 2021-22, when they won 17 games, the most they had totaled in a single season in more than 30 years.

Before arriving at Piner, Anderson was a standout player during his prep days at Maria Carrillo and went on to have a stint at SRJC before an injury ended his career on the court. He then worked as a bank manager before making the switch to education, a testament to his commitment to bettering his community, said Correia.

“The work that he does really comes from a place of loving this community and wanting to make it better,” she said.

Anderson said he and Erickson have spent a lot of time together over the last several years and he’s dipped into the now-retired coach’s well of knowledge as he’s prepared to take over Erickson’s old post.

“Coach Erickson, with what he has done on the boys side, and to fill his shoes and follow after him, I don’t think it’s as great of a challenge as many people might think, simply because of the fact that Coach Erickson and I have always had connections,” Anderson told the Press Democrat on Tuesday. “I’ve watched him and seen how he runs his program, and for me I feel I have the blueprint for what’s needed.

“I’m going to be leaning on him heavily, still, in other aspects with him willing to stay and help with the program, but I’m ready because I’ve been here for a while. I know what Piner’s about and what the expectations are.”

Erickson called it a career at the conclusion of this past season. One of the longest-tenured and most successful coaches in county history, Erickson tallied 579 career wins (571 at Piner), won seven North Bay League titles and posted 13 20-win seasons.

“My goal is to just continue to build on what Coach Erickson has established for over 30 years and now go even greater than that,” said Anderson. “Let’s look at making a deep playoff run, let’s look at making an NCS championship game, let’s look at NorCals and qualifying for that. It’s been some time and I know that Coach Erickson had great success in making deep runs and playing some powerhouses in the playoffs. My goal is to finish the deal because an NCS championship has not been brought to Piner yet and I would like to be the first coach to do that.”

Piner has not found a new girls coach yet but will begin the search soon, Correia said.

You can reach Staff Writer Gus Morris at 707-304-9372 or gus.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @JustGusPD.