The Xplosion, 2-17 in the inaugural season in the Continental Basketball Association, fired coach Larry Anderson yesterday and will name Jaren Jackson as the new coach at a news conference today.
"What are we, 2-17?" general manager Freddie Lewis asked without looking for an answer. "That's the key reason we fired Larry. You don't have to have any other reason. I can't stand sitting there with no people in the stands and we're losing.
"It's time to make a move."
Jackson, whose teams reached the NCAA tournament four times at Georgetown under John Thompson from 1986-89, is returning to Pittsburgh for the first time since he played for the Piranhas of the CBA in 1994-95. Jackson, a 6-foot-6 swingman, played parts of 13 seasons in the NBA and was a member of the San Antonio Spurs when they won the championship in 1999.
Jackson was the head coach of a CBA team in Gary, Ind., last season and was named the CBA coach of the year. Gary, which was 29-9 and lost to Yakama in the final, moved to the USBL.
"I'm not saying he's a miracle worker and will turn things around right away," Lewis said of Jackson, a native of New Orleans who was an assistant coach at Georgetown under Craig Esherick in 2003-04 and the head coach of the Philadelphia Fusion of the ABA in 2004-05. "A new face, hopefully, will give our guys a spark."
Jackson will be on the bench for the first time when the Xplosion plays host to Indiana 7:35 p.m. tomorrow at Mellon Arena. The Xplosion has lost all five meetings against Indiana.
The Xplosion started the season 0-10 before a 119-118 victory at Butte and has lost the past two games after a 129-105 victory against Minot. The Xplosion allows a league-high 118.2 points and has committed 23 turnovers per game.
The team's leading scorer is 6-11 Kevin Pittsnogle, a rookie from West Virginia University who averages 23.5 points and 7.4 rebounds.
The Xplosion is in fourth and last place in the East Division, with the top two teams at the end of the 48-game regular season advancing to the playoffs.
"That's a legitimate goal," Lewis said. "It's a long season."
Anderson was forced to juggle his lineup because of injuries and a revolving door roster. Anderson, the head coach of the Woodland Hills High School boys' team from 2002-06, was the head coach at Carnegie Mellon from 1983-90, an assistant for Point Park from 1973-83, an assistant for the Schenley boys' team from 1990-93 and an assistant for the Pitt women's team from 1993-98.
"This game in the CBA is a little different than anywhere Larry has coached," Lewis said. "We knew it was going to take some time for him to get adjusted to it. We couldn't continue to wait."
First Published: January 16, 2007, 5:00 a.m.
