Men's Basketball
Anwar, David
David Anwar
- Title:
- Assistant Men's Basketball Coach
- Phone:
- 662-325-3800
David Anwar moves into his fourth season as an assistant coach at Mississippi State and his ninth season overall on Chris Jans’ staff in 2025-26.
Anwar has been an integral part of 185 victories, an average of 23.1 wins per year, and a .720 winning percentage over the last eight seasons. He has been by Jans’ side for every monumental moment during his Mississippi State and New Mexico State tenures which is headed by appearances in six of the seven NCAA Tournaments.
Anwar is regarded as one of the nation’s elite recruiters and possesses a wealth of experience gained over his 19 seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant coach which has paid more than its fair share of dividends for the programs he’s been associated with.
The Bulldogs have earned three consecutive NCAA Tournament trips on the strength of a trio of a 21-win campaigns starting in 2022-23. It marked the third time in State’s history and the first time in two decades that the Bulldogs have pieced together NCAA Tournament runs in three straight seasons.
State has dialed up 10 victories over Associated Press Top 25 squads which set a new program watermark for a three-year span. The Bulldogs amassed a single season best five regular season ranked wins last season coming off the heels of three AP Top 10 triumphs in 2023-24.
State ascended to as high as No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll in 2024-25 and was ranked during the month of March for the first time since 2003-04. Overall, the Bulldogs have been ranked in 19 editions of the AP Top 25 poll over the last three seasons.
State ranked inside KenPom’s Top 50 in both offense and defense efficiency last season. The last time the program accomplished the feat was in 2006-07.
Anwar has served as the lead recruiter to numerous nationally ranked recruits over his career. His efforts have led to four ESPN Top 100 players on State’s roster in 2025-26.
Anwar’s five seasons with Jans at New Mexico State enabled the program to stake its claim to three of the program’s top five single season win totals. The Aggies dialed up at least 25 victories during four of five seasons and accumulated a program-record 30 victories in 2018-19.
New Mexico State was showered with trophies headlined by four WAC regular season championships (2018-19-20-22) and three WAC Tournament titles (2018-19-22). The Aggies made three trips to NCAA March Madness and broke through with a 12-5 upset of Connecticut in 2022 after nearly defeating 2019 NCAA Final Four participant Auburn.
New Mexico State was on the cusp of another postseason trip after a 19-game winning streak, an undefeated WAC regular season and a 25-6 mark in 2019-20 before the season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Aggies were the fixture atop the WAC standings with a 64-13 conference record. The .831 winning percentage was good enough for sixth in the nation over the five-year period.
Anwar has the reputation of putting together top-notch opponent scouting reports fueled by a win over No. 6 Miami at the 2017-18 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic which resulted in the program’s first Associated Press top 10 since the 1989-90 season.
Before New Mexico State, Anwar spent five seasons at North Texas from 2012-13 to 2016-17 working for Tony Benford. He held the role as the program’s lead recruiter on Benford’s staff and helped the Mean Green rake in a top 50 national recruiting class in 2013-14.
Anwar gained six years of experience at the Power 5 level at Nebraska from 2006-07 to 2011-12 under Doc Sadler and alongside Benford during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The Cornhuskers secured postseason berths during three of his last five seasons in Lincoln.
Staples of the Nebraska program was back-to-back top 25 finishes in scoring defenses in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Anwar’s tutelage of the guards also saw a huge uptick in three-point shooting for the Huskers. The program connected for 244 treys in 2006-07 which was second-most in program history at the time. Nebraska set a then school-record with a 39.7 percent shooting clip from downtown in 2009-10 which also ranked 15th in the country.
Anwar’s presence in the recruiting world landed the Huskers arguably its best recruiting class in the Big 12 era in 2007. That year, Nebraska’s class was ranked inside the top 25 by three major scouting services in ESPN.com, CSTV.com and HoopScoopOnline.com.
Anwar made the jump to Division I basketball as UTEP’s Director of Operations in 2004-05 and 2005-06 for Sadler after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Division II’s University of Arkansas at Fort Smith from 2000-01 to 2003-04. His last three seasons at UAFS was where he and Sadler first paired up.
Anwar helped the Lions post a 101-29 record in addition to a pair of top-seven national finishes in 2001 (5th) and 2002 (7th). UAFS captured the Bi-State Conference East title in each of his final three seasons and produced a multitude of all-conference players. He’s also helped over 20 players get to the Division I level during his time at UAFS.
Anwar’s coaching career began at the prep level in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, where he saw over 40 of his players continue their careers at the Division I or II levels.
Affectionately known as Philly Dave, Anwar received his bachelor’s degree in special education and sociology from Fitchburg State in 1998. Then, he earned a master’s degree in sports management/sports leadership from Virginia Commonwealth in 2004.
The David Anwar File
Seasons • School • Years at School • Position
2023-Present • Mississippi State • 3 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2018-19-20-21-22 • New Mexico State • 5 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2013-14-15-16-17 • North Texas • 5 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2007-08-09-10-11-12 • Nebraska • 6 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2005-06 • UTEP • 2 Seasons • Director of Operations
2001-02-03-04 • Arkansas Fort Smith • 4 Seasons • Assistant Coach
Note: Seasons are represented by hyphen and begin with the year’s last date. For example, the 2022-23 season is listed as 2023 which was Anwar’s first season coaching at Mississippi State.
Anwar has been an integral part of 185 victories, an average of 23.1 wins per year, and a .720 winning percentage over the last eight seasons. He has been by Jans’ side for every monumental moment during his Mississippi State and New Mexico State tenures which is headed by appearances in six of the seven NCAA Tournaments.
Anwar is regarded as one of the nation’s elite recruiters and possesses a wealth of experience gained over his 19 seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant coach which has paid more than its fair share of dividends for the programs he’s been associated with.
The Bulldogs have earned three consecutive NCAA Tournament trips on the strength of a trio of a 21-win campaigns starting in 2022-23. It marked the third time in State’s history and the first time in two decades that the Bulldogs have pieced together NCAA Tournament runs in three straight seasons.
State has dialed up 10 victories over Associated Press Top 25 squads which set a new program watermark for a three-year span. The Bulldogs amassed a single season best five regular season ranked wins last season coming off the heels of three AP Top 10 triumphs in 2023-24.
State ascended to as high as No. 14 in the AP Top 25 poll in 2024-25 and was ranked during the month of March for the first time since 2003-04. Overall, the Bulldogs have been ranked in 19 editions of the AP Top 25 poll over the last three seasons.
State ranked inside KenPom’s Top 50 in both offense and defense efficiency last season. The last time the program accomplished the feat was in 2006-07.
Anwar has served as the lead recruiter to numerous nationally ranked recruits over his career. His efforts have led to four ESPN Top 100 players on State’s roster in 2025-26.
Anwar’s five seasons with Jans at New Mexico State enabled the program to stake its claim to three of the program’s top five single season win totals. The Aggies dialed up at least 25 victories during four of five seasons and accumulated a program-record 30 victories in 2018-19.
New Mexico State was showered with trophies headlined by four WAC regular season championships (2018-19-20-22) and three WAC Tournament titles (2018-19-22). The Aggies made three trips to NCAA March Madness and broke through with a 12-5 upset of Connecticut in 2022 after nearly defeating 2019 NCAA Final Four participant Auburn.
New Mexico State was on the cusp of another postseason trip after a 19-game winning streak, an undefeated WAC regular season and a 25-6 mark in 2019-20 before the season ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Aggies were the fixture atop the WAC standings with a 64-13 conference record. The .831 winning percentage was good enough for sixth in the nation over the five-year period.
Anwar has the reputation of putting together top-notch opponent scouting reports fueled by a win over No. 6 Miami at the 2017-18 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic which resulted in the program’s first Associated Press top 10 since the 1989-90 season.
Before New Mexico State, Anwar spent five seasons at North Texas from 2012-13 to 2016-17 working for Tony Benford. He held the role as the program’s lead recruiter on Benford’s staff and helped the Mean Green rake in a top 50 national recruiting class in 2013-14.
Anwar gained six years of experience at the Power 5 level at Nebraska from 2006-07 to 2011-12 under Doc Sadler and alongside Benford during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The Cornhuskers secured postseason berths during three of his last five seasons in Lincoln.
Staples of the Nebraska program was back-to-back top 25 finishes in scoring defenses in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Anwar’s tutelage of the guards also saw a huge uptick in three-point shooting for the Huskers. The program connected for 244 treys in 2006-07 which was second-most in program history at the time. Nebraska set a then school-record with a 39.7 percent shooting clip from downtown in 2009-10 which also ranked 15th in the country.
Anwar’s presence in the recruiting world landed the Huskers arguably its best recruiting class in the Big 12 era in 2007. That year, Nebraska’s class was ranked inside the top 25 by three major scouting services in ESPN.com, CSTV.com and HoopScoopOnline.com.
Anwar made the jump to Division I basketball as UTEP’s Director of Operations in 2004-05 and 2005-06 for Sadler after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Division II’s University of Arkansas at Fort Smith from 2000-01 to 2003-04. His last three seasons at UAFS was where he and Sadler first paired up.
Anwar helped the Lions post a 101-29 record in addition to a pair of top-seven national finishes in 2001 (5th) and 2002 (7th). UAFS captured the Bi-State Conference East title in each of his final three seasons and produced a multitude of all-conference players. He’s also helped over 20 players get to the Division I level during his time at UAFS.
Anwar’s coaching career began at the prep level in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, where he saw over 40 of his players continue their careers at the Division I or II levels.
Affectionately known as Philly Dave, Anwar received his bachelor’s degree in special education and sociology from Fitchburg State in 1998. Then, he earned a master’s degree in sports management/sports leadership from Virginia Commonwealth in 2004.
The David Anwar File
Seasons • School • Years at School • Position
2023-Present • Mississippi State • 3 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2018-19-20-21-22 • New Mexico State • 5 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2013-14-15-16-17 • North Texas • 5 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2007-08-09-10-11-12 • Nebraska • 6 Seasons • Assistant Coach
2005-06 • UTEP • 2 Seasons • Director of Operations
2001-02-03-04 • Arkansas Fort Smith • 4 Seasons • Assistant Coach
Note: Seasons are represented by hyphen and begin with the year’s last date. For example, the 2022-23 season is listed as 2023 which was Anwar’s first season coaching at Mississippi State.
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Transfer Players Media Session - 7/17/25
Thursday, July 17
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Chris Jans Media Session - 6/5/25
Thursday, June 05
MEN'S BASKETBALL | Josh Hubbard & Shawn Jones Jr. Media Session - 6/5/25
Thursday, June 05
MEN'S BASKETBALL | NCAA TOURNAMENT | First Round Postgame Press Conference vs. Baylor 03/21/25
Friday, March 21
