Doug Robinson: Andersen was a force in Utah basketball

Ladell Andersen in action while head coach at BYU.Ladell Andersen used to make his living in crowded, noisy arenas, but these days he lives a quiet life in St. George. He watches a lot of TV, goes to church on Sunday, exercises daily and lives with one of his sons and lots of memories.

There’s a whole generation of Utah sports fans that has never heard of Andersen, which seems a shame. There was a time when Andersen seemed to be in the middle of all things basketball in this state.

It’s been 26 years since he quit coaching basketball at a relatively young age. He may be the only man ever to coach at all three of Utah’s major universities — Utah, Utah State and BYU — plus the Utah Stars, Salt…