University of Massachusets Athletics
Anderson Comes Up Big For UMass
January 21, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2003
Despite his slight 5-foot-11, 164-pound frame, University of Massachusetts junior point guard Anthony Anderson is making a big name for himself on the Minuteman squad.
The shortest member on his UMass men's basketball team, Anderson, a preseason third team All-Conference selection, is making big contributions on and off the court to heighten his leadership role on the Massachusetts squad. Over the season's first 14 games, Anderson ranks second on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game and is third in rebounding, pulling down 4.0 boards per game. His rebounding efforts trail only 6-foot-11 Micah Brand and 6-foot-8 Jackie Rogers by less than two rebounds per game, a statistic which gives him bragging rights in the locker room.
"I kind of joke around with Micah and Jackie, but I do it to push them to get more rebounds," laughed Anderson.
Hitting the boards like a forward instead of a point guard, Anderson credits his ability to play beyond his height to his high school playing days.
"In high school, my team was small so when we played zone, I had to play down low," said Anderson. "So I am used to being down there with the big guys and rebounding."
Anderson's experience in the paint showed against North Carolina State on Jan. 2, when he led the Minutemen to a 68-56 victory over the No. 24 Wolfpack. He went 5-for-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, to tally a career-high 25 points. Anderson also tied a career-high with nine rebounds. His performance against the Wolfpack earned him both the honor of co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and the praise of his coach, Steve Lappas.
"I've been around the game a long time and I've got guys in the NBA making a lot of money, but as pure point guard performances go, it will be hard to see a better-played game than you saw tonight by this kid," said Lappas.
It's not only Anderson's rebounding and scoring ability that makes him a leader on the floor for UMass, though. As the point guard, Anderson is in control of the Minutemen during the game, and although he knows co-captains Brand and Rogers have the ultimate control and respect of the team, he takes his leadership role to heart.
"Being the point guard, I am kind of like one of the leaders. Usually it goes by class like one of your juniors or seniors, but being a point guard I have to control everything on the floor," said Anderson. "Right before a game I know that if it's getting kind of loud, I need to calm everyone down so everyone knows the plays and knows where they have to go."
Aiding Anderson in establishing a sense of leadership and control of his teammates is his past success and struggles. Last year Anderson proved to UMass that he came here to play when he earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors after ranking second on his team in scoring with 10.0 ppg overall. Anderson was just the fourth player in UMass history to be named either the A-10 Rookie, Freshman or Newcomer of the Year, following in the footsteps of Marcus Camby, Jim McCoy and Edwin Green.
En route to being named the league's best rookie, Anderson also established himself as a three-point shooter for the Minutemen. He led the team in three-point goals, hitting 71-of-183 shots beyond the arc for a 38.8 percent mark, and his 71 treys ranked as the eighth-best one-season total in school history.
While all of Anderson's successes accumulated quickly, they came a year later than they could have. Due to academic reasons, Anderson was forced to sit out the 2000-01 campaign. However, he will be able to earn back the year of eligibility if he graduates by Aug., 2004, a task he said he is on pace to accomplish. But, Anderson turned his early struggles into a positive, using the year off to motivate him even harder to come out and prove himself to Lappas.
"I felt I had a lot to prove because I wasn't recruited to Villanova by him (Lappas) as heavily as Brennan Martin and Kyle (Wilson) were," Anderson said. "I had to prove to him that I was a player because he really didn't know me very well. I also had to prove myself to everyone else around here."
While Lappas didn't play a role in recruiting Anderson to UMass, as he was still coaching at Villanova, then-head coach James "Bruiser" Flint did convince Anderson to become a Minuteman.
"It was definitely coach Flint that got me to come to UMass," said Anderson. "I lived in Lynn, which is like two hours away, and I didn't want to be too far away from home and I didn't want to be too close, so it was kind of the perfect situation. But Bruiser was really great (during the recruiting process) and he won me and my family over."
What helped Flint secure Anderson a place at UMass was his persistence and loyalty to the point guard. Anderson struggled with his academics during the first two quarters of his senior year, and a lot of teams backed away from recruiting him because of the risk he wouldn't score high enough on the SAT to become NCAA eligible. However, Flint stuck with Anderson, and the rest is history.
"Bruiser and his staff stayed around and when I did get the (SAT) score, I was like, UMass stayed, so I'll go with them," Anderson said.
Due to the proximity of his hometown, Anderson said his friends and family are frequently coming to his games to support him and his teammates. As for his abilities on the court, those have spoken for themselves. Anderson has led the team in scoring four times already this season, tallying 20 points against Chaminade, 13 points against Connecticut, 22 points against Florida International and 25 points against N.C. State.
But he isn't content with those accomplishments just yet. Anderson knows he has to improve his own game, become a more consistent player, and that he also has to help lift his team into the upper division of the Atlantic 10 standings and into the postseason.
After taking on the likes of Indiana, Utah, UConn and N.C. State this season, Anderson wants his team to be able to battle with more top teams in the future. "I want to play Duke, I want to play Arizona. I want to play more good teams," said Anderson. "I believe we were young at the beginning of the year when we played those teams, so we weren't ready (for that type of competition). But, I believe by the middle of January, going into February, we'll be a real good team and be able to play with anyone."
If UMass can contend with the nation's top-ranked teams, then Anderson will be able to accomplish his ultimate goal here at Massachusetts.
"I want to win," Anderson said. "I want to be able to go to the (NCAA) tournament, go far in the tournament, and get one of those rings."
Those are big dreams, but the 5-foot-11 point guard is confident he can make them a reality in the next two years.