Anderson was invited to the NBA’s seniors-only predraft camp in Portsmouth, Va., making the all-tournament team and, although he wasn’t taken in the June NBA draft, played for the Orlando Magic in the NBA Summer League.
Anderson averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds for the Magic, playing in 11.2 average minutes over four games.
But if making an impression was difficult, Anderson still was grateful to be there.
“I thought the Magic really opened it up for all of us to show our abilities,” Anderson said. “It’s tough when you haven’t played with guys at all to show yourself in a setting like that, but I thought overall it was a great learning experience.”
Not only did Anderson say he was grateful to learn from the best players and coaches, but he also realized more than ever what making the NBA will take.
“I think it’s just identifying a specific skill,” he said. “So many guys in the NBA, they want to be the star, there’s so many players in the NBA who are good at just one skill. So I think for me, it’s harnessing my rebounding, showing them I can play defense at a high level and doing the little things to help teams win.
“I just want to try to just work on my own game and become a star in my own role, and hopefully I’ll find a place someday in the NBA. I still feel like I can play at that level.”
He’ll get a chance to show it while playing next season for the Antwerp Giants, the same club that former UA guard Kyle Fogg played for in 2014-15. Fogg used that season to leverage a spot in Germany last season and has now agreed to a deal with Malaga of Spain’s top-tier ACB.
It probably wouldn’t surprise Fogg to see Anderson taking a similar path through Antwerp.
“He’s gonna make a huge impact there,” Fogg said.
Anderson said he was happy he could lean on Fogg for advice about the team, the city and the competition.
Das habe ich über ihn gefunden. Er hat letztes jahr für die magic in der summer league gespielt, war also schon auf dem radar der nba. Interessant auch, dass kyle fogg erwähnt wird, der war ja letztes jahr topscorer bei den Eisbären Bremerhaven. Ich finde er klingt sehr vielversprechend!