Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990 TAG: 9003270230
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Long
Kenny Anderson is the lithe, goateed guard wearing No. 12 for Georgia Tech. Coach Bobby Cremins says Anderson needs to gain about 10 pounds.
On the basketball court, that's his only deficiency.
"Kenny Anderson handles the ball better than anyone who ever played," Cremins said.
However, it's because Anderson has handled himself, his aura and his ego this season that the Yellow Jackets have reached the Final Four for the first time. Anderson was regarded - obviously accurately - as the nation's top high school player a year ago.
The sometimes hot-dogging New Yorker joined a team with an established leader, Brian Oliver, and a ball-needing scorer, Dennis Scott. It's worked out much better than anyone, even Anderson, had expected.
"I think a lot of people expected me to get to Georgia Tech and try to take over," said Anderson, who was voted the NCAA Southeast Region's most outstanding player after scoring 61 points in two Tech wins at the Louisiana Superdome. "But I never thought about that. What helped me was coming to a team with players like Dennis and Brian. They made it a lot easier.
"I didn't have to be Superman. All I really had to do was run the offense and distribute the ball with a point-guard mentality."
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Anderson also is averaging more than 20 points per game. He is among those rare players who spend so much time handling the ball that their scoring totals are stunning when the boxscores are distributed at the end of games. It doesn't seem like Anderson shoots 15-16 times a game.
"Kenny doesn't force it," said Scott, the Tech scoring leader who sometimes - without disgust from Cremins - does. "I think we all kind of wondered what kind of guy he'd be. I found out right away."
One of Cremins' best moves this season came long before workouts began. He paired Scott and Anderson as roommates.
"Kenny came in very humble," said Scott, who came to Tech from stardom at Flint Hill Prep in Northern Virginia. "The first day Kenny asked me how I handled being one of the top players coming out of high school. I told him to be himself.
"Kenny's different from any New York City point guard I've seen. He's not coming down the court dribbling behind his back and between his legs six times, not going anywhere. He's just one or two quick moves, and he's past the defender. He's just himself, and Brian and I, all we have to do is just play with him."
Anderson said, "In high school, I was probably a little flashy, but when you go up a level, you just can't play with the ball. There are so many more good defensive players. I'd like to score 30 points, but I'd also like 15, 16, 17 assists."
Cremins said he was concerned about Anderson's transition from Archbishop Molloy High to Georgia Tech.
"I really thought Kenny was going to have a lot of major problems," Cremins said. "I'd watched him play in high school and during his senior year, he didn't seem to be having as much fun as he'd had before. I wondered and worried about that. Could he handle his situation?
"I don't want him to be a show by himself. I thought he would have some horrible games and get down on himself and I'd have to spend many hours with him. But he's exceeded the expectations I had for him. He has such an inner confidence, and he has a way of putting the ball in the basket that's really amazing.
"He does get tired, and I think he needs to get stronger and gain about 10 pounds. I told him this many times. He's also learned that you're only as good as your last game. He understands about defense and hard work, but he still falls asleep sometimes. Still, he's been truly, truly amazing."
NBA talent scout Marty Blake said Anderson is the best point guard he's seen entering college, and Blake has been watching basketball since the 1940s. When a player hears such statements and remembers he is a three-time Parade All-American, his brain might be checking into the danger zone.
"I really worried about what would happen when I got to Tech," said the 19-year-old. "I was a little wary of living up to the high expectations. My mother told me just to go down there and be myself.
"I have a God-given talent to play basketball, and I appreciate that. It comes naturally, but I work at it. Maybe it's instinct or maybe it's being clever. But sometimes it scares me, too."
After Sunday's Southeast Regional championship win, Cremins was talking about Scott, Oliver and Anderson. The coach was discussing academics and said the freshman "is doing well in school, and that amazes some people."
Anderson and his coach laughed, probably realizing that class work is the only part of the freshman's college experience that hasn't been labeled with the "a" word.
"Kenny certainly has the ability to go one-on-one," Cremins said. "I've asked to sacrifice his game for the good of the team. He's done that. At the same time, you don't want to limit him so much that it detracts from his skills."
Oliver was Tech's point guard in pre-Anderson days. He doesn't regret sharing the limelight or the load with a rookie.
"Once Kenny got together with us, we realized he wasn't going to take away the spotlight from any of us," Oliver said. "He was going to make us a better team. We tried to have him play with us, and he's done that. He's handled a lot of pressure, and he's handled it well."
Cremins said that if Anderson could be among the top three picks in the NBA draft, maybe the coach wouldn't be so adamant about the teen-ager staying at Tech. Perhaps it seems too soon, now, but Cremins likely isn't counting on Anderson staying on campus after next season. After all, Magic Johnson played only two college seasons.
After the regional title game in which Tech had edged Minnesota for a school-record 28th win, Cremins, who has had very good teams over the last six years, said, "This is the best team I've ever had. I've never said that before. And I wouldn't say it until this moment."
Cremins couldn't. He didn't have Kenny Anderson before.
by CNB