CHESTNUT HILL - Boston College freshman forward Ryan Anderson has had a successful run already, being named California Mr. Basketball Player of the Year as well as Gatorade State Player of the Year as a senior at Long Beach Poly High School. He was also named the Los Angeles Times Player of the Year and was the CIF-Southern Section I-AA Player of the Year, too. Oh, and did I mention that he led his Jackrabbits to a 31-2 record and a Southern Section I-AA title?
That's why it isn't surprising that Anderson is looking back to the success he had in high school to help dictate his next move as a freshman on the Boston College Eagles basketball team, which has been a major jump for him.
Said Anderson, "I feel like me personally, it's been a big transition for me already coming to the college basketball level, having a lot of success in high school with a great program and having a lot of great players around me, then coming here and having a lot of great players around me. I've just been referencing back to my high school days. My freshman year we weren't a very good team either, but we were a powerhouse by my senior year and that's what were going to try to do here."
But first, there are the bumps in the road. Anderson and the Eagles are off to a 1-2 start and have lost their last two games, including Monday night's game against the UMass Minutemen - an 82-46 loss.
"There's always a level of frustration after losing a basketball game," said Anderson, who scored eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in the loss. "All of us are competitive and want to win every night so obviously we're going to be upset with ourselves and upset with how we played after a loss."
Anderson and company will look to rebound when they travel to Anaheim for the 76 Classic, which begins with a match-up with the Saint Louis Billikens at 2:00 p.m. EDT on Thanksgiving Day.
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