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POSTED: Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009

WWU MEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Point guard Anderson hopes to provide spark for talented squad

"Shoot."

Morris Anderson hears that a lot. The senior point guard for the Western Washington men's basketball team probably hears it more than ever these days.

The senior-laden Vikings are off to a 5-1 start, earning Brad Jackson his 450th win as Western's head coach with an 87-72 win over Dominican University on Saturday, Nov. 21. But in the process they lost bruising 6-foot, 6-inch forward Mike Duty, a returning starter, to a broken finger just four games in. The senior, who will be out indefinitely, had averaged a team-best 12.8 points per game and grabbed 5.8 rebounds per contest.

That means others - especially Anderson - will likely be asked to score more. But that's nothing new for the senior point guard. He's been hearing calls of "shoot more" since as far back as he can remember lacing up a pair of hoop shoes.

"That's been since Boys & Girls Club days," Anderson said. "When I was little I used to always try to make the fancy play. I like to hear the oohs and aahs."

For Anderson, that often meant making the great dish. But teammates and Jackson are among those prodding the 6-foot, 3-inch guard to pass on making the pass if the situation is right. Anderson earned a preseason All-American honorable mention from the Sporting News this year and is in a position to lead the Vikings, who boast a potent mix of experience and youth, to another Great Northwest Athletic Conference title and, maybe, even further. Western was ranked second, behind Seattle Pacific, in the GNAC preseason coach's poll.

"They just want me to score," said Anderson, who's majoring in general studies. "I can score, I guess, almost really any time I want. I just love passing. I like to see the big numbers in assists. I like to see 10 assists on the stat line."

While it's the assists Anderson craves on offense - he averaged more than six per game last year, 12th nationally. On defense, he's a thief. Last year he averaged 2.7 steals a game, ninth-best in the nation.

"I love stealing," Anderson said. "Me on the defensive end, I think I can steal everything."

Who's to argue? Anderson's skill set is such that he can do a lot. He admires the way Stave Nash plays the point guard position and likes versatile, bigger players like Tracy McGrady and LeBron James because they can do a little bit - or a lot - of everything depending on the night.

"(LeBron James) does everything," Anderson said. "He could probably have a triple-double every single night if he wanted to. That's my main goal right now is to get a triple-double this year. ... I always come very, very close. But I never can get over the hump."

Anderson's stat line in the win over Dominican wasn't a triple-double, but it was worth a double-take: 20 points, nine assists, six steals, four rebounds and three blocked shots.

"He fills up the stat sheet every night," Western's Derrick Webb said of his teammate. "Him just working so hard defensively and offensively, that kind of gets us going. He's one of our best defenders, so when he starts getting steals like that it pumps us up to work even harder. He's a really big piece to our puzzle of what we're trying to do this year."

Webb is another player who will serve as a key cog in the Vikings' season. The senior forward missed last year after suffering an injured wrist in the preseason, but he's returned to average 12.5 points per game so far.

"Obviously it was tough," Webb said of his year off. "But at the same time I tried to look at the positives in it. I think I gained a lot of knowledge for the game."

Fellow captain Zach Bruce, the team's starting center, missed last year, too, with a foot injury. He's returned this season to score 9.8 points per game and lead the team in rebounding with eight per contest. And guard Andrew Ready, the Vikings third starter to miss all of last year - he took a year off to work - is scoring 7.0 per game. Western's first and only 7-footer David Vanderjagt has taken over Duty's spot in the starting line-up next to Bruce.

Anderson is shooting, by the way. He's averaged 11.8 points through six games, hitting more than 35 percent of hits shots from beyond the 3-point arc, second only to teammate Harold McAllister, who has hit almost 58 percent of his 3-point shots, including four during a span that saw the 6-foot senior guard flush 14 straight points in the second half of a game against Northwest University on Nov. 16.

Anderson, who talks about playing for the Bellingham Slam and possibly even the NBA after his time at Western, is already on pace to basically match his statistical output from last year, a performance that earned him GNAC First-Team and Newcomer of the Year honors.

Through six games, the point guard is dishing just over five assists per game and has already racked up a team-high 17 steals.

To that end - defense - there's a method to Anderson's madness.

"What I tend to do is when somebody's coming at me ... I tend to think if I was that person with the ball, what would I do?" Anderson said of his technique for collecting oodles of steals. "Most of the time they do what I would do, so I'm there on defense knowing that the ball is going right there to that spot and I'm going there to get it."

On offense, teammates are always wary of Anderson's passes, probably because they often translate into easy buckets. The point guard position is one he relishes.

"I just love having the ball in my hands first off," Anderson said. "Knowing that I'm going to do something great with it, I feel good."

Maybe that's why Jackson, who describes his team a being very athletic, said the squad can potentially be "devastating on the fast break."

"I think we have potential to be a pretty good team," Jackson said. "How well we do is going to be contingent upon our development."

Seniors like Webb - who serves as a vocal leader on the team - Bruce, Ready, McAllister and Vanderjagt will likely play a key role in that development.

But Anderson will likely serve as a catalyst for this team, which Webb said has high, even national, aspirations.

At the very least, the journey should be a fun one to watch, in large part thanks to Anderson's penchant for doing everything but shoot.

OK, he will shoot. But you might have to ask twice.

"He really hasn't even hit his stride yet this year," Jackson said of his point guard. "I think he's got a whole other level that we saw last year. It's awfully early in the year and he's just going to keep getting better and better."

THREE QUESTIONS FOR THE WWU MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

1. CAN THIS TEAM OVERCOME THE LOSS OF MIKE DUTY?

It's not easy to replace a big body like forward Mike Duty - out indefinitely with a broken finger - especially considering the senior led the team in scoring this year with 12.8 points per game while grabbing 5.8 rebounds. But 7-footer David Vanderjagt is by physical nature an imposing force. And Zach Bruce, Morris Anderson and Derrick Webb are all talented enough to pick up the scoring slack.

2. HOW FAR CAN THIS TEAM GO?

Maybe as far as Morris Anderson takes them. The Vikings have plenty to get them to the top of the GNAC. They have a scorer in Webb, a dominant force down low in Bruce, a strong defense and a bench that has showed some spark during the first six games. But Anderson's ability to create special plays when the Vikings need them most could get Western through the hairy moments.

3. WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO SUCCESS?

Coach Brad Jackson said the 2009-10 Vikings have a chance to be a pretty good team, but that it all hinges on how much his squad develops through the year. The team has shown resiliency during some early games, Jackson said, and looked pretty good in stretches, both on offense and defense. Learning to channel those bright moments into full games could carry this team far. According to players, the team already has great chemistry.

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Morris Anderson, Sr., Guard

If the Vikings, already 5-1 this year, are to transcend from good team to a great one, it will probably be Anderson who takes them there. The 6-foot, 3-inch point guard does a little bit of everything, posting per game averages of 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.7 steals last season to earn First Team All-GNAC honors and the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. Anderson also earned a Sporting News preseason All-American honorable mention. Most important, though, is that Anderson is a talent that can create special plays on any given night. Coach Brad Jackson paid his senior point guard perhaps the ultimate complement: "He makes people around him play better."

Derrick Webb, Sr., Guard

Webb was a contributor two years ago before hurting his wrist in the preseason last year, an injury that ended his season. This year, he's back as a senior and already contributing 12.5 points and nearly five rebounds per game. With Duty out, expect Webb to find more ways to score buckets. The senior is also a captain along with Anderson and Bruce, and serves as a vocal leader.

Zach Bruce, Sr., Center

Another contributor from two years ago, Bruce was already expected to do big things during his senior year after a foot injury caused him to miss last season. But the injury to Duty means the senior center will be asked to carry even an even bigger load in the paint for the Vikings. Bruce already seems up to the challenge, averaging 9.8 points and 8.0 rebounds - nearly a double-double - in six games for Western.

2009-10 WWU Men's Basketball Roster

No. Name Pos. Hgt. Yr. Hometown

22 Morris Anderson G 6-3 Sr. Federal Way

3 Jarrell Banks G 6-1 Fr. Des Moines

21 Rory Blanche F 6-6 So. Ashland, Ore.

31 Zach Bruce C 6-8 Sr. Oceanside, Calif.

40 Michael Duty F 6-6 Sr. Seattle

10 Tyler Grosz G 6-1 Fr. Hockinson

34 Zach Henifin F 6-5 Jr. Bellingham

1 Harold McAllister G 6-0 Sr. Vancouver

42 Chris Mitchell C 6-8 Fr. Everson

24 Andrew Ready G 6-1 Sr. Chicago, Ill.

33 Cameron Severson G 6-4 So. Petersburg, Ark.

35 Matt Sheppard G 6-5 Fr. Puyallup

2 Dane Thorpe G 6-3 Fr. Bellingham

44 Dave Vanderjagt C 7-0 Sr. Townsville, Australia

5 Derrick Webb G/F 6-3 Sr. Port Orchard

25 Richard Woodworth G 6-3 Fr. Bellevue

2009-10 GNAC Coaches Poll 2008-09 RecordsPts

1. Seattle Pacific (4) 19-10 11-5 76

2. Western Washington (4) 21-6 13-3 72

3. Central Washington (1) 18-7 12-4 59

4. Alaska Anchorage 15-14 9-7 53

5. Montana State Billings 10-17 5-11 52

6. Northwest Nazarene 14-13 5-11 39

7. Alaska Fairbanks 6-19 3-13 22

8. Saint Martin's 22-8 10-6 21

9. Western Oregon 10-17 4-12 13