Sports - Local Colleges

POSTED: Friday, Jan. 09, 2009

MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Anderson sets sights on assist record

BELLINGHAM - His Western Washington University men's basketball coach wants him to shoot more.

His teammate Ira Graham even thinks he should put up the ball more often.

But Vikings junior guard Morris Anderson likes to pass first and shoot second.

"I like to give my teammates the ball," Anderson said. "Coaches are telling me to shoot, so I guess I have to do that, too."

Anderson's unselfish play has helped lead Western to an 8-2 overall record (1-0 in Great Northern Athletic Conference) this season.

The transfer from Highline Community College sat out last season, but is more than making up for the lost time on the court. Anderson leads the GNAC in assists with 71, averaging 7.1 per game. On the team behind Anderson, Graham is second with 25 assists.

"(Anderson) is one of those guys that really enjoys passing," Western coach Brad Jackson said. "I think statistically he has not shot the ball well this year, but he's a much better shooter than I believe his stats show and we've been working hard at that."

Anderson is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10.6 points per game. The 6-foot-3 guard is 34 for 97 (.351) from the floor and 10 for 50 (.200) from the 3-point arc.

Anderson said he sometimes thinks he should be shooting the ball more, too.

"But it's not falling for me right now so I've been passing," he said. "My plan is to break the assist record (in a game)."

And he hasn't been that far off. In just the Vikings' sixth game this year Anderson almost matched the school's single game record of 15 assists.

There is a three-way tie at 15: Dave Wood ('76), Scott Smith ('79) and Manny Kimmie ('89).

In the Vikings' season opener, Anderson set the tone with 10 assists and has yet to have less than at least four assists in a single game. He had 13 dishes against Northwest on Nov. 29.

"I was kind of disappointed I was two shy, but I'll get it," Anderson said.

Anderson has also proved valuable on defense. He leads the conference with 33 steals (3.3 per game) and is third on the team in rebounding (5.1 per game). But Anderson admits his focus is on the assists column of the stat sheet.

"Mo does a little bit of everything," Graham said. "We do need him to score maybe a little bit more and he's capable of doing that. I think the fans here and the whole league will see his scoring capability pick up during conference. That's going to be big because he gives us another threat, especially when he's knocking down 3s."

In a nonconference game against Multnomah on Saturday, Jan. 3, Anderson entered the game as the team's second leading scorer. The Vikings had a 65-14 halftime lead but Anderson had no points and only attempted one shot. But in his 11 minutes of play before halftime, he recorded seven assists.

"The biggest key for us team-wise is balance," Jackson said. "We have a good group of guys that don't really care who's scoring so much as they just want to get the job done. And I think Morris is a catalyst in that way. If he can make a nice pass and get somebody set up, he really enjoys that."

Anderson also enjoys the success his team is having and wants to see it continue. Yes, he has his own individual goals, but as his leading stats show, it's not all about him.

"Every goal is to win every game," he said. "We want to win every game at home and we want to win GNAC."

The Vikings are 6-0 at Carver Gym and will try for win No. 7 at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10, in their final non-conference game against Golden State Baptist College.

Reach Somer Breeze at somer.breeze@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2285.