Not the most fluid or dynamic athlete you’ll find at the collegiate level, Anderson
nevertheless manages to produce in an incredibly prolific and efficient way. Out of the 35 players sporting the highest usage rates (the percentage of their team’s overall possessions they garner) in college basketball,
Anderson ranks as the most efficient player around, which is a testament to how important he is to Oklahoma State’s NCAA tournament hopes.
Anderson is clearly the centerpiece of the Cowboys’ offense, as they run him off a huge number of screens on virtually every possession in an attempt to get him open looks.
Staggers, flairs, curls, down-screens—any shot they can get him with his feet set is a good possession for them. Anderson’s shooting ability is simply outstanding, as he boasts excellent form, consistent mechanics, a quick release, and terrific range on his jump-shot. Despite shooting just 36% from beyond the arc this season (more an indication of the type of defenses that are thrown at him than anything),
Anderson projects as a high-level NBA shooter any way you slice it when looking at the way he can put the ball in the net.
More than just a spot-up shooter, about a third of Anderson’s jumpers come off the dribble, of which he converts an excellent 43.4% according to Synergy Sports Technology...
These are all things we knew last year, though. Perhaps
more impressive about the season Anderson is having is how often he’s getting to the free throw line. He ranks #1 among all likely wing prospects in this draft in that category on a per-minute basis, and converts an excellent 80% of his attempts once there....
What’s interesting is that he appears to be extremely limited driving to his right (he drives left 86% of the time according to Synergy Sports Technology), but still doesn’t let them affect him too much, as teams are so concerned with his jump-shot that they are often more than willing to concede him driving to the basket.
The biggest in Anderson’s armor and the main thing holding him back from being able to project him as an outstanding NBA role-player has always been his play on the defensive end. Unfortunately, not much seems to have changed this year.
Anderson isn’t much of a presence at all on the perimeter, looking very upright in his stance and showing below average lateral quickness, getting beat on a regular basis off the dribble by fairly mediocre college slashers. He doesn’t use his body well enough, lacks a significant degree of physicality in his approach, and does not utilize his length at all to contest opponents’ shots...
Still, it’s not a very encouraging sign when projecting him to the NBA level.
Teams will need to study this part of his game closely in private workouts to see if he has more potential in this area than he’s currently showing, as it’s an important factor considering his likely role in the NBA.
Regardless of his flaws on the defensive end, Anderson is having an outstanding junior season and has improved his NBA draft stock considerably from where it was last year.
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