Talking Myself Into… (James Anderson)

James Anderson

SG – 6’5″ – Oklahoma State

The second post in a quality series of posts from our valued TWolves Blog Forum member “Pants.”  His forum posts and further discussion can be found HERE.  (Feel free to join us, we’re always looking for more quality members.)  As a poor follower of the Wolves, Pants is always trying to talk himself into a light at the end of the tunnel. Usually that means talking himself into players we have, or could potentially have. How many guys will be stars from this draft, probabably a few? Will they be available to the Wolves? He’s going to do his best to convince himself that they will be.

This is hard to write and maybe I shouldn’t be right now.  I’m so damn convinced that Xavier Henry is the man I should almost wait 8 more hours for it to pass.  But since you don’t know who will be available and when/where; and this team has so many holes I need to press on.  I’ve been excited by the prospect of righting a wrong in this draft.  Well I should say two wrongs.  Twice Kevin McHale looked at the laces of a fastball right down the pipe and decided he was getting the off speed pitch. 

In 2003 Josh Howard was the jack of all trades, ACC player of the year who looked like the obvious steady hand to play along side KG.  He was, yet he wasn’t.  Alas the lesson was not learned.  2005, same story, Danny Granger was there and yet he wasn’t.  The Wolves were left with a steaming pile of Ndubi and McCants.  But I digress.

James Anderson spent 3 years playing for the Cowboys.  13.3, 18.2, 22.3 were his PPG averages each year.  The ceiling hasn’t been hit.  He hits over 80% of his free throws, which I love.  Guards that can’t make free throws are the bane of my existence.    His 34% from 3 point land isn’t world beating, but he did that while taking 6.5 a game.  That is a preposterous amount to be jacking up.  Given the spirit of this article we are going to file it under, he had to do everything for an otherwise weak team (no research will be done to back up that claim).  It seems reasonable to say that if he dropped off 2 of the ill advised shots per game he would have been close to 40%. 

I was very pleased to see he was a McDonalds All-American.  That tells me he has the underlaying talent and athleticism to make the leap.  Hollinger ranked him number 15.  Here is his respectable list of accolades:

• 2009 1st Team All-Big 12
• 2009 Big 12 Player of the Year
• 2009 1st Team Sporting News All-American

If James Anderson is available at #16 when the Wolves come up he should be taken, and I believe he will.  The Ghosts of upperclassmen-past must be given their day so they can stop haunting the Target Center forever.