ON TOP: Canyon's Jerime Anderson is the 2007-08 boys basketball player of the year. FILE PHOTO PLAYER OF THE YEARJerime Anderson |
Canyon's Anderson tops All-County boys team
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The UCLA commit stands out with his value to the Comanches.
Jerime Anderson's offensive ability was enough to worry an opposing coach.
“But,” Villa Park coach Kevin Reynolds said, “Jerime Anderson was the only guy we had to game-plan for because of his defense.”
That's what happens when a player averages five steals a game, and converts those steals into points.
Anderson did it all as a 6-foot-3 senior point guard at Canyon. He averaged 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists a game.
With Anderson leading the way, Canyon went 10-0 in the Century League, won 15 in a row and reached the CIF-Southern Section Division I-A quarterfinals.
Anderson, the most valuable player to an Orange County team, is the Register's county player of the year for the 2007-08 boys basketball season.
He will be at UCLA next year. This year, Anderson was outstanding game after game.
Anderson scored 25 points with nine rebounds in a loss to Mater Dei in the Taco Company Invitational championship game.
He scored 26 with 16 rebounds and six assists in a loss to JSerra in the Orange Holiday Classic semifinals.
At Villa Park, a tough place for a visiting Century League team, he scored 36 points with eight rebounds and six steals as the Comanches beat the Spartans to complete their first two-game league sweep in many years.
Anderson had 26 points with 15 rebounds and 11 assists in a victory over Ocean View in the MLK Invitational at Century.
In Canyon's second-round playoff victory over Peninsula of Rolling Hills Estates, Anderson scored 24. He had 12 points in the first quarter, but sat out most of the second quarter because of foul trouble. Inserted in the game with 1:23 to go in the first half, Anderson scored seven points in that brief span to give Canyon a 21-point lead.
Anderson was a favorite of county coaches who appreciated his skills, admired his leadership and enjoyed his positive on- and off-court demeanor.
“Jerime could score 40 every game,” Canyon coach Nate Harrison said, “if he decided to take every shot. But he decided instead to elevate his teammates every game. When you look at the caliber of guys he was playing with and the level he took this team to, and then look at the other dominant players in the county and look at their teammates, then you really understand how special Jerime is.”
Anderson was All-County first team last year. Before this year, he added eight pounds of muscle, improved his shot and defense.
“I tried to play with passion and poise every single game,” he said. “That was my duty to my teammates. If we lost, it was because I didn't do my job.”
The Comanches didn't lose very often, so Anderson is pleased with his senior year.
“Other than that loss in the playoffs,” he said, “I thought our team took care of business this year. It was a good way to go out.”
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
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