PHOENIX — The term “big man” might be questionable with Gilbert Perry 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Dylan Anderson. He is, after all, only 15 years old.
In terms of big-man skills in this day and age of stretch 4’s (power forwards who can extend their game to the perimeter a la Lauri Markkanen), he is ahead of his time.
Case in point: Friday night’s game in the Section 7 Team Camp event at Brophy Prep in Phoenix in which Anderson had 26 points and nine assists. He made a 3-pointer and could have tried more if his teammates got him the ball in good shooting position.
“My dad has always wanted to work on it,” Anderson said of his perimeter skills. “My brother’s always been a pure shooter, so I always wanted to shoot and work on it.”
Anderson is listed on Perry’s roster as a small forward despite being the Pumas’ tallest player. In college, he projects to be a power forward because of his size. Despite that, expect him to help bring the ball up the court, pass and shoot the 3 at Arizona or a host of other schools which have shown interest in the youngster.
Sean Miller and assistants Justin Gainey and Danny Peters were in attendance Saturday at Central High School when Anderson led Perry to a 66-41 win over Smoky Hill (Colo.).
Miller and Peters sat at opposite baselines likely trying to take mental notes of how Anderson performs on both ends.
Not many can defend his shot with the high release. He works hard on the blocks and can stand to gain some muscle to help him with positioning, rebounding and defense. Then again, he still has three years of high school ahead of him. Plenty of time for his development.
“I feel like I can be better on defense, just be faster, but rebounding I can do that” Anderson said boldly.
He also mentioned, “I’ve got inside game.”
Gilbert Perry Class of 2022 post player Dylan Anderson talks about his inside-outside versatility at 6-9 and 195 pounds and his recruiting outlook (with Arizona in the picture). pic.twitter.com/DByA9csIQN
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) June 22, 2019
Anderson might be young with much to develop with his overall skills, but he does not lack confidence.
He gets that from his extensive background of playing AAU basketball and also participated in the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team training camp during the Final Four in April.
College coaches can not contact Anderson directly until next summer, but they can call his coach Sam Duane.
“They said I’m looking good,” Anderson said of the input from college coaches. “They like how I play.”
Dylan Anderson block ➡️ scramble ➡️ @_skyyclark_ three point play
📍 #USABJNT x Next Generation pic.twitter.com/ReBZv8zXSg
— USABJNT (@usabjnt) April 6, 2019
Arizona is in the early hunt for Anderson along with ASU, NAU, Grand Canyon and Cal.
“They’re a good college. They’re definitely a good college,” Anderson said of Arizona.
A team player without a question, his goals for the rest of his high school career do not only include his success.
“I mean, I just want to get a ring, a couple of rings, that’s all I got,” he said.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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