Erik Bishoff Photographer
Redshirt sophomore Matt Short said senior Jay Anderson (55) is “about the funniest guy you’ll ever run into.
STAR
continued from page 7
Oregon was Anderson's only colle
giate visit after being recruited by
schools up and down the West Coast.
He said he liked the atmosphere and
how the community loves football and
basketball so much.
"1 just wanted to try something dif
ferent," the 6-foot-9 center said. "Try to
not do the same thing as everybody else
and go to the same small school
around Minnesota."
Anderson's first years at Oregon were
tough: They were the years Anderson
didn't play much, if at all.
After working hard during the offsea
son of his freshman year, Anderson ex
f pected to be a starter and play more
minutes in his sophomore season.
That's when junior transfer Robert
r Johnson came into play, and Anderson
lost his spot.
"That really taught me you can't take
anything for granted and (you've) got
to keep working," Anderson said. "He
(Johnson) did so many things better
than me that I realized I needed to keep
working on all parts of my game"
He did.
In his junior season, it made the dif
ference Anderson played in all 33
games and averaged 13 minutes per
contest He averaged 2.3 points and 1.6
rebounds per game
Against then-No. 14 Kansas in the
Pape Jam, Anderson had what Oregon
head coach Ernie Kent called his
"breakout game." That's according to
Short and Anderson.
Short hasn't let the term die easy.
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"Whenever Jay has a good game, I'm
always like, 'Jay that was a breakout
game just to tease him," Short said. "So
any time he gets more than four points,
I tell him it's a breakout game for him."
Anderson, now a senior, doesn't find
it as amusing.
"He always gives me crap about
that," Anderson said. "Matt just won't
let it die ever since then, he just beats it
into the ground. It's becoming a little
annoying, actually."
It's nothing more than harmless ban
ter between roommates. Short even ad
mits, "We just sit around the house a lot
of times when we're not playing ball
and just insult each other. It's kind of
what we do, it's kind of weird, but we
get along pretty well."
Anderson is having an even stronger
impact in his final season with the
Ducks. In Oregon's 68-56 win over Cal
on Jan. 29, Anderson played 30 min
utes, his most ever as a Duck.
Anderson had nine points and four
rebounds, but that wasn't what pleased
him. He held Cal's Amit Tamir to zero
field goals on the night, and Tamir
earned just two points off free throws.
Tamir averages 11.4 points per game.
"It seemed like all the other times I've
played him, he'd hit threes in my face,"
Anderson said. "That was really the best
part about the game a lot of satisfaction
in holding him down."
Anderson is averaging 3.8 points and
2.7 rebounds per game, but he brings
much more to the court. Short said of
Anderson's strengths that he is "the
most consistent guy we have."
"He's playing with a lot more confi
dence this year, and has the opportuni
ty to play this year, and he has really re
sponded," Kent said. "He is a very
integral part of any success we're going
to have this year. He's done a tremen
dous job for me"
Anderson admits it Could have been
easy for him to give up and transfer at
points in his career when he wasn't play
ing. But he said it's not just about basket
ball — it's also about the community.
"The coolest part about playing here
is like when 1 see people around town,
and, they know Luke (Jackson) is the
star and the scorer and everything, but
they come up to me and say how much
they enjoy watching me play, and how
they enjoy watching somebody play re
ally hard and play good defense," An
derson said. "It really feels good when
people do that."
So you may not know who Anderson
is. But his teammates know him as an
occasional actor who always lightens
the mood with his humor, and as a con
sistent go-hard-all-the-time player.
"Any team could use a guy like Jay, *
Short said.
Contact the sports reporter
at jessethomas@dailyemerald.com.
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