Kyan Anderson, TCU’s starting point guard and a North Crowley alumnus, has been run ragged during the Horned Frogs’ first season in the Big 12.
He often has been the lone player on the floor that TCU could be counted on not only to push the ball up the floor cleanly but also to knock down shots from outside ever more increasingly.As the Frogs’ season winds down, including at 7 p.m. Tuesday at No. 9 Kansas State, Anderson’s understanding of the new league and his improvements as a point guard have started to show. He’s 17th in the league in scoring (11.6 points per game), 10th in assists (3.31) and sixth in steals (1.45) while playing more minutes (969) than anybody in the league.“He’s done a good job of managing this team, and he’s done a good job of holding up physically,” TCU coach Trent Johnson said after Anderson scored a team-high 15 points in the Frogs’ loss to Oklahoma State last week. “And he’s been challenged like he’s never been challenged before the last six or seven games.”In fact, Anderson has played his best basketball over the last several weeks, including a team-high 18 points, 4-of-10 shooting from 3-point range and three assists in Saturday’s loss at Texas Tech.Johnson said Anderson’s body language has improved as the sophomore has learned to let missed opportunities and failed passes not bother him as much. Throughout the season, Anderson has caught unsuspecting teammates by surprise with a quick pass or watched helplessly as potential assists squirted out of teammates’ hands.“It’s been a tough year for him from the standpoint that he’s our primary ballhandler — he’s our only ballhandler, quite frankly — and he has to distribute the ball and make other guys better, and he obviously has to score the ball for us,” Johnson said. “You come down and create opportunities for other guys, and the ball doesn’t go down for them. And nobody can create opportunities for you. That’s a lonely feeling out there. Then you’ve got to defend a lot of guys in this league that are bigger, stronger; they’re great players.”Anderson’s instincts, which included more of a flair for the dramatic pass, are to find scoring opportunities for others. He has had to repress those instincts to some degree while his shot becomes more integral to the offense.“I don’t necessarily want to get out of the flow of the offense and do my own thing,” he said. “Sometimes, if I feel like I have to, I’m going to take a shot that’s in the flow of the offense, but I’ll never go outside of the offense.”Johnson wants Anderson to become more of a vocal leader on the floor for next season along with a bigger off-season weightlifting regimen.“I think he’s done a very, very good job,” Johnson said. “The thing I’ve been most impressed with is his decision-making. He has a tendency to get cute with the ball, but he has improved. It’s been a tough go.”Stefan Stevenson, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @FollowtheFrogs
