1/29/2018 basketball Edit

Damezi Anderson Will Add 'Effortless' Shot To IU Roster

Four-star forward Damezi Anderson signed with IU this fall. (Jordan Wells/TheHoosier.com)

Jordan Wells • TheHoosier

Staff

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Hoosier fans frustrated with IU's shooting woes won't have to wait much longer for a solution.

This year's squad is shooting just 30.5 percent from three-point range, ranking No. 335 nationally. The most efficient among the starters is guard Josh Newkirk, who's made 26-of-74 tries (35.1 percent).

Damezi Anderson could hit 40 percent or better as a freshman.

Sure, it's a step-up in competition to the Big Ten. His attempts will be more tightly contested than they are at the high school level.

But Anderson faced plenty of stiff competition playing on Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League this spring and summer - a circuit loaded with top 200 prospects - and he made 53-of-134 tries from behind the arc for his MeanStreets squad, good enough for a 39.6 percent clip.

Then this high school season, he's shooting better than 43 percent from three-point range.

"There's only one other kid I've ever experienced in all my years that could shoot like he does," South Bend Riley head coach Eric Brand said. "And they both had a little bit of an unorthodox shot."

Brand noted that other player was LaceDarius Dunn, a four-star shooting guard in the class of 2007 who committed to Baylor when Brand was a graduate assistant there.

"They both just had a natural gift for getting the ball in the basket," Brand said. "He [Damezi] has great touch. He just has a gift for shooting the ball.

"It's effortless. It really is. He's got deep range. It's not like he's trying to heave it up there or anything - it's just an effortless, unique jumpshot. He's got great wrist strength - some guys have more than others. He's got a nice arc on it. It's a soft touch."

Overall, Anderson is averaging over 20 points and five rebounds per tilt for Brand's Riley squad, leading them to an undefeated 16-0 overall record and a No. 1 ranking in Indiana's Class AAAA category.

"We go as Damezi goes," Brand said. "When he's locked in and high-energy, that's how we play. He's our engine, both positively and negatively.

"One of the things I've been proud of him about, he's rebounding the ball really well. He's very active on the boards. I've asked him to be more of a playmaker than just a scorer, and he's really taken on that role, along with scoring.

"He's an unselfish player. He's improved his all-around game - he's playing harder, his defense has gotten better...just his all-around game and being able to fit into the system."

To illustrate how important Anderson's been to their success, Brand tells the story of a 72-38 win over Plymouth just before Christmas.

Plymouth tied South Bend Riley 8-8 in the first quarter, before Brand tried a unique adjustment with Anderson.

"They [Plymouth] switch everything...they're a hard-nosed team down the road," Brand said. "We were playing hard but we weren't clicking offensively, the way they were switching, we weren't used to it.

"So I put Damezi at the point, and let him attack and make decisions. It wasn't his shooting that did it for us - he hit guys for layups, he hit guys for threes, he got the ball on the break and made the right plays.

"We had a really dominant second quarter, and it was because he was facilitating the offense and getting everyone else involved.

"Everybody thinks of him as a scorer, and obviously he can do it, but there's times this year where our guys have benefitted because he hit the open man. He's doing things on the break that I've been told in the past it was much more shooting."

That doesn't mean IU fans should expect Anderson to play much lead guard for the Hoosiers. Like all prospects, even as ones as talented as Anderson, there are aspects of their game to work on, and one of those for Anderson is ball-handling.

It does show, though, his willingness to be coached. And his willingness to give up a good shot - even for a great shooter - to find a teammate for a better one.

"His decision-making has really gotten better," Brand said. "His feel for his surrounding, getting his teammates involved - that's been a big step up for him."

South Bend Riley next plays at Penn on Thursday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.