Name: Ryan Anderson Position: Power Forward Height: 6-10 (2.08m) Weight: 235 (107kg) College Team: California Golden Bears Nationality: American Birthplace: Sacramento, California Birthdate: 5/6/1988 Drafted: Selected by the New Jersey Nets in the first round (21st pick overall) of 2008 NBA Draft.

Strengths: Tough minded player who doesn’t back down from the physicality of opposing defenders … Excellent fundamental skills with a great feel for the game … Understands how to use his versatility to lure forwards out to the perimeter where he uses his dribble or mid-range shot to create scoring opportunities … Owns an extremely high basketball IQ that makes up for some of his athletic shortcomings … Possesses legit NBA three point range with a quick release that he can make with regularity … Excellent in catch and shoot situations from mid-range … Anderson plays above average post defense with good effort in that he keeps his body between his man and the basket … Blue collar approach to the game in that he will out-hustle or out-work anyone on the court 90 percent of the time … This is especially handy when rebounding as he understands how to box out opposing forwards and will tap out of position rebounds to himself … Unselfish player who is a quality passer for a player his size … Will use a number of head fakes and hesitation moves to get defenders off their feet … Does a tremendous job creating contact to draw fouls for free throws opportunities … Once on the line he is an excellent free throw shooter … Does a lot of the crafty things that don’t show up in the box score, such as understanding how to use his body to shield against bigger players in the paint … Work ethic is well documented …

Weaknesses: Athletically, Anderson isn't blessed with great explosiveness, nor is he the most agile of players his size … A semi-tweener, as there will be some talk as to what position he will play in the NBA … Although the size of a power forward, Anderson's game resembles more of a small forward - the issue is that his athleticism could limit his effectiveness … Back to basket skills are not used much during the course of a game as he clearly prefers facing the basket … Defensively, his lateral movement is questionable if he has to defend on the perimeter … Post defense struggles a bit when he has to match the physicality or superior athleticism of an opposing forward … Lack of strength prevents him from denying opposing players position in the post … Legs and hips appear a bit stiff, which could limit him from ever becoming a competent perimeter defender … While Anderson can take slower forwards off the dribble, he lacks the foot speed to gain full separation … Settles too often for shooting from the perimeter instead of exploiting mismatches … Despite his height, Anderson has never been a shot blocker on any level of basketball … Could stand to add more body strength, but his body type suggests that this could sacrifice some of his already average athleticism … Overrated in his upside due to his physical limitations - make no mistake that he will improve, but in terms of skill growth, he’s closer to his ceiling than his sophomore class status would suggest …

Matthew Maurer - 6/23/08