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Rashad Anderson

Rashad Anderson profile
RCSI: 26 (2002)
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
Weight: 224 lbs (102 kg)
Position: SG
High School: Kathleen High School (Florida)
Hometown: Lakeland, FL
College: Connecticut
Current Team: Promitheas
Win - Loss: 13 - 8

Articles

DraftExpress All-Orlando Pre-Draft Camp Teams

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Jun 15, 2006, 03:36 am
Anderson had an up and down camp, with two poor performances countered by one truly outstanding showing. Day two of the camp belonged to Anderson, when he poured in 24 points on 11-18 shooting. There were other impressive point totals over the course of the week, but no performance where a player scored with such effectiveness and such ease. Anderson poured in mid-range jumpshots from every conceivable angle. He had no trouble getting shot off, easily setting up his man working off screens or giving quick pump fakes. There were one dribble “jump stop and pops” and absurdly smooth step back swishes, all executed so quickly that the defense had little chance to alter or even react to the shot. Anderson even managed to get to the basket a couple of times, finishing one drive on the baseline and throwing down a transition dunk.

There are plenty of different criteria one could use in coming with an “All-Orlando Team”, but the main goal of the camp for every player is to get picked. Putting up flashy stats or dominating certain matchups is one thing, but for the camp to be a success for a player, he must show that he can play some sort of role in the NBA. Anderson’s all-around game might not be there, but he absolutely proved that he can score on any level. Thus, don’t be surprised at all if Anderson’s name is called on draft night, or if he develops into a solid NBA scoring specialist down the road.

Orlando Pre-Draft Camp: Day 3 (Last Update: 10:46 AM)

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Jun 08, 2006, 11:52 am
After a very quiet first game, Anderson came to life in a big way on day two. His outside shot was deadly from the opening moments of the game, where he swished two midrange jumpers right away. He was a consistent source of offense the rest of the way, where the opposition had little chance of altering his quick release jumper. He worked well off screens, hit set shots, and connected effortlessly heading to the basket after one or two dribbles. It was interesting to see Anderson working in the 15-18 foot range, rather than try to extend his range out to the NBA 3-point line. He looked very comfortable creating his shot in the midrange, and even took the ball to the basket on one occasion. While everybody knew that Anderson was capable of a scoring outburst such as this, his crisp performance today will surely stand out in the eyes of scouts at the end of the week.

IMG Academy Private Workout: O'Bryant, Lowry, Nicholson, etc

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
May 18, 2006, 02:31 am
Rashad Anderson did what we expected him to in a workout like this, and that’s look absolutely great shooting the ball from the perimeter. The transition from the college 3-point line to the NBA 3-point line clearly isn’t going to be much of an issue for him from what we saw here, and he has the type of lift on his jumpshot, quick release and high release point to help him get his shot off against most defenders if given just an inch of daylight. Anderson looked good putting the ball on the floor and shooting off one or two short dribbles. His ball-handling beyond that was not there to be evaluated due to the fact that there wasn’t any one on one or specific ball-handling drills in half-court type settings. The same can be said about his perimeter defense. Anderson also appears to have lost some weight since we last saw him at Portsmouth. He’s not particularly toned, but is still in better shape than he was a month ago.

Rashad Anderson NBA Draft Scouting Report

May 10, 2006, 03:00 am
Strengths
Anderson is a catch and shoot offensive specialist. He is very effective at coming off screens, catching the ball and getting his shot off, all in one quick, fluid motion. He knows how to use screens properly to free himself for open jump shots. He is very smart at running the wings aggressively on the break and can be very dangerous in transition because of it. His off the ball movement is absolutely superb.

Anderson has one of the prettiest jump shots in this year’s draft. Even though a majority of his shots will come from behind the 3-point line, after you see his jumper you can see why that is the case. Anderson gets great elevation on his jump shot, jumping higher than most shooters off the ground and because of that his release point is higher and thus becomes more difficult to block. His footwork is superb, allowing him to hit step-back threes, short pull-ups, and other jump-shots that make him more than just a threat on the catch and shoot. He also has a lightning quick release; really not needing that much room to get himself free. Even though he has a quick release, his technique does not get decreased when he quickly shoots the basketball. Simply put, Anderson is a deadly outside shooter that has picture perfect form on his jump shot.

When he puts his mind to it he can be a decent perimeter defender. He moves his feet well from side to side and has the smarts to stay in front of most SGs at the college level. Although he does have some trouble in other areas on defense, he has the potential to at least not be a liability as on the ball defender at the next level.

What makes Anderson an interesting prospect is that fact that he has a long history of hitting very clutch jump shots in very big games. If he was just a jump shooter that has had success over the years, it would be doubtful of him having any chance of being drafted. However, with team he played for and the resume of hitting big shots he has put together in the past few seasons, his stock is higher than it normally would be for a player with his skill level because of his recognizability. He is a big time role player in that regard, as everyone in the country knows that he has great potential to come off the bench and hit big shots in important games.

Another feather in Anderson’s camp as far as the pros should be concerned is the fact that over the years he has basically been a 6th man off the bench--rarely did he consistently start—and to his credit he never really complained about that role. He took it on, embraced it, and was a team player for a very talented UCONN basketball team that won a huge amount of games in his four years there. He was the leading 6th man scorer in the entire country this past season.

Mental toughness is one of his biggest strengths. Although he is comfortable being a role player, his mentality and confidence is that of a star’s. His belief in himself to be able to knock down big shots never wavers, and the possibility of an extended shooting slump is simply not an option for him. He will take any shot at any time, fully believing that every single one will go in for him.

Weaknesses
Athletically Anderson is not an elite athlete by any means. Even though he jumps quite high on his jump shot, he does not display the same type of leaping ability when attacking the basket. Part of the reason he does not go to the basket that often also stems from his lack of great athletic ability, particularly his explosiveness and lack of quickness in his first step.

Anderson also wasn’t ever in great shape as a college player, particularly after the health problems he encountered as a junior. Slimming down and getting his body in optimal shape will help him maximize his already underwhelming athletic ability. At 6-4 or 6-5, his size is certainly not ideal.

Anderson also does not really create well off the dribble, being quite a bit less effective when forced to put the ball on the floor. He is a very shaky ball handler at times and he would be a lot better prospect if he could create shots for himself off more than just one or two short dribbles leading into a pull-up jumper. He does not get to the basket that well because he does not create much separation off the dribble and he does not have a good arsenal of ball-handling moves to use. With his great jump shooting, if he had shown any ability to create off the dribble he would be a much higher draft pick. Because of his poor handle, at times it appears he doesn’t have the coordination or timing to finish difficult lay-ups. Much of this has to do with the fact that defenders can gain ground on him quite easily due to his lack of quickness, and his shaky handle and lack of an explosive vertical leap makes getting to the basket and finishing strong much tougher on him. It wouldn’t be an insult to call him a one-dimensional player.

It’s difficult to find 6th men type role players in the NCAA without amazing upside who found a way to get picked in the NBA draft. Andersen has always been a role player in college, which does not bode well for him at the next level where all the players almost are former college stars or superstars. The team he played for and the amount of NBA talent he always had alongside him has plenty to do with that, but that still leaves question marks about his true talent level. Anderson has played some of his best games against worst competition and he has had some of his biggest offensive outputs either when UCONN is blowing a team out, or when they are getting blowout.

In terms of passing, he is certainly more of a finisher than a creator. Once he gets the ball, it’s rare to see it come back. He will look to shoot first and foremost, and if anything he will more likely
shoot than pass. If a team wants a gunner, that will be accepted, however if they don’t, his shoot-first mentality might not be tolerated.

Defensively he is not very aggressive. He will usually shy away from contact and he is not very emphatic going after rebounds at all. Instead he will look to leak out and run the wings. His inability to get tough down low also effects is lack of rebounding ability. In terms of on-ball defense, he is adequate at times, however he turns his pressure on and off and is not very consistent and is far from being a defensive stopper. His lack of size and quickness hurt him in this area.

Competition
Played for possibly the best team in the country over the past few years in UConn.

Very consistent, never averaged more than 25 minutes per game in his four year career, but still managed to average between 11-13 points in each of his last three years in college. Excluding his junior year in which he suffered through a terrible skin disease, he always shot between 39-41% from behind the arc on a large amount of attempts. His contribution in other parts of the stat-sheet were always very minimal.

Outlook
If Anderson did not have a history of hitting clutch shots in
big time games, there would be little doubt he’d go drafted. However because of his proven willingness to come off the bench and change the game with his incredible shooting ability, he now has a chance to get drafted if a team feels they have a role for him and that he is value in the 2nd round. Regardless, he will get many looks in summer league and training camp and could even be better off going undrafted, as he’d be able to survey the league and decide where he’d have his best chance of sticking.

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament: Recap

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Apr 11, 2006, 01:47 am
After starting his first game 1-for-5, Anderson turned on the juice and absolutely shot lights out, making a number of very difficult shots look rudimentary. His ability to adjust his shot to tight defense was somewhat of a revelation. Anderson will be a lights out shooter wherever he goes, but if he wants to make himself a starting caliber player in the NBA, he'll have to get himself in much better shape. Anderson is not fat, but he is not toned either. He looks like he's gotten by on pure ability to this point. Maximizing his physical potential may give Anderson just a little extra quickness and lift, which could make all the difference for him. The clearest thing that Anderson showed during Portsmouth was his ability to shoot off the dribble. Everyone knows that Anderson is a lethal spot-shooter, but his ability to use the threat of the perimeter shot to set-up the midrange game without losing any accuracy was his greatest accomplishment.

NCAA Tournament: NBA Draft Stock Watch (Sweet Sixteen, Friday games)

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Mar 25, 2006, 03:35 am
Anderson came up in a huge way for UCONN down the stretch, using his shooting stroke, fearlessness and clutch abilities to miraculously keep his team in the game in impossible situations and come away with the win. He only had 3 points in the first half, but came back strong in the second half when his team made their big run to get back into the game. With his team down by 6, Anderson knocked down a pair of back to back threes, immediately energizing his team, and bringing them back into a game they hadn’t led since early in the first half. Down by 5 with 25 seconds left, Rashad hit another three, before capping off his incredible performance by hitting yet another beautiful off-balance three-pointer with 8 seconds left to send the game into overtime. Anderson’s 3 point shooting almost single-handedly put the Huskies in the Elite 8, in a game that won’t soon be forgotten.

Though he only possesses average athleticism, Rashad Anderson has constantly displayed awesome outside shooting this season, a skill always sought by NBA teams. It will also help him that most of his shots come in a very timely manner, as he shows no fear of pulling the trigger at any times as he has the utmost confidence in his abilities as a player. It is highly doubtful that Anderson moves himself into the first round of the draft, but some team drafting in the second round could be looking at landing themselves a fantastic shooter to add to their rotation.

NCAA Tournament: NBA Draft Stock Watch (round of 32, Sunday games)

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
Mar 20, 2006, 02:55 am
]Rashad Anderson was scintillating immediately as he came off the bench, hitting 2 quick 3-pointers, and 4 of his first 5 overall for 14 points in the first half. Unfortunately that was about all we saw out of him, as somewhat poor shot selection (missing his next five 3-pointers), if there is such a thing from such an excellent shooter, poor defense and mismatch issues trying to slow down Patrick Sparks left him on the bench for most of the 2nd half. We did get to see what an impact he can have off the bench, coming off screens and draining 3’s off the catch and shoot as well as his nifty footwork knocking down shots off the dribble.

NCAA Tournament: Washington Bracket NBA Draft Prospects

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Landry Fields
Landry Fields
Mar 12, 2006, 10:51 pm
"The Dagger" as he's called by UConn coach Jim Calhoun, Rashad Anderson is the Huskies' primary offensive weapon off the bench; a player that would start for almost any team in the country besides UConn. Anderson excels in this role, leading the country in points per game for a non-starter with 13 per game in just 24 minutes and scoring in double figures in all but 5 of Connecticut's 30 games this season.

Anderson is the perfect player to bring off the bench since he has great confidence in his ability as a player and is able to heat up quickly and change the game with his perimeter shot. His ability to space the floor with his deep range and lightning quick release means that defenses have to respect him, which opens up plenty of opportunities for UConn's numerous other offensive options. His clutch shooting has been a huge factor in many of his team's wins this year, and he is decent enough in the other parts of his game to not be a liability on the floor at the college level.

At 6-5 and with just average athleticism for an NCAA swingman, Anderson projects mostly as a hired gun for the NBA, something that historically is not always as appreciated as you might think as far as the NBA draft goes. Anderson will have the chance to continue to show NBA GMs and scouts what a great weapon he can potentially be for them off the bench with his play in the tournament. Helping his team make a deep run with his clutch play could very well stick in their minds as we get further into the 2nd round on draft night.

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