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I can't believe it's been 25 years, seems like yesterday. I was a die-hard Kenny Anderson fan and wanted him to got Georgetown so bad but for whatever reason Big John didn't go after him that hard. I had no idea that Carolina's recruitment of him affected Hurley's decision to go to Duke...
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/28/sports/the-recruiting-of-kenny-anderson-star-stands-firm-with-his-decision.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
COLLECTIONS>KENNY ANDERSON
The Recruiting Of Kenny Anderson; Star Stands Firm With His Decision
By WILLIAM C. RHODEN
Published: November 28, 1988
AROUND 2 P.M. on Nov. 9, Kenny Anderson ended one of the most rigorous recruiting processes in recent New York City basketball history. The 6-foot-2-inch guard from Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens announced that he would accept a basketball scholarship to Georgia Tech next fall.
Anderson's announcement effectively ended a two-year courtship by about 50 major Division I colleges, though he said that at no time during the last two years did he seriously consider more than five schools: Syracuse, North Carolina, Georgetown, Duke and Georgia Tech.
Despite the manageable number, Anderson admitted that the pressure to choose one school became so intense that he found himself wishing he could cut himself up and hand himself out, like an assist.
''But I couldn't cut my body into three,'' he said. ''I couldn't give Syracuse my left arm, North Carolina my right arm and Georgia Tech my body.''
But if the recruiting of Anderson illustrates the intensity with which major programs pursue an impact player, Anderson's approach to being recruited reflects an equally enlightened understanding of the process as a business proposition.
In fact, the 18-year-old senior said that he understood the reality of big-time basketball as well as his family's economic limitations.
''I took my high school career as a job,'' said Anderson, who began his senior season with a 36-point performance Saturday night. ''I knew I had to be here everyday practicing. I couldn't miss a practice because I'm saving my mother money.
''I knew damn well that if I didn't get a scholarship I wasn't going to college. My mother doesn't have that much money, unless somebody wanted to contribute.''
Not surprisingly, by the time Anderson made his decision, he had grown from being a wide-eyed 14-year-old who was simply happy to make the varsity, to a young man who could say no to Dean Smith and John Thompson and walk away from the 33,000-seat Carrier Dome without so much as blinking an eye.
''Back in the ninth and 10th grade, when I was a little immature, I was like 'I want to go to a winning program where there's a lot of players so we can win the N.C.A.A. championship,' '' Anderson said. ''I really wasn't thinking about the whole package.
''Then I started watching some basketball games and saw where a guy might come from a little school in Little Rock, Ark. I thought 'Wow, where'd this guy come from?' But it made me realize that it's not where you come from, it's how hard you work. So I sat down with my mom and told her I felt that I was good enough to really go anywhere and do well.
''I stopped thinking mainly about going to a good basketball program. I said I was going to go somewhere where I'm comfortable with the people around me and the atmosphere.''
Anderson is the second outstanding guard to come out of Molloy in five seasons. Kenny Smith graduated in 1983 and became a star at North Carolina. Smith is presently in his second season with the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association.
Smith's older brother, Vince, is Anderson's adviser and has coached him since the fifth grade. Vince and Kenny Smith are like older brothers to Anderson, and the Smiths are his extended family. Consequently, for two seasons the assumption was that Anderson would attend North Carolina.
Dean Smith, the North Carolina coach, was so confident about getting Anderson that he refused to guarantee Bobby Hurley, a talented guard from Jersey City, that the Tar Heels would not recruit Anderson if Hurley signed early with North Carolina. Hurley signed with Duke instead. ''People just knew I was going to North Carolina, but I ignored it and weighed things in my own mind,'' Anderson said. ''I'm not going to have another important decision like this in my life, unless I get married. I wanted to make the final decision and if I was wrong, let me live with it.''
Syracuse also was considered a good bet to land Anderson. Not only did the Orangemen carry the attraction of the Big East and the Carrier Dome, but their point guard, Sherman Douglas, is a senior.
But Anderson said that his formula for happiness didn't necessarily include following in anyone else's footsteps or being another cog in a high-powered program.
''Everybody likes to be in the spotlight,'' he said. ''I don't want to be another number. I want to be known for Kenny Anderson, not Joe Blow, John Doe and Kenny Anderson. At a school like Tech, I see myself as helping to bring a program back.''
Last week, Anderson discussed his reasons for deciding on Georgia Tech. Why Not Duke?
The Blue Devils, perhaps sensing they were fourth behind Syracuse, North Carolina and Georgetown, left the chase and signed Hurley.
''I couldn't blame them,'' Anderson said. ''I think they were very insecure, that he wasn't going to get me, so he went on and did what they had to do. In my mind, I really wasn't great on Duke; that wasn't my top choice.'' Why Not Georgetown?
Anderson said that from the eighth grade until his sophomore year at Molloy, his goal was to attend Georgetown. ''That was my dream school,'' he said. ''Patrick Ewing, Reggie Williams, David Wingate. I just felt that I could fit into that trapping defense, aggressive play, getting the easy basket, great transition and a great coach and motivator in John Thompson.''
In his junior year, however, Anderson was heralded as one of the nation's best guards and realized that Georgetown might not be so ideal.
''That shuffling in and out, in and out - you make a good play one minute then you're out,'' he said. ''I like to be in the game. I need to have a coach around me that has confidence in me and who's going to let me run the team.''
According to Jack Curran, the Molloy coach, Anderson was also disappointed that the Hoya staff didn't show greater interest.
''Georgetown was his main interest six months ago,'' Curran said. ''But then the Olympics got in the way of his recruiting and Kenny really wanted to be recruited. At least John had to make some overture to him and he didn't. His assistant called several times, but that's not the same.'' Why Not North Carolina?
For all of Anderson's connections with North Carolina, it was his mother's connections with the state that did in the Tar Heels. Joan Anderson's family is from Laurel Hill, N.C., and her childhood recollections of summertime visits there left scars that never healed.
''I didn't like North Carolina, period,'' she said. ''Maybe I'm prejudiced because I used to go down there as a kid; my mother used to send us to the south in the summertime. I remember having to drink out of the ''For Colored Only'' water fountains. Maybe that never got out of me.'' Dean Smith visited Anderson at Molloy in September, and during the course of their visit Anderson asked Smith if he would be able to suggest certain strategies.
Vince Smith said that Anderson later told him of that conversation and that it went like this: ''Coach Smith said 'Kenny we don't mind our players saying things on the floor, but also you have to have some confidence in us; we've been coaching for 30 years.' Then he said 'If the next day you didn't think things worked out you can come by the office and we'll point things out.' ''
While the dialouge didn't make Anderson's decision, it helped form it.
Anderson refused to comment on his visit with Smith and ended that part of the conversation by noting: ''People might say I was a little stupid for not taking the North Carolina visit, but I made my decision. If I'm wrong, people will find out in years to come.'' Why Not Syracuse?
This was supposed to be a natural marriage. Anderson excels at the running game and the Orangemen love to run. Then there's the Carrier Dome and all of that Big East exposure.
''Everybody dreams of playing in front of 33,000 people,'' Anderson said. ''I guess if you score 40 points, you're automatically in the pros. That's very tempting, but you have to look beyond that. You have to think about your afterlife.'' Why Georgia Tech?
''The whole situation was nice,'' Anderson said. ''I felt very comfortable. The program was never in any trouble, but one of the important reasons I picked Georgia Tech is that I felt good around Bobby Cremins.''
Cremins is in his seventh season as the school's head coach. ''You're making a big move to college from high school so you really have to be comfortable with the coach you're going to play with for four years,'' Anderson said.
He added that Cremins assured him that he would have the freedom to run the team. ''He said 'You're going to have the ball; you're going to run the team,' '' Anderson said. ''It wasn't all recruiting talk. He was true blue. I just knew his word was gold and Coach Curran knew his word was gold.''
Anderson said that he also liked the way that Georgia Tech continued to recruit him when he returned from the Syracuse visit and even when he returned from Atlanta.
''They were the only school really pushing it,'' he said. ''They were really on their P's and Q's. I got letters every day, left and right. Last week there were at least 20 letters just from Tech. From everybody. The whole Georgia Tech was sending letters, the assistant coach, the president, vice president, everybody. That showed me some kind of character.''
In any event, the ordeal is over. Anderson has landed.
Despite all the hassles, Anderson said he had no regrets. ''I miss all the attention I was getting that week,'' he said. ''It feels good when you're in the spotlight. Now all of a sudden it's gone. But I'm happy I made the decision. Now I can concentrate on school and my senior season without people nagging me about where I'm going.
''I'm happy I'm going to Tech. I have no remorse. I want to prove to people that I can be an impact player. That's what I want to do; that's my goal. That's what I'm centered on.''
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"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
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