Could Courtney Anderson follow the path of previous underrated Colorado guards?
Back in April, I was in Indianapolis at the UAA Next Circuit Live Period event. The Pacers facility is a multi-court facility, and UAA was playing 15s, 16s, and 17s all at the same time, under one roof. During the last game slot of the night on Saturday, I walked over to a court in the right corner. It was the only 17u game going on at the time, and there was no one sitting courtside. West Coast Elite Nor-Cal was playing in the game, and this was my first live viewing of Courtney Anderson.
I had heard some buzz on Anderson coming out of California, but at the time, he was unranked, and there was not much out about him other than local news clippings. Immediately after settling in to watch, the 6-foot-4 guard splashed a three. A couple of plays later, he had an explosive dunk in transition. I stayed to watch the four-star finish with a smooth 17 points in the win.
When I spoke with Anderson after he had already taken two junior year official visits to Nevada and Montana. So I earmarked his name and made sure that over the next week, I dove into his game. The following week, the UAA Next Circuit was in Kansas City. My schedule had me in South Carolina with the Adidas 3SSB Circuit, but a great piece with the UAA Next Circuit is they post box scores and streams of their games.
Naturally, I tapped in with Anderson, among others I was tracking on the circuit. That week, Anderson averaged 16.3 points and shot 50 percent from three.
Courtney Anderson
Courtney Anderson’s recruitment never really took off like it maybe should have. Overall he had less than ten reported offers, with three coming from Pac-12 schools. Ultimately, Anderson chose to join five-star Cody Williams, and four-star Assane Diop in Colorado’s top-30 ranked 2023 class.
This season at Dublin (CA) High, about 30 minutes west of Oakland and an hour and a half south of Sacramento, Anderson has consistently put up numbers. A scroll through his season totals, and you routinely see 20-plus point games. His senior film shows the same smooth-scoring ability with shooting range, pace, and great balance.
What has popped this season has been his secondary numbers. You consistently see games with two, three, and four steals or three, four, or five assists. The continued growth there has been apparent.
Anderson to Colorado
I was looking through the 2023 On3 Team Rankings, and I kept coming back to Colorado’s class. While they are ranked No. 30, this one could be a cornerstone-type class for the Buffaloes. The central piece is five-star Cody Williams. The Gilbert (AZ) Perry High small forward jumped to No. 10 in the recent 2023 On3 150 update.
Then you have four-star Assane Diop and Anderson. Diop is a 6-foot-10 center at Denver (CO) Accelerated Prep. He is an excellent passer with some touch that can extend in pick-and-pop situations. On3 is the only service that has Anderson ranked. He is No. 98 in the 2023 On3 150 because of his smooth nature with the ball and the upside he has as an off-guard.
Colorado currently has five players in the NBA; Spencer Dinwiddie, Derrick White, McKinley Wright, Alec Burks, and Jabari Walker. Four of them are guards, and none of the five were ranked among the top 100 players coming out of high school.
There is a pathway, and Anderson’s consistently elevated production over the past 12 months has been noteworthy.