CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -Armed with his degree and touring the country pursuing his NBA dream, Antonio Anderson hasn’t stopped being Memphis’ best defender.
Only this time the top stopper on coach John Calipari’s dominant teams is one of the program’s top advocates as the NCAA ponders whether to strip 38 wins from the 2007-08 season because of major rules violations.
“It would be very tough, honestly,” Anderson said Friday on the prospect the season that ended with a loss in the national championship game could be wiped from the record books. “But at the same time we know what we did. We know those wins are ours. We deserved them.
“We worked very hard for them and in our minds we’re still going to have those 38 wins.”
that’s included the high of graduation day and the low of seeing his school come under fire for allegations that an unknown person took the SAT for a player.
The NCAA has said the player in question played for the Tigers for only the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA tournament. The only person who fits the description in documents obtained by The Associated Press is Derrick Rose, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft after that season.
There are also questions surrounding Robert Dozier, whose inconsistent SAT scores prevented him from being admitted to Georgia in 2004. Dozier graduated with Anderson last month.
“He took the test again and he qualified,” Anderson said of Dozier. “He worked hard and he never complained, like myself. He finished in four years. He was always in class and doing what he had to do. It paid off.”
Barring a decision that would strip those 38 wins, Anderson is part of the winningest four-year class in NCAA Division I history with a 137-14 record. Helping the Tigers rise into one of the nation’s top programs is a source of pride for Anderson, who hopes to take his defensive-minded game to the NBA.
Yet the 6-foot-6 shooting guard’s pro preparations have also included the distractions of the alleged rules violations and Calipari’s decision to leave Memphis to take the Kentucky coaching job.
`I was definitely surprised, but he had to do what he had to do for himself,” Anderson said. “He had an opportunity of a lifetime. It’s like us coming to the NBA, the Kentucky job. I wish Coach the best. He’s going to do a great job. He’s already got good recruits. He’s like a father to me.”
Anderson averaged 10.2 points a game last season. If he’s drafted next week, it’s not expected to be until the second round. But Bobcats coach Larry Brown thinks his defensive skills could earn him a spot in the NBA. Brown compared him to Bobcats guard Raja Bell and San Antonio veteran Bruce Bowen.
“He’s long, athletic and he’s really been well coached,” Brown said. “The things that John Calipari demands are things that we talk about all the time. I think he could be a lockdown defender and he’s a great kid. He’s going to get better.”
Anderson, who has already worked out for a half-dozen teams, will audition for Miami on Saturday and Chicago on Sunday.
After waiting to see if his name is called in Thursday’s draft, Anderson will await a ruling next month from the NCAA on his magical junior season.
“I know we did everything the right way. Coach always did things the correct way,” Anderson said. “Coach is a great guy and the rest of the guys are great – Derrick, Robert, everybody.”
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