By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Columbia Hickman girls basketball coach Tanya Mirts knew Yvonne Anderson was a special basketball player before the 2005-06 Alabama Player of the Year even arrived in Columbia a little over a year ago. She knew of the publicity that followed the daughter of Missouri men's basketball coach Mike Anderson. She knew Anderson was good.
But seeing is truly believing.
"The first day she kind of froze out there," Mirts said of Anderson's early performances at Hickman's summer camp prior to last season. "I remember thinking, `okay, she's good.' Then by the third day, she was doing things I had never seen a high school basketball player do before. It was incredible. She is an unbelievable basketball player."
Mirts described Anderson as being a strong and explosive basketball player. The Kewpie coach said that when Anderson gets banged and bumped she can still square to the basket, elevate and finish the play. That's a quality very few girls high school basketball players possess.
"She also has this sixth sense," Mirts said. "She knows her teammates well. She knows where and when each player wants the ball and she gets it there. She's just a dynamic basketball player."
Anderson came by her talent honestly. Being a coach's daughter, Anderson was able to learn the game at a young age. She lived the game. Her father taught her to be aggressive. He taught her to attack. His imprint is all over her game.
Yet he doesn't interfere in her games. He stays away from coaching from the stands. He is just another parent attending the game and supporting his daughter and the team.
"They have been very supportive," Mirts said of Mike and Marcheita Anderson. "They have been welcomed into the Hickman family."
Anderson's total package is a cause for concern for any opposing player. At least it should be. Defending Anderson is a task no Hickman foe should take lightly.
"I'd be concerned," Mirts said when pondering what it would be like if she herself had to defend Anderson. "I wouldn't want her to beat me. I'd do what I could to deny her the ball."
The talented guard's arrival from the Yellowhammer State elevated the Kewpies fortunes last season. Hickman went from being a good basketball team to being a state title contender almost overnight.
Hickman came oh so close to winning Missouri's Class 5 State Championship last season. In fact, the Kewpies were leading eventual Class 5 state champion Liberty by 23 points at one point during the third period of a state semifinal game before falling 50-49. Hickman went on to knock off Normandy 69-41 in the consolation game. Liberty, meanwhile, defeated Hazelwood East 56-46 for the state title. Anderson was devastated.
"I take a lot of responsibility for that loss," Anderson said. "I had nine turnovers in the game. That's unacceptable. Take care of the ball, that's what is most important."
Mirts added, "If I could explain it (the Liberty loss), it wouldn't have happened. If Yvonne could explain it, it wouldn't have happened. They just started hitting threes and it steam rolled from there."
For Anderson, the realization that a game is not over until the final horn sounds was the biggest lesson she took away from that experience.
The University of Texas recruit hopes she can make up for last season's loss by leading the Kewpies to a state championship this season. If Hickman is to equal or better last season's performance, the Kewpies will have to succeed without graduated starters Lauren Nolke and Shana White in the lineup. Making up for the loss of nearly 18 points a game means additional offensive responsibilities for Anderson.
"I liked to attack and score," Anderson said of her role on last year's edition of Kewpie girls basketball. "In the past much of my offense has come from my defense, or I created a shot. I was hesitant to shoot last year. Now I have to be a shooter too. I know that's the best chance our team has to win."
If Hickman is to repeat last year's successes, Mirts said the Kewpies would have to stay healthy. With Anderson healing from a bone bruise on her foot and the addition of some newcomers, Hickman figures to be dangerous by the end of the season, if not sooner. The Kewpies expect to be very competitive.
"Any time you have a kid like Yvonne, you are in it (state championship contention)," Mirts said. "When she needs to score 42 points, she will. When she needs to score 10 points, she will."
In her first season playing under Mirts, Anderson broke a Hickman school record by scoring 663 points in a season. She averaged 21.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.6 steals per outing. Anderson produced 136 assists, compared to just 79 turnovers in 31 games.
She also played a tenacious, smothering defense that led to much of her offensive production. If an opposing player with the ball takes her eye off of Anderson just briefly, the 5-foot-7 guard will be off to the races.
Anderson is equally as dangerous with the ball.
"I've been known to be quicker with the ball than I am without it," Anderson said. "Sometimes when you're tired, you feel like you can't go anymore. But when you get the ball, it's extra motivation. When you have the ball you know you have to go."
Once her senior season comes to an end, Anderson will move on to the University of Texas where she will play for former Duke coach Gail Goestenkors. The first-year Longhorn coach compiled a 396-99 record in 15 seasons at Duke. She has coached 10 players that made their way into the WNBA and numerous All-Americans and All-Conference players.
"She is a very honest person," Anderson said of Goestenkors. "I respect that a lot. She was a great coach at Duke and I believe she'll carry that on here. I want to be part of that success. She will make me a better player and I believe she'll prepare me to play well against whoever I play against."
