At any one moment, Jay Anderson appears to be doing three things at once.
He’s grabbing a rebound, shooting a jumper and running the fastbreak. His feet never stop moving. His head swivels back and forth, always alert.
Call him the Energizer Bunny of the Eugene Chargers.
Anderson joined the Chargers in mid-April, coming off a 44-game season with a team in Rosenheim, Germany. He joined the expansion IBL franchise four games into its inaugural season and has helped Eugene go 7-1 since his start to improve to 8-4 overall.
Two years have passed since Anderson donned an Oregon uniform. When he did, he didn’t receive the minutes he desired, nor did it go the way he had planned. Not that he regrets it – he doesn’t. He returned to Eugene eager to prove this isn’t the same Jay Anderson fans knew back then. That Jay Anderson averaged 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds his senior year in 16.7 minutes per game.
“I’m a totally different player right now than I was in college,” he said.
Anderson looks the same. He still carries his trademark floppy, blond hairdo on his slender 6-foot-9 frame. Having kept in close contact with Oregon teammates, he seamlessly rejoined Oregon men’s basketball practices this spring.
Yet, he’s different.
Two years overseas benefited his basketball skills, but also showed him a new lifestyle, food and culture. The idea to play overseas never occurred to him in college, but came after graduation. Anderson learned of an agent through Seattle Sonics guard and close friend Luke Ridnour, who was in the same Oregon recruiting class as Anderson.
Once he arrived in Europe, Anderson played in facilities comparable to a high school gym. From thousands of fans in college, Anderson played before hundreds.
“Basketball is really secondary or even further down the line than soccer, hockey, maybe even handball,” he said.
A majority of games took place in southern Germany, but he visited Rome, Paris and London, among other places.
Oregon teammates and close friends kept in contact with him online. Anderson, meanwhile, kept tabs on Oregon basketball from afar. Anderson and redshirt sophomore Mitch Platt kept in contact through regular e-mails. Professional basketball allowed Anderson to translate his love for the sport into a paid profession.
“He said right away he was having fun,” Platt said. “Without school, all he had was working out and getting better and getting in shape. He was in the best shape and playing the best basketball he’s ever played.”
In between his two seasons in Rosenheim, Anderson returned to Eugene.
He saw the Oregon men’s basketball team’s potential firsthand last summer when he worked out with the team. Anderson left for Europe again in the fall, before returning to Eugene in the spring.
“I saw firsthand what they are capable of,” Anderson said. “Their skill level is unbelievable.”
When the Ducks struggled, he tried to pinpoint what went wrong.
“A lot of it was their chemistry,” Anderson said. “They just didn’t have that one thing that put them over the edge.”
Upon Anderson’s return this time around, he stayed the first week on Platt’s couch. He has since moved into an apartment in Duck’s Village with three Chargers teammates.
Anderson connected with Chargers coach Kenya Wilkins, also a former Oregon player, who shares the Faribault, Minn., native’s passion for the game.
“He’s really laid back, but at the same time, he has a quiet confidence about him that rubs off on the rest of the team,” Anderson said.
Platt described Anderson as “one of the most passionate guys I’ve ever seen about the game. He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen.”
Through eight games with Eugene, Anderson has had an impact, averaging 10.6 points.
Anderson reached double figures in four of the last five games after scoring single digits his first three games.
Playing alongside Bonell Colas, a former Florida center, and dynamic point guard Larry Morina, the talent level surprised Anderson initially.
“We have a lot of guys who can play,” he said.
Eugene moved into third place in the International Basketball League West Division Standings with its 165-130 win Tuesday night against the Central Oregon Hotshots at the Morse Event Center.
Anderson, while scoring 13 points, used his defensive prowess to limit Steve Moss-Kelly to four second-half points following his 23-point first half, according to a local newspaper.
With his schedule full, consisting of Chargers games and practices as well as Oregon practices and workouts, Anderson has found satisfaction with his new routine.
“To be able to spend time with these guys, workout … be around friends, it’s a perfect situation for me,” Anderson said.
He’s fielding offers from teams in Germany and other countries for next fall, reportedly including Italy and Belgium.
“Now, he’s having fun playing,” Platt said. “He’s gotten better and you can see it every day.”