BALLARAT has signed American college high-flyer Gerard Anderson for the 2012 South East Australian Basketball League season.
Anderson joins the Ballarat Holden Miners with a reputation for producing spectacular play.
The 198-centimetre forward received nationwide acclaim in the United States when he filled the top two places in the 2010 NCAA slam dunk contest.
Anderson, 24, will add NCAA and NBA D-league experience to the Miners’ roster.
Miners head coach Guy Molloy said Anderson was a sensational athlete.
He said Anderson’s athleticism would benefit Ballarat at each end of the floor.
“He is also a very strong penetrator which will give our offence an extra dimension. “Gerard will be very exciting to watch and will surely be a fan favourite,” Molloy said.
Anderson fills a vacancy left by Ivan Harris, who averaged 17 points a game last year – his only season as an import in Ballarat.
He is Ballarat Basketball Club’s second key signing for its elite men’s program.
Sydney Kings development player Kevin White, who also has NCAA experience, attended his first Miners training session last night.
Originally from Los Angeles, Anderson spent two senior college seasons with Cal State Fullerton in California in the American National Collegiate Athletic Association.
He was named in the NCAA’s All-Big West Conference first team in his second season, 2009-10.
He was in the conference’s top 10 in rebounding average, assists average and field goal percentage, averaging 12 points at 53 per cent and six rebounds.
Anderson spent the US 2010-2011 season in the NBA D-league.
He began with the Reno Bighorns after being picked up in the D-league draft and then moved to New Mexico Thunderbirds.
He finished the season with the Springfield Armor.
Anderson is expected to arrive in Ballarat next week.
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