Skyline basketball: Scott Anderson profile

In early July, I interviewed Skyline (Utah) basketball player Scott Anderson and we talked about the Eagles' great season. Here is the article that will appear in the team's 2011-12 basketball yearbook.

Scott Anderson: 

His ability to develop as a role player

helped Skyline to a memorable season

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

             Scott Anderson felt early on that the 2011-12 Skyline boys basketball season could be something special.

            He had a decent game in the opener, a 46-44 victory at Syracuse. But the locker room afterward felt like nothing he had experienced at Skyline.
            “It was buzzing,” he said. “We hadn’t had our offense going very long. We weren’t expecting a victory and we pulled out a tough win.”
            The Eagles had a senior-dominated lineup, but it was junior Garrett England’s three-pointer at the buzzer that won it. Smiles were on every player’s faces as they raced off the court. Not only was it a victory, but Skyline’s first chance to see the roles each player would eventually inherit.
           “That shot was one of my favorite moments,” Anderson said. “I loved all (three) of Garrett’s buzzer-beaters. The kid never missed. Garrett was our man to hit big shots and the Syracuse game actually put him into that position.
            “We didn’t run a specific play,” he added. “Coach (Derek  Bunting) just let us go and it got into Garrett’s hands and he hit it.”
            Skyline’s dramatic resurgence actually started the previous May when Skyline announced that Bunting would replace Bernie Graziano. Shortly afterward, leading scorer Jaden Jackson revealed his family was moving to West Jordan. So, not only did the team have to learn Bunting’s “Princeton” offense and defense system, but the Eagles would have to do it without their most influential player.
            “We started practices in June,” Anderson recalled. “We didn’t do too many tournaments. June was mostly practices every day. There was a lot to learn.
            “We only got the basics with our group. The first few tournaments were tough and hard. We were all messing up.”
            The Syracuse victory showed the team how much progress it had made. The Eagles relied on England’s heroics several times. They won their first four and ended up 16-7. They also came within one win of the Region 7 championship.
                “I don’t think Bunting thought we were going to win as many as games as we did,” Anderson said. “We knew we would be good. We knew we had great potential. We just had to work hard, and the way Bunting coaches, with the defensive aspect of it, we managed to win a lot of close games.”
            Anderson was one of five Skyline seniors that Bunting depended on to carry the load. He averaged 4.9 points per game and was second to England in three-pointers. He had a high game of 13 points against Canyon View in the Steve Hodson Cancer Classic in Cedar City.
            Anderson figured he would play a big role after being one of the top scorers on Skyline’s junior varsity team the year before. He had a 30-point effort against Granger and 28 vs. West. As a senior, however, points were more at a premium.
            Anderson was an early season starter, but sprained his ankle against Cedar and missed the next couple of games. When he returned two weeks later, he mostly came off the bench but his minutes stayed about the same in Bunting’s seven-player rotation.
            “My role was to be a shooter,” he said.
            Skyline’s first-round state tournament game felt a lot like the opener. After the Eagles lost their last two games of the regular season to drop from first place to a No. 3 seed at state, they were considered underdogs against Sky View and Anderson was one of several players who came through.
            “My best game was the Sky View game,” he said. “I played solid all-around.”
            Anderson made 2-3 three-pointers and had an important fast break layup in the fourth quarter. Finally, in the final minute, he made two free throws that essentially clinched the win.
            “The Sky View game was something I’ll always remember. I didn’t feel any pressure when I made the free throws,” he said. “I had practiced that so much; I felt comfortable. I knew I was going to make them. I know it’s tough shooting in the Maverik Center. That’s one reason why I felt so good about how I played there. Most people struggle.”
            Playing basketball, and how the season finished, was the highlight of Anderson’s sports career. However, he was also one of the top players on the Eagles’ golf team. At state, he had the team’s second-best score – 80-80-160 – at the Hobble Creek Golf Course that helped the team to a fifth-place finish.
            After graduation, Anderson planned to attend the University of Utah and major in Exercise and Sports Science. An LDS Church mission is also in his plans.