In any bad situation, there are usually a couple of bright spots. In the case of the Brooklyn Nets, with all that has gone wrong this season, the silver lining has been the opportunities for anyone and everyone to help right the ship.
And perhaps no Net appreciates those opportunities more than journeyman Alan Anderson. During an interview with The Brooklyn Paper earlier this season, Anderson said his goal is to just help out the team whenever he is needed.
“Whether it’s scoring, rebounding, guarding, hustle plays, whatever it is,” Anderson said. “That’s what I’m here for.”
Anderson was not expected to be a major part of the revamped Nets roster, but during the final two weeks of November he averaged more than 27 minutes a night, contributing tough defense and outside shooting. Now that small forward Paul Pierce has become the latest in a string of Net injuries (out two-to-four weeks with a broken bone in his right hand) Anderson’s role will increase.
You might remember Anderson, 31, from his days at Michigan State, where he led the Spartans to the 2005 Final Four. Deron Williams’ Illinois team was also there, eventually losing to North Carolina in the championship.
But while D-Will was soon basking in the bright lights of draft day, Anderson began a long, hard slog through basketball’s backwoods.
It started out in Charlotte, where he had two stints as a backup with the upstart Bobcats, and some time spent with the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA’s developmental league.
Then he went overseas: a year with a team in Bologna, Italy, stints in Lyubertsy, Russia and Zagreb, Croatia, another year with a team in Tel Aviv. In 2010, he came back to the States to play for the D-League’s New Mexico Thunderbirds — but by mid-season he was back in Europe, this time with Regal Barcelona, where he was crowned MVP of the 2010–11 Spanish Cup.
In March 2012, he got a 10-day call-up from the Toronto Raptors, and stuck with the team for the remainder of the season and all of the following year, which included a career-high 35 points in a game against the Knicks.
“That was one of those nights where the basket seems real big, like the ocean, to me,” Anderson said. “Hopefully I can get one of those games here this year, but it’s more about winning.”
This summer the Nets inked him to a two-year deal. So far, it is one of the team’s few acquisitions that seems to be panning out.
And Anderson appreciates the opportunity that comes after years of grinding.
“It’s a blessing, man, because I know where I came from, I know how hard I worked and I know I put in the time,” Anderson said. “It’s definitely showing, but I still got more to do. I’m still willing to work.”
Matt Spolar is a nearly 6-foot-1 journalist with a middling high school basketball career who is sure the Nets win thanks to team’s top-tier guards.
