Virginia found out during a portion of last season what life without Justin Anderson was like before his late return. It will spend next season adjusting to his departure.
The school announced Monday, and Anderson repeated Tuesday, that he was leaving the Cavaliers after his junior year and will enter the NBA draft.
“I think I’m ready to take that step,” Anderson said at a press conference in John Paul Jones Arena.
He opened the press conference by thanking multiple people, listing basketball coaches and operational staff by name. Anderson stressed the importance of finishing school. He plans to work out at Virginia during the summer and continue taking classes at that time. That’s one layer to leaving early. But, a decision like this is crucial because of its two-fold influence on futures.
The 6-foot-6 small forward from Montross, Virginia, is a curiosity to scouts at the next level. His improvement in 3-point shooting from 30.3 percent his freshman season to 45.2 percent last season helps him be noticed. Anderson also has excellent athletic ability and an NBA build at 227 pounds. Draft website DraftExpress.com projects Anderson as the first pick of the second round. ESPN projects Anderson could be selected in the high teens or early 20s.
Anderson said he was comfortable with the information he received about his possible draft position. His pre-draft workouts will be crucial. If Anderson is picked in the first round, his contract is guaranteed. Nothing is guaranteed if he is selected in the second round.
“It was definitely a tough decision,” Anderson said. “I think this was one of the biggest decisions of my life behind choosing a college.”
After Anderson broke the little finger of his shooting hand Feb. 7 and needed surgery, Virginia was not the same. It survived for a while without Anderson, who finished as the Cavaliers’ second-leading scorer because of the limited minutes in his return, but was not able to handle high-end teams without Anderson at full strength. Virginia lost three times in its final five games after only losing once in the first 29 games.
He played well in the NCAA tournament opener for the Cavaliers, scoring 15 points, though, he was just 2-for-7 in Virginia’s loss to Michigan State.
“We’re going to have a great team regardless,” Anderson said of his departure.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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