If there is a condition contrary to the dreaded “senioritis” some players experience, Brigham Young’s Ambrosia Anderson must have it.
At this point, it’s reasonable to suggest the former Colorado Springs Doherty High School star is about twice the player she was last season. A year ago, Anderson averaged 10.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. Going into Wednesday night’s showdown against No. 16 New Mexico, she was leading the Mountain West Conference in scoring (19.4) and was tied second in rebounding (7.9).
An honorable mention type of player last season, the 6-foot-1 forward has developed into the best player in the MWC.
“She’s the best player in the West, period,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. “She does it against everybody. And the bigger the game, the better she plays. I haven’t seen anybody as versatile as she is. I haven’t seen anybody as good as she is, even some of the (big-name) girls I’ve seen back east.
“She’s so good, she makes me look good.”
Judkins said Anderson’s improvement has come from a combination of knowledge, confidence and assertiveness.
“I think she just suddenly realized what she’s capable of,” Judkins said. “She’s always had the talent. There were a lot of times you’d get glimpses of her brilliance, but it was kind of like (Texas football) coach Mack Brown’s comment about Vince Young just going out there and doing it. You watch her play, and you can tell she just understands things a lot better now.
“She’s playing like I thought she would when I recruited her. We’re talking about a kid who had 210 schools after her.”
The coach said the Cougars would not be the No. 19 team in the country without her.
“She’s the most complete player I’ve ever coached,” Judkins said, adding Anderson was a “good shooter, good rebounder and just a great passer. She just does so many things, and when she gets all those things going, she’s pretty tough to guard.”
Footnotes
No team has gone 16-0 in the 10 seasons of Big 12 women’s basketball, but don’t think Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale isn’t thinking about it as her Sooners (8-0) head into the second half of the league schedule. “I’d be lying to you if I said we’ve never thought about that,” Coale said. “But this league is too talented, too diverse and has too many home-court advantages to think that if the stars don’t align just right, you could go do that.” … Thursday night’s MWC women’s games featuring New Mexico at BYU and TCU at UNLV were a preview of what’s to come next season with the deal between CSTV and the MWC. Starting in the fall, almost all MWC football and men’s basketball games will be available online in addition to some network regional and national telecasts. … Because of a scheduling conflict, Northern Colorado’s game against Utah Valley State on Feb. 11 has been moved from Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion to Eaton High School, a few miles north of Greeley.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
