How Juwan Howard found his future point guard from Atlanta
Let's begin with the fact that committing early as a highly regarded basketball prospect is unprecedented. The process is stretched out, players take their time in deciding where they'll play at the next level, allowing it to nurture over time before signing.
It's sort of like purchasing a new car. Extensive research and information is soaked in before the key gets turned in the ignition. Making sure the test drive runs smoothly, properly inspecting any prior accidents or hidden dings, checking for the best interest rates to fit a budget, and so forth.
But sometimes, when arriving to the dealership, the eyes can glance at a vehicle with such glee that no other option is good enough. The tools and gadgets equipped in that car are so overwhelmingly worthwhile that the alternative of looking elsewhere is absurd.
For Christian Anderson Jr., the decision to commit to Michigan as a sophomore was simple: He saw a school that believed in him and his potential when no one else did. The 2024 point guard out of Atlanta (Ga.) Lovett School wanted to join a program that not only appreciated his skills on the court but also valued his leadership and heart.
There's not much more that a high school teen with aspirations of playing professionally could want. A home away from home. A place where he can feel a sense of belonging. A team that recognizes trust early on.
"Michigan has everything a player could hope for," Anderson Jr. told The Maize and Blue Review. "The staff there is just incredible. They have an incredible resume and have accomplished many things throughout their coaching careers."
A Young Natural
Christian Anderson Sr. was overseas in France when he struck the need to say hello to his family across the water.
When talking to his significant other, he noticed in the background his young son dribbling a mini basketball and swishing it on an inflatable hoop fit for a toddler. Anderson Sr. had to stop the conversation and take notice to the one-year-old hitting consecutive shots.
"I asked my wife ‘yo, are you seeing this?'" Anderson Sr. said in an interview with The Maize and Blue Review. "This is what got me, he was chasing that ball back-and-forth, it was crazy. He kept shooting it well and the way he was rebounding that ball, it wasn’t just a little kid playing with a basketball. It was like he was possessed by it."
That's when Anderson Sr. had the inkling to trash everything made in plastic and upgrade his son to a full size NBA ball that sat on the house's balcony. Keep in mind that Anderson Jr. was still learning to walk at that age and couldn't speak a full sentence. But Anderson Sr. knew to have faith in his instinct at the sight before him through the computer.
"He would never touch a kid-sized basketball again," Anderson Sr. said. "He would never practice again with anything outside a men’s basketball."
Like most adolescents who grew up with the sport, Anderson Jr. has distinct memories of him horsing around in the backyard shooting hoops with his father, who not only gets credit for introducing him to the game but also giving him life worth meaning because of it.
"My dad has taught me everything that I know," Anderson Jr. "My mom and him have guided me and been instrumental in everything regarding basketball, life, and how to be a man."
Room to Grow the Gift
Anderson Sr. can attest to this story because he has it all on tape.
His son would convert his first field goal on a men's basketball hoop with a men's basketball at four years old. His first made three-pointer from an NBA regulated line came at six years old. He would also shoot his first 100 set from beyond the arc a year later, draining every attempt but No. 14 and No. 98.
Think about that. For a kid to do everything said is impressive enough but for him to accomplish this before he reached the third grade is even more imposing. So maybe it isn't that surprising that Michigan would extend an offer to someone who's completed just one year of high school from an institution down south.
Maybe Juwan Howard and his staff saw something in Anderson Jr. that other programs didn't quite catch on until it was too late. Would the possible limitations of him standing 5-foot-8 and weighing 140 pounds bode questions about stunted growth?
"Christian has always been trained to play at an NBA level," Anderson Sr. said. "That’s why his I.Q. is crazy, why his skill set is crazy, and why he’s doing all of this at 5-foot-8. The reverse factor in people not trusting that size thing, it’s because they’re doing it backwards. They’re saying their doubts because of his size. It’s almost ridiculous."
Take Anderson Jr.'s physical nature aside for one second and see the kinds of production he's already taken hold as the ringleader for the Lions, who last year fell in the semifinals of the Georgia High School Association's 2A state playoffs. Through nine games this season, Anderson is averaging 32 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.3 steals.
Quite a feat for someone who's yet to experience a height spurt with keeping in mind that his father stands at 6-foot-6.
"I describe myself as a hybrid point guard where I can both shoot and distribute the basketball," Anderson Jr. said. "I can put points up on the board, play off the dribble, catch and shoot, and also help my teammates make the right plays and teaching them where to be on the floor."
Trust In Juwan
When a person can find value in Bitcoin at $1 the same way it currently resides at over $51,000, that's the kind of personality Anderson Sr. wants to work with in recruiting his son.
"The question really is, why would you commit to a school when there’s going to be way more coming because you have two more years left of high school left?" Anderson Sr. said.. "It’s hard for Christian to answer that correctly because he’s a humble kid and a standout in his own right. What we know is, when he got the offer from Michigan when he was 5-foot-6, no one believed that he should get something like this."
Anderson Sr. is convinced that Howard wasn't scouting for a point guard in the 2024 class when he stumbled upon his game in person. Timing can't be made when meeting new friends or a future girlfriend. It just happens. So when Howard saw a player who can drain threes from mid-court and control the pace with quickness and precise ball handling, the connection was made immediately.
"Christian's a baby but he has the heart of a lion and has defined all odds," Anderson Sr. said. "It’s an easy calculation but (Juwan) Howard is the only one that made that calculation off of one half. I’m like, ‘that’s our guy.’ If that guy is at Michigan, or North Carolina, or Timbuktu, we’re going to go with the guy who understands before everyone else understands."
When Howard made his selling point to the Anderson family, the number one factor was who the son was going to represent in college. It didn't matter about state-of-the-art facilities or a modern sized locker room, what Anderson Sr. cared about was who was going to complete his son as a plug-and-play athlete.
It meant a lot for the family to watch Howard turn down NBA coaching offers and return to his alma mater and put his reputation on the line in search of a national championship he rightfully promised.
And if that required adding Anderson Jr. to the fold in the next three years to continue his workhorse mentality at the point guard position, then nothing was going to stop him from pledging early.
"They trust me and how they always check up on me," Anderson Jr. said. "They came out and watched my games when no one believed in me. They have the type of program and the type of personalities that I would love to play for."
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