Coach: 'Would Have Never Guessed' That Damezi Anderson Would Struggle to Score

Indiana sophomore Damezi Anderson missed 18 straight shots to end his season, and he rarely played significant minutes the last half of the season, something of a shock from a prolific high school scorer.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Eric Brand knows a little bit about scoring the basketball. He coached Indiana sophomore Damezi Anderson at South Bend Riley in 2018 when Anderson became the city's all-time leading scorer. Brand also scored 2,600-plus points in college himself as a player at Bethel College.

So no one was more stunned that Anderson didn't make a single basket during the last three months of Indiana's season. The 6-foot-7 forward missed his last 18 shots from Dec. 10 on, over a span of 82 minutes of playing time.

"If I would have ever made a bet on something like that, I would have lost some money for sure,'' Brand said Wednesday. "I would have never guessed that Damezi would ever have a problem scoring the ball, especially to that extreme. He is as pure and as natural as I've ever seen as a scorer.''

For all the crazy things that have happened to Indiana's basketball team this season, trying to figure out what's gone wrong with Anderson ranks right up there. And since Anderson hasn't been available to the media for months, we had to search outside for some perspective on what's gone wrong.

Enter Brand, who has 10 years of college coaching experience himself and spent a year with Anderson at Riley, when they went 25-1 and lost to Carmel in the Class 4A semisweet final for their only loss. He's the head coach at Southport High School now, and a Bloomington South grad who grew up as a huge Indiana fan.

He and Anderson still talk often, and he's also close to the Indiana coaching staff, especially assistant Mike Roberts, because the two spent a lot of time together while coaching in Texas.

"I still talk to Damezi a lot. He'll always be my guy,'' Brand said. "But I've been around the college game enough to not step on his coaches' toes there. When we talk, it's more about 'how are you doing?' and 'how are your classes going?' and things like that. We don't break down basketball. I just want to be there for him, help him any way I can. He's a great kid.''

Brand hears it from both sides to know with certainty that Anderson's work ethic isn't in question. He also made it very clear that Anderson still wants to prove his worth. 

"He's too talented for it not to click,'' Brand said. "He's still 100 percent committed to Indiana. Sometimes it takes kids longer to adjust to college, but I thought it would be on the defensive end for him, not on offense. He's working hard, but his confidence really got shaken.'' 

Let's take a look at Anderson's season:

By the numbers

• Games played: 18
• Games started: 0
• Minutes per game: 12.3
• Points per game: 2.8
• Assists per game: 0.7
• Rebounds per game: 2.2
• Field goal percentage: 31.5
• 3-point percentage: 21.9
• Free throw percentage: 90.0

Best game

Indiana 100, Troy 62 on Nov. 16, 2019: Talk about instant offense. Anderson really showed a lot in an early-season nonconference game, scoring 14 points in just 16 minutes in the rout over Troy. He was 6-for-9 from the field, and was 2-for-4 from three-point range. 

Anderson was getting plenty of playing time early, even at guard, because Devonte Green and Rob Phinisee were battling with injuries. So his comfort level was pretty high early in the season. In Indiana's first three games — Troy was the third — he averaged 18 minutes a game and shot 11-for-16 from the field (68.8 percent) and 4-for-8 (50 percent) from three-point range. It was a great start to the season.

Things I liked

That early start to the season, of course. It was the lone highlight to this difficult year. And what was great was that he played well despite being out of his comfort zone. With the backcourt decimated — he actually started at guard in Indiana's exhibition game — he had to play out of position and did just fine.

That early success made it look like Indiana could play a big lineup and be dangerous when they wanted to. Having someone versatile like Anderson playing the 2 and the 3 was a nice bonus that early in the season.

Things I didn't like

As we discussed earlier, it's almost shocking that anyone could miss 18 shots in a row. When you think about it, 82 minutes of playing time is more than two full games — and he didn't make a single shot. He scored in the first half of the Dec. 10 game against Connecticut in New York, and then never scored again.

Of his 18 shots, 14 were three-point attempts, and since he wasn't getting many minutes, it's very possible that he was trying to force things. He was settling for long-range shots.

Final Grade: D

There's no question that Anderson's season was a failure, especially in that brutal cold streak those last three months. He has too much talent, too much game, for that to ever happen. It's totally mind-boggling that it even happened.

"It really is mind-boggling, because he can score at all three levels,'' Brand said. "He's got the range, he's got a good mid-range game and he can definitely get to the basket. I've seen it.

"My first game with him at Riley, he went 15-for-16 from the field at LaPorte, and he was 7-for-8 from three-point range. He scored 35 points in like 17 minutes. So I know he's capable.''

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All of the 'Final Grades' stories

• PART 1, DEVONTE GREEN: Breaking down the season for Indiana senior guard and co-captain Devonte Green. CLICK HERE
• PART 2, DE'RON DAVIS: Indiana's senior big man battled injuries throughout his career, but stayed healthy in 2020 and played a small role. CLICK HERE
• PART 3, AL DURHAM: The junior guard leads Indiana in three-point shooting percentage and carries a big load. CLICK HERE
• PART 4, JUSTIN SMITH: The junior forward was second in scoring and rebounding for the Hoosiers, but there seemed to be something missing. CLICK HERE
• PART 5, JOEY BRUNK: The transfer from Butler added a lot to the Indiana roster, both on and off the court. CLICK HERE
• PART 6, ROB PHINISEE: The sophomore point guard never was the same after a lengthy abdominal injury. CLICK HERE
• PART 7, JEROME HUNTER: It was great to see Jerome Hunter back out on the floor after missing entire freshman season. CLICK HERE
• PART 8, RACE THOMPSON: The redshirt sophomore was productive off the bench, and had a happy homecoming in Minnesota. CLICK HERE
• PART 9, DAMEZI ANDERSON: We take a deep dive into what happened to Damezi Anderson, whose offensive game completely disappeared. CLICK HERE
• PART 10: TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: The standout freshman was Indiana's best player all season, and it wasn't even close. CLICK HERE
• PART 11: ARMAAN FRANKLIN: Some magical moments back home in Indianapolis this season for Indiana's freshman guard. CLICK HERE

Coming on Thursday

• FINAL GRADES: Let's take a look at our team MVP, freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis.