The Blur gone at 59

 
Better than Ron Harper?

As a high schooler, definitely. He might be a top-5 all-time high school player in Ohio. His senior year he averaged 38/14/11. A few different sources regarded him as being the #1 prospect in his class, and he was a McDonald's and Parade All-American.

It's a shame he ended up going off the rails a bit and didn't pan out in the NBA. Older folks seem to swear that he was a freak athlete for his time and had huge talent.
 
As a high schooler, definitely. He might be a top-5 all-time high school player in Ohio. His senior year he averaged 38/14/11. A few different sources regarded him as being the #1 prospect in his class, and he was a McDonald's and Parade All-American.

It's a shame he ended up going off the rails a bit and didn't pan out in the NBA. Older folks seem to swear that he was a freak athlete for his time and had huge talent.
Got it. I’d never heard of him before. After reading a bit more, it looks like he was widely considered the best prep player in the country at the time. Thanks for the additional info.
 
Better than Ron Harper?
eastside purple, I posted this in the high school boys basketball forum:

"Basketball phenom Dwight Anderson, age 59, dies on Saturday from unknown causes per the Dayton Daily News. While at Dayton Roth HS, Anderson averaged 38 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists his Senior year (1978) and was considered the #1 prospect in the nation. He went to Kentucky, before transferring to Southern Cal and had a brief stint in the NBA. Generally regarded as the best hoopster ever out of Dayton. Drugs and alcohol took a major toll on him and he was homeless for many years. Isaiah Thomas called him the Michael Jordan of his time.

RIP Dwight Anderson"

He was a special player.
 
I do find that kind of an odd statement. MJ is only 2 years younger than Anderson, Anderson's time was MJ's time.
 
I do find that kind of an odd statement. MJ is only 2 years younger than Anderson, Anderson's time was MJ's time.
I know it's odd, but it was said. Here's the exact quote, from Monday's Dayton Daily News article by Tom Archdeacon (the same quote, or very similar, can also be found on youtube, with Isaiah saying it on video):

"I would say before I knew about Michael Jordan, Dwight Anderson was the Michael Jordan of our era", NBA legend Isaiah Thomas, in a documentary on Anderson.

MJ was a late bloomer and his superstar reputation was built later, mostly with the Bulls. Dwight's was built in high school.

One high school All-Star game, held in Georgia, included Dwight, Isaiah, Ralph Sampson, Dominique Wilkins, Clark Kellogg, Mark Aguirre, Sam Bowie, Byron Scott and others (quite a list!). "Dwight dominated and was the MVP. Everybody knew him after that", said John Paxson. (also taken from Tom Archdeacon's TLTR DDN article).

Unfortunately he was pretty much just that: a high school phenom, that fell hard from alcohol and crack cocaine abuse, homeless for many years. A cautionary tale if ever there was one.
 
Last edited:
Top