Of all the freshmen basketball players in the MAC this year, Darion “Jake” Anderson was named the best.

Anderson earned the 2008 MAC Freshman of the Year award. The guard is the first Huskie to win the honor since 1985, when Kenny Battle won the award.

“It’s a great honor to get any award like this,” Anderson said. “There were a lot of good freshman in the MAC this year and a lot of good teams. I can’t pinpoint a certain thing that got me the award.”

Anderson was the top scoring freshman in the MAC this season, averaging 12.2 points per game. His consistent scoring landed him fourth place for most points scored by a Huskie freshman. The Chicago native also led NIU’s offense, tallying 320 points.

“I feel great about my personal success, but it all came from my teammates,” Anderson said. “Without them, I wouldn’t have had that individual success. It’s definitely a team award.”

The Huskies haven’t had a freshman leading scorer since the 1995-96 season, when T.J. Lux averaged 15.6 points per game. Anderson was described by NIU head basketball coach Ricardo Patton as a great building block for future success.

“Coach Patton did a lot for me,” the freshman said. “But the biggest thing he did was encourage me. He motivated me in every way, shape and form.”

Anderson said he would always listen for tips from Patton to improve his play, but he learned the most through fellow teammates.

“My teammates’ competition really helped me play well,” Anderson said. “I saw the things they did, and applied it to my game.”

After earning the honor this season, Anderson said he hopes to continue his success into next season. With help from God, coaches, teammates, friends and family, Anderson said he believes he can improve his play.

“It means a lot to accomplish so much in one year,” he said. “It really opened my eyes to what being a student athlete is all about. I hope I can have a great career at NIU.”

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.