Damonte Ranch senior Jace Anderson overcomes injuries to realize college basketball dreams

Despite being 6-foot-7 and athletically gifted, it was not a sure thing Jace Anderson would still be playing basketball after high school.

The Damonte Ranch standout suffered injuries his sophomore and junior seasons, the two most important years for high school basketball players to be recruited.

But Anderson had a great senior season, leading the Mustangs to a 15-1 league record during the regular season and a second-place finish in the Regional tournament. Damonte Ranch won its first game at the state tournament in February, then lost in the final.

Anderson, who was named 4A-North Player of the Year, will play at Southern Oregon in the fall. He averaged 16.2 points and 12.5 rebounds and shot 78 percent from the free throw line (98-126) this past season for the Mustangs.

“My sophomore and junior years, coming off injuries, I never thought I would even have a shot at college basketball, but now to be signed, it’s surreal,” Anderson said. “Normally, guys that go into big schools, they start their eighth grade or freshmen years, they know the coaches, they build that relationship. I didn’t get to start that until my junior year.”

He only played nine games in high school as a junior after suffering a severe ankle injury.

Although he was the Player of the Year this past season, Anderson realizes college basketball is a big jump in competition.

“It’s all the best players from all the high schools across the nation,” he said.

He plans to train in Reno this summer before moving to Ashland, Oregon, on Sept. 20.

He will also get to spend time with his family, something that he has missed out on previously due to club basketball commitments most of his life.

“I’m able to focus on family events, because basketball took over most of my life,” he said.

He also works at Home Depot, filling online orders.

At Southern Oregon, he will be joining a few other players from Northern Nevada, including Theo Reid, Douglas; Elijah Jackson, Fallon; and Mason Whitaker, Spanish Springs. This past season, the Raiders went 14-8 in the Cascade Conference, (17-13 overall), and won their quarterfinal game in the conference tournament before losing in the semifinals to College of Idaho.

This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal: Damonte Ranch senior Jace Anderson overcomes injuries to realize college basketball dreams