Basketball

Jeff Green | Mar 16, 2006

Back toHome

Local star shines bright in USCollegeBasketball

by JeffGreen

There was never much doubt that Julie Anderson would play college basketball after graduating from Sydenham High School three years ago; it was only a matter of where she would play.

After receiving 42 scholarship offers, including 18 from high profile United States Division 1 schools such as Syracuse , Dartmouth and Princeton, along with major Canadian universities on the west and east coasts, Julie decided to go to the first school that approached her, Mercyhurst College in Erie , Pennsylvania .

Although Mercyhurst is a mid-ranked Division 2 school, it is a high ranking academic institution with a Sports Medicine Program, giving Julie the educational opportunity she wanted, along with a chance to play a lot of basketball.

Now finished her third season on the court, and approaching the end of her third academic year, Julie Anderson is a college basketball star in spite of some serious injury problems.

She was recently named to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division 1st all conference team and the all conference defensive team as well.

She missed almost 10 games this season after suffering two concussions early in the season, but still managed to achieve some career milestones in her third year as a stating player for Mercyhurst. Late in the season she scored her 1,000th career point, and earlier pulled down her 500th rebound, making her the fifth player in team history to accomplish those two feats. Her free throw percentage in conference games of 91% set an all time team record. With one year to go on the varsity squad, Julie Anderson could set more records for Mercyhurst Girls’ Basketball players, provided her health holds up.

Julies’ athletic career has not come about without a strong commitment from her family. At least one of her parents, Bill and Nancy Anderson of Craig Road north of Verona, have attended every Mercyhurst game this season; this, even though all home games are a six-hour drive from Verona, and road games can involve much longer drives.

For the Andersons , basketball has been a family passion for many years. Their son Grant, who is 6’8, recently graduated from RMC, where he played basketball for four years, and there was high school basketball before that.

In her senior year at Sydenham, Julie also joined the Mississauga Rebels of the Ontario Basketball Association, which meant a weekly rip for Bill or Nancy to the Toronto area. But it paid off when the Rebels won the league, and Julie attracted the attention of a great many college scouts.

Julie attended Prince Charles Public School , went to Harowsmith for French immersion, and then spent five years at Sydenham High School , receiving the Governor General’s Medal upon graduation in the final year under the five-year high school system in Ontario .

“Julie really enjoyed her Sydenham days,” says her unabashedly proud father Bill, “The courses that she took really prepared her for university. She was really glad with the calibre of teaching that she had at Sydenham.”

Her athletic career was threatened by injury on two occasions while she attended Sydenham, and she required knee surgery each time. Her injuries and the rehabilitation process have made a lasting impression Julie, leading her to the Sports Medicine Program at Mercyhurst, and she is applying to Dalhousie University to do a Masters in Physiotherapy after next year.

In the summers, Julie Anderson can be found back at Sydenham High School , working as a counselor at Basketball Camp, and she has shared her experiences in university basketball with other athletes coming out of SHS.