• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!

Delvon Anderson

kyle_sample

Well-known member
DONOR
I was alerted to this late last night: Former Griz Delvon Anderson passed away. He played on the 90-91 and 91-92 teams. Was a team and league MVP and league newcomer of the year. Also a two-time winner of the Naseby Rhinehart Award given to the team's most inspirational player.
 
Very sad news. Blaine Taylor lovingly referred to Delvon as "The Junkyard Dog." He was a true Grizzly great. RIP, Delvon.
 
An old post from me, back in July of 2015, with a mention of Delvon. He looked so great then, in person. How can this be, just two years later?

Last November I went out to see the USF-Montana game. As is my custom whenever the Griz play anywhere within driving distance, I got there early so I could visually appraise a team I follow religiously but seldom get to see play in person, parking myself about six rows up right behind the Montana bench. A few of Mario Dunn's relatives were already there, sitting courtside, and I had a short chat with them before going up to where I wanted to sit.
"How does Mario like Montana?" I asked.
"He loves it!" they all exclaimed, almost in unison.
After I got to my seat, I was so intently watching the warm-ups that I failed to notice I had suddenly become part of an oreo cookie, with two burly African-American men to my left, and a very attractive African-American woman on my right. The two men were in animated conversation, but when I got a chance, I said to the one next to me, "Do you have a connection to Montana?"
"I used to play for the Griz," he said. I was trying desperately to place the face, which did seem vaguely familiar, but I just couldn't come up with a name, so the wise-ass in me asserted itself.
"Were you any good? I asked. "And remember. I don't like false modesty."
"I was okay," he said.
"And you are......?"
"Delvon Anderson."
That sent me into a spontaneous outburst of laughter.
"Oh," I said, "You were more than okay! You were good--very good! I remember that team well." We chatted a bit more, but he really wanted to return to his conversation, so I turned to the woman to my right, since the game still hadn't started.
"Did you go to school in Missoula? I asked.
She laughed.
"No, no. We're just dear friends of Travis DeCuire. We think he's a great guy. This is his first head coaching job, and I wanted to give him support."
"I notice you said 'we', but you seem to be alone. Who is we?"
"My son," she said.
"Is your son here too?"
"No," she laughed. "He's playing basketball."
"What position does he play?"
"Guard."
"And where does he play?"
Then she opened up a bit.
"He played high school ball in Washington, and Travis tried to recruit him to Cal. But when they brought in a new coach, and Travis no longer had a spot, my son signed with Oregon. The funny thing is, he signed just before Travis got the job at Montana. If he'd known about that, my son might have signed with Travis. We just think Travis is a great guy. But my son really likes Oregon.
"Is he good?"
"He thinks he might have a chance to start this year, as a true freshman."
"Well, tell me his name, and I'll follow his progress."
"Ahmaad Rorie."
 
Here's a nice 2009 Missoulian story about Delvon by Grizzly Bill Schwanke:

Ex-Griz hoopster Delvon Anderson more than completes education

By BILL SCHWANKE of Missoulian.com

Sep 14, 2009

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/ex-griz-hoopster-delvon-anderson-more-than-completes-education/article_b9d66ba4-a6f6-11de-a61a-001cc4c03286.html

78904da4-a6f6-11de-a619-001cc4c03286.image.jpg


Delvon Anderson played two seasons of men's basketball at the University of Montana.

He left after the 1991-92 season as the top scorer that year, averaging 14.5 points per game.

He left as the Big Sky Conference and UM most valuable player with first team all-league honors for his senior season.

He left as UM's 1991 John Eaheart Award winner as the team's top defensive player and as a two-time winner of the Naseby Rhinehart Award given to the team's most inspirational player.

He still holds the UM single-game record for steals with 10 picks against Simon Fraser during the 91-92 season.

All the honors were great, but what hung over Anderson's head for years was the fact that he left UM without a college degree.

The San Francisco native took care of that issue over the past three years by earning a bachelor's degree in sociology from San Francisco State in 2007 and, this year, by completing most of the work on a master's in public administration from Seattle University.

Two summer classes will make that effort final. He was allowed to go through commencement at Seattle U in early June.

"It feels great, for several reasons," Anderson said recently. "For one, when you go to college, you're supposed to go there to get your degree, and I felt that was a disappointment in my life at that time.
"Also, for me and my children and my family members, I wanted to set an example to be positive and never give up and let them know you can always achieve your goals no matter what setbacks that you have."

Listen to interview with Delvon Anderson:

http://www.missoulian.com/app/watn/andersondelvon070109.MP3

Anderson currently lives in Edmonds, Wash., with his fiancée, Jolene Grimes, and their 10 1/2-year-old daughter. Delvon and Jolene haven't set a marriage date yet, but he thinks it will happen "very soon."
She's an assistant principal at a school near Seattle and has been a teacher for more than 10 years. Grimes is multi-racial, a mix of African-American, Irish and Native American.

Anderson also has a 19-year-old daughter from an earlier relationship. She lives in Juneau, Alaska.
Right now he's working at Lowe's, but if things work out he hopes to find a job in Seattle proper either in government or possibly the nonprofit area, "if they have a solid, fiscal mentality," something Anderson felt was missing with a nonprofit he worked for in California.

So Anderson left Missoula on sort of down note in the spring of 1992. Back in California he got into a summer workout program with the Golden State Warriors, but his tryout with the team was unsuccessful.

He decided not to pursue playing overseas so, except for playing in area amateur leagues, his basketball career was over.

Anderson said he struggled to find full-time work, but in 1994 he landed a job with the Federal Emergency Management Administration tied to the earthquake that year in Northridge, Calif.

After two years he moved to a different FEMA job, traveling to various disaster sites. Since that work was somewhat seasonal, Anderson kept looking for something more full time.

In 1999 he took a position with the Private Industry Council of San Francisco, his real entrée into public service and his need to assist people that "live on the margins of society."

Anderson became a case and eligibility worker, helping people get employment training, among other things.

In 1996, while Anderson was on the verge of completing his sociology degree, the council - struggling with some funding issues - went through a reorganization process. He decided to not reapply so he could focus full time on school.

Jolene already was living in Seattle, so once he finished his B.A., Anderson moved to be with her and subsequently applied for the master's program at Seattle University, lured in no small part by the Jesuit school's social justice leanings.

"The faculty, the staff, the student body - everybody there is like a community, it's like a family," Anderson noted. "Everybody supports each other, so that was a big (reason) why I went (there)."

Growing up, Anderson was into basketball, baseball and nonorganized football. But basketball carried the biggest attraction for him, and he learned how to play effectively against bigger players.

Although he competed well in high school, Anderson attracted "very little" attention from college scouts, perhaps because neighboring Oakland is better known as a basketball city than San Francisco.
So he went to City College of San Francisco, which had a highly regarded coaching staff and played against solid competition.

They also pushed hard work and ethics, something Anderson already prided himself in, but "they pushed that even further, and that experience definitely prepared me for the Division I level."

Asked what size he actually played at, Anderson laughed and said, "technically, my height is 6-3 3/4.
"But you know what?" he went on. "Height really doesn't matter. I played the small forward position, and it never mattered to me. You still have to be able to play."

Despite pretty good numbers in junior college, Anderson again didn't draw a lot of recruiting attention. He thinks it could have been because of his size and the fact that he wasn't a huge scorer.

He had taken visits to nearby St. Mary's and Eastern Washington when "up out of nowhere pops Blaine Taylor," Anderson said.

Taylor was straightforward about Anderson's lack of size, but said he liked how hard he played.
There were some adjustments to be made for a 19-year-old city kid who had only been outside California once before coming to Missoula. But it worked out.

"Everyone was so friendly and so normal," Anderson recalled. "Everything just fell into place. I was very comfortable."

Anderson also was balancing some anxiety about going against guys he'd never faced before with wanting to show people that he could play the game.

"I saw good, quality players and knew I had to bring my A game every day," he said.

After his first year at UM Stew Morrill left for Colorado State and Taylor took over at head coach. While their style-of-play philosophies were about the same, Anderson said Taylor was more intense and hands-on than Morrill.

"He motivated us and pushed us," Anderson said of Taylor. "They both did great jobs. We won conference championships under both coaches."

Noting that he felt the 1991-92 team was more cohesive than the one from the year before, Anderson gave plenty of credit to his teammates and coaches for the many honors he accumulated as a Grizzly.
"One of the main things that I want the people to know is that the fans really helped me personally and us as a team," Anderson stated. "When the fans got going, that energy was just incredible in that building."

Anderson rose to the occasion based on the competition and the situation, not shying away from getting the tough loose ball or rebound or taking a crucial shot.

"Sometimes I definitely played with a chip on my shoulder," Anderson admitted, "and let 'em know, 'hey, I can compete with anybody. Just give me the opportunity.'"

It all came from growing up in a family that taught him hard work and a never-quit attitude.

One of those crucial shots came at highly-touted Pepperdine in 1991-92. Anderson wasn't sure if his big play came at the end of regulation or one of the overtimes.

"We were down by three, and coach Taylor and (assistant) Leroy Washington set up a double-screen," Anderson recalled. "I ended up in the corner with time running out and hit a three pointer."

The Grizzlies ended up winning that game 89-88 in triple overtime.

"Daren Engellant and Nate (Atchison) had fouled out, and before I knew it, me and Matt Kempfert were down there playing center and power forward," Anderson laughed.

Anderson and Kempfert hooked up recently, spending time together in Seattle about a week before the Seattle U commencement. Anderson credits his time at UM with helping him build relationships with numerous players including guys like Travis DeCuire and Roger Fasting.

Anderson hasn't been back to Missoula since his only return visit, probably in 1993.

"I promised Matt, and myself, that I would definitely get back over there," he said, noting that he also had visited with head coach Wayne Tinkle and now former assistant Nate Duchesne when they were recruiting in the Seattle area.

"They keep telling me to get out there (to Missoula), too," Anderson said. "I'm gonna have to get the family and . . . come check out Missoula."

Anderson has no doubt that basketball was his ticket to a lot of things. Without it, he admits that he might not have gone beyond high school.

"I probably would have just been in the city (and) got a regular job doing something," he said. "But when I went to Montana, basketball-wise (it was) better than I thought it was gonna be.

"The way things turned out, the success that we were having, the friendships that I formed, and the good times that we had, that was more than I expected," he went on. "The only disappointing thing was me not completing school. That was my fault totally."

Anderson made a point to say thanks to those who helped him along the way.

"I just want to thank the people of Missoula (and) the University of Montana for all the support while I was there," he said. "If it wasn't for (them), I would not have had the experience of those two years, which was one of the best experiences of my life."
 
kyle_sample said:
He played on the 90-91 and 91-92 teams.

...ahhhh yes..remember it well...
...when bb was still king...
...he played in the day...
...r i p d anderson...

... :( ...
 
We had Blaine Taylor on T&T this afternoon. He was very sad because of Jud Heathcote and Delvon Anderson's passings coming just days apart. I'll post the audio tomorrow. Anderson's is very sad - gone too soon.
 
Those were great teams. I always thought he was what made a good team great his 2 years here. He had intangibles. He seemed to always get the loose ball. His hands were so fast. He always seemed to disrupt the passing lanes. He did it all busting his butt, but made it look so effortless. He was one of favorite players when I was in school. Sad for the passing. My prayers of comfort go to his family.
 
What was the cause of his death? I can't find it, which leads me to fear it was suicide. I sincerly hope it wasn't. DA is my all-time favorite Griz baller. RIP DA.
 
Sad news. Very sad week for Griz Bball! These two definitely left their mark on that court and community. Will be remembered for sure.
 
So sad to hear this news. I was 8-9 years old and a huge Griz basketball fan when Delvon was playing, he was one of my favorite all time Griz players...and what a great team that was! I'll never forget watching them cut the nets down that year. RIP Delvon. A true Grizzly legend.
 
Back
Top