ISU guard Anderson gets a shot at his former team tonight

Jake Anderson's past crosses paths with his present tonight at Hilton Coliseum.

The senior guard's former team - Northern Illinois - comes to town for a 7 p.m. game, Iowa State's last during what's been a surprisingly successful non-conference run.

The Cyclones (12-2) open Big 12 play Saturday at Nebraska on what could be a seven-game winning streak and their best opening to a season since 2000-01. A big reason behind the great start has been the play of Anderson, who left NIU after graduating last summer.

The NCAA approved a waiver allowing him to be eligible right away after transferring to ISU.

Anderson is taking graduate courses in hospitality management.

“He's such a good kid,” Coach Fred Hoiberg said. “All his professors have taken a big liking to Jake and you can see why. He does everything the right way.”

Anderson scored 1,152 career points (ranking him 18th in school history), was a second-team all-Mid-American Conference pick as a sophomore and also won the league's freshman of the year honors.

But a falling out with Coach Ricardo Patton left him looking for a new place to finish out his playing career.

Assistant T.J. Otzelberger and former head coach Greg McDermott made a connection with Anderson.

He was set to come to Ames even before Hoiberg was hired.

“We wanted to keep him around and knew he'd be a help for us coming in,” Hoiberg said. “He's all about the team.”

The gritty guard has been a blessing for ISU's depth-challenged squad.

Anderson is averaging 11.1 points and ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounding at 8.5 boards a game.

At 6-foot-2, Anderson is the shortest player in the NCAA top 100 in rebounding, ranking 75th.

“Jake just finds a way,” Hoiberg said. “And he's got great instincts and great timing. He comes out of nowhere to get some of those.”

Anderson's defense also has drawn rave reviews.

He's typically drawn the opponent's best player, and in most cases, shut them down.

“He plays with a tremendous amount of passion on that end and makes unselfish plays on the offensive end,” Hoiberg said.

Cyclone fans are familiar with Patton, who coached 12 seasons at Colorado before losing his job in 2007.

Patton was 11-13 against ISU while at CU, including a 1-11 mark at Hilton Coliseum. The Huskies come into tonight's game - the first between the programs in 40 years - with a 4-7 record.