Jeff Goodman posted a blog today on his CBS site that gave added weight to the speculation of many pessimistic Spartan fans since August – that Dwaun Anderson is not returning to Michigan State. Writing from a unnamed source, Goodman mentions teams courting Dwaun (Drexel, CMU, Georgetown, etc.) with no space devoted to the notion that Anderson might be coming back to MSU. In fact, it is instead suggested that he could be playing elsewhere as early as January. If the primary plan was to navigate Dwaun back to East Lansing as he continues counseling, I have to imagine that little of this exploration would be happening.
Though you can’t close the door 100%, it looks increasingly like the original statement released by MSU was a placeholder to give Anderson some space and time to plan his course without making any final decisions. Already, the loss of Anderson has added pressure to a perimeter group heavy with newcomers and made the possible redshirting of freshman guard Brandan Kearney less likely. Going forward, whether we're talking about roster roles, scholarships for recruiting, etc., it's fair to start having those discussions without factoring in the highlight-dunking guard from Suttons Bay. For everyone excited about Dwaun going from Youtube to the Breslin Center, that's a sad transition.
Of course, all our best goes out to Dwaun Anderson in his future on the court and beyond. We hope this is just an opportunity for Dwaun to grow on his quest through a long, successful life in basketball.