By Mark Simon
D3hoops.com

It was four years ago that Larry Welton thought that the persistent annoyance that was aching his left knee was “growing pains.” This was someone, who after all, sprouted 12 inches during his sophomore year of high school and Welton thought his bones were still adjusting.

He would learn soon that it was a much more serious problem.

During the summer heading into his senior year at Thornwood High in Chicago, as part of a basketball team that went 24-0 when he was a sophomore, Welton felt significant, unexplainable pain in his left knee. Doctors eventually found cancerous cells in his bone marrow and confirmed that he had Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which, according to the Mayo Clinic’s Web site, kills nearly 25,000 Americans per year. The good news for Welton was that the doctors caught the cancer early enough that it was treatable, albeit a slow process.

“I didn’t even think about playing basketball,” Welton, now a freshman forward at Aurora, said. “I had a lot of stuff on my plate to deal with. It was really hard to go through. But my mom and I went through it together. I learned that you take nothing for granted.”

Over the next year and a half, Welton continued to go to school, while receiving treatments, but couldn’t play basketball because chemotherapy left him too weak.

That left him in search of a college since he had fallen off the Division I radar. Initially, Welton wanted to go to Illinois Tech, where former Illinois star Kenny Battle was head coach, but he could not gain admission there. So Welton applied to school at Aurora, not mentioning his basketball background (he took a tour of the campus accompanied by another member of the athletic department, who happened to be in his office when Welton showed up). Aurora men’s basketball coach James Lancaster didn’t even realize that Welton had enrolled until Battle, who knew Lancaster through their mutual friendship with former NBA standout Ken Norman, called to tell him that Welton was on campus.

Welton, now 19, didn’t play in any games last season, while he had to wait to make sure the cancer was in remission but practiced with the team and got his first chance back in the sport after a two-year absence.

“I thought ‘Hey, I can play with these dudes,’ Welton said. “I knew I was ready.”

Welton was ready at the start of this season. He shook off the rust in the first two games, a two-point loss at Illinois Wesleyan and a eye-opening three-point win against Randolph-Macon, combining for 25 points. He broke through for 23 points in the home opener, a win over Monmouth, then led the team in scoring in each of the next three games, including a 40-point effort in a win against Beloit. He is averaging upwards of 22 points and 8 rebounds per game, showing the ability to score from both the inside (58 % shooting from the field) and outside (43% shooting from 3-point range). At 6-5, Welton is a difficult matchup. That’s one reason why the team is 13-3, leading the NIIC, and winners of eight consecutive games. Welton might be the only freshman in Aurora’s lineup, and is playing the post instead of the wing, as he expected, but the expectations have been far surpassed already.

“He’s doing everything well,” said Lancaster. “He’s been tremendous. He’s the first in the gym and the last to leave. People are starting to look to him as a leader.”

Welton posted a 3.2 GPA this past semester and is feeling really good about his success and his health, now both on and off the court.

“I’m thankful that my teammates are looking out for me,” Welton said. “I’m not trying to take any of their (attention). I’m just trying to learn every day. I got a second chance. Now I just want to play basketball.”

A CHANCE TO PERFORM: Elms sophomore guard John Ancrum has a flair on the court and a creative style off it as well, one that has enabled him to become well known in both basketball circles and the entertainment world.

John Ancrum is thriving at Elms after seeing a great deal of life in New York City.

Ancrum, the nation’s assist leader, credited with 7.7 per game, is known off the court as “Murda Mook,” an aspiring hip-hop artist, with his own CD, titled The Untouchable, and is finishing another soon-to-be released musical compilation. The name, given to him by his cousin, fellow rapper T-Rex, doesn’t symbolize anything violent, but rather a statement about his ability as a battler — that being an emcee who competes in musical ‘duels’ against other hip-hop artists.

Ancrum grew up on 116th and Manhattan in New York City and had to deal head-on with serious issues, in an area in which violence and drugs are a part of life. Eventually an aunt, Juanita Taylor, took him into her home in another part of the city and got him on the right path educationally, to Fordham Prep High School.

“She’s the reason that I’m sitting here today,” Ancrum said, acknowledging that she now lives in a nursing home. “I was sinking and she kept me focused. I realized I needed school.”

Outside of school, basketball and music became his two passions. When he was 13, Ancrum heard T-Rex rap and realized he could write and sing as well. Eventually one of his youth league coaches at Riverside Church heard him rap and introduced him to the man who eventually became Ancrum’s manager.

Ancrum also found a connection with Elms coach Ed Silva, who is also a social sciences professor at the school and a hip-hop music historian. Silva had tried to expand his recruiting base to New York City, and was referred to Ancrum by another high school coach. The recruiting was difficult because Ancrum moved frequently, and even briefly had his own apartment when he was only 16.

Ancrum had the street smarts to survive that, the academic smarts to get into the school, and the basketball smarts to be the North Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Year. He currently ranks second on the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and has earned praise for his decision making and defensive ability on a team that is 8-6, 4-2 in league play.

“I’m the point guard and people look to me for leadership,” Ancrum said. “People might look at my stats and say ‘He’s playing great.’ But I don’t think I’ve found a way to get the team playing the best it can be. I know I can play better. I’m very competitive. I hate to lose. I’m a battler.”

Said Silva: “He’s the engine that drives us. He’s a very intelligent player. He makes calls on the court that make us look smart as coaches.”

Silva has talked extensively with Ancrum about his musical ambitions and has been flexible in allowing Ancrum time to take care of promoting his CD, treating him in a similar manner to other student-athletes who have had internships in places such as the state legislature.

Silva has tried to steer Ancrum towards channeling his ability to write creative rhyme schemes towards songs like War (in which he provides vivid imagery of what it’s like to be a young solider fighting daily to survive) and Pain I Felt (about growing up in the inner city) rather than those that he feels “give the industry a bad name.” A couple of the songs on The Untouchable would cause some listeners to grimace because of their R-rated subject matter and harsh use of language, but as both Ancrum and Silva pointed out, those are the ones that have historically resulted in the highest CD sales for others in the industry. Ancrum has started to make a name for himself and has traveled to California, Florida and Las Vegas as word has spread of his work. Silva feels that there is a lot of potential, which if harnessed properly, can make a positive impact on the music industry.

“He knows my perspective, but he also understands the business very well,” said Silva, acknowledging the crossroads at which his player is at is a part of life in that business. “I’ve told him that he can rise to the top because he’s talented. He has a great gift.”

A CHANCE TO PLAY: The St. Thomas men’s basketball team is 10-4, and with a 10-0 start, leads the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by two and a half games. The Tommies have gotten very good play from a pair of Division I transfers, Isaac Rosefelt (Bowling Green) and Sean Sweeney (who led St. Thomas in scoring as a freshman, bolted for Division I UW-Green Bay last season, than returned for this season), who have been difference makers for a team that had its first losing record under 25-year coach Steve Fritz last season. But we figured it was timely to recount the story of the team’s No. 2 scorer, senior guard Neal Anderson.

Neal Anderson's last tryout, at St. Thomas, was a success.

Anderson was cut from the Eden Prairie High basketball team during tryouts as a sophomore, junior, and senior (Eden Prairie, it should be noted, is the second-largest high school in Minnesota) and originally went to St. Thomas figuring he’d have fun playing recreationally and participating in the school’s concert choir. During his sophomore year, Anderson, who had been on a championship-winning intramural hoops squad, found himself in some pickup games with a couple of Tommies players. He held his own, displaying a nifty shooting touch. Those players alerted longtime head coach Steve Fritz, and after another tryout, Anderson made the team.

“In high school, I was always close to making the team, but it wasn’t happening,” Anderson said. “I always loved basketball. Getting cut didn’t stop me from playing. I probably played 350 days a year. A couple of people told the coach that I should get a shot. At this level, they figure it’s worth taking a chance on someone like that.”

The 6-2, 170-pound Anderson was primarily a practice player in his first season, his junior year academically, appearing in only 11 games for the MIAC champs. But that season’s squad featured five seniors, so there was playing time available during the 2003-04 campaign in what was an 11-14 rebuilding season. Anderson took advantage of playing time, averaging 15.3 points per game, setting a team record with 83 3-pointers, and ranking sixth nationally by shooting 45.2% from 3-point range. He was on pace to graduate last spring, but decided to structure his course load such that he could play another season. He’ll finish up in May as a math major with an eye on statistical analysis and actuarial science work in his future.

This season, Anderson has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games, averaging 16.6 points per game in that span. He is averaging 14.1 points per game overall and has worked hard to build strength and improve the other aspects of his game, to the point where he’s not thought of as just a shooter.

“We have the tools to win this conference,” Anderson said. We have an interior game, an outside game, and great coaching. We have a good balance of capable shooters, but can also dominate in the post. Everyone here knows their role.”

It wasn’t necessarily the pursuit of a championship that made Anderson want to come back. It was more that he didn’t want the fun times to stop, just yet.

“It has been a dream come true,” Anderson said. “Everything that happens now is a bonus.”

A CHANCE TO COME HOME: Defenders haven’t been able to shut Willamette junior forward Vanessa Wyffels down this season. The only thing that has was the concussion she sustained last week.

The 5-11 Wyffels, who transferred from Division I Wagner back to a school near her Portland-based family, leads the NCAA, shooting 76% from the field (98-for-129) through Wednesday night’s game against Pacific. She is averaging 18.9 points per game, even after two recent appearances, in which the after-effects of her injury limited her to just six total points.

Wyffels has helped put a new face on a Willamette team that had dropped 21 consecutive Northwest Conference games before stunning Puget Sound on Jan. 8. The Bearcats are only 5-9 after getting drubbed by George Fox on Tuesday (Wyffels was 2-for-2 in 20 minutes), and fell to 5-10 against Pacific, but the team is much improved, and has already surpassed last season’s total of four wins. Third-year head coach Tom Steers has seen a lot of roster turnover — only one regular from this season’s team played last season — and Wyffels has become the center of attention. The offense is designed to get Wyffels shots from within 10 feet, because she’s not going to miss those.

“You take it when you think you can make it,” Wyffels said of her approach. “I’ve always been a consistent shooter. I didn’t realize (that she was this good) until sophomore year of college.”

Wyffels led the Northeast Conference in field goal percentage as a sophomore, hitting 65.7% of the time, and went 8-for-10 last season against nationally ranked Virginia. After tiring of Division I because of what she termed “politics and head games,” Wyffels has relished her new experience. Her performance may not look dominating, but statistically at game’s end, it usually is. Earlier this season, she was 12-for-12 in a one-point loss to Cascade and she has had a couple of similar performances.

“It has been interesting to see how other teams adjust to me,” Wyffels said. “(Last week) I got quadruple-teamed. It was crazy. But this team is awesome. Teams are going to realize that they can’t do that.”

ATTENTION GRABBERS
We told you a month ago about the intriguing women’s matchup in Las Vegas featuring DePauw, Union, Ripon and UW-Stout and it looks like the latter has used that mini-tournament as a springboard to turn its season around. After sweeping the two ranked teams — Union and DePauw — Stout has gone 4-1 since, with the only loss being to Division I provisional North Dakota State and two of the wins being a 30-point romp of No. 1 UW-Oshkosh and a 17-point triumph over archrival UW-Eau Claire. Forward Kelsey Duoss, a 6-2 transfer from Illinois-Chicago, paces the team in scoring (12.8 points per game) and blocked shots (43 in 17 games) and the squad’s scoring has increased from an average of 62 points in its first four WIAC contests, to 79 per game in its last three.

We tabbed 10 preseason super sleepers, and we’re feeling good about the ones on the women’s side — particularly Randolph Macon and St. Benedict. On the men’s side, we don’t quite have the same standouts, though we’ll learn a lot about the Bates men during its upcoming four-game road trip. We’re also starting to feel better about Adrian, which has followed up a 1-point loss at Calvin with four consecutive wins, including a rally from 13 points down to win at Hope and an overtime triumph against No. 2 ranked Albion that left the team tied for the MIAA lead.

Albertus Magnus senior Tim Russell set a Great Northeast Athletic Conference record by scoring 48 points in a 95-75 loss to Suffolk last week. The Falcons, admittedly shorthanded this season, have just an eight-man roster and Russell has reaped benefits statistically, averaging 31.3 points per game. He has led the team in scoring in all 12 games this season, and has tallied 40 or more three times.