BeeJay Anya: 3 Keys Off-season

BeeJay Anya must have a great offseason in order for NC State to continue its’ success at making the NCAA Tournament. Last offseason we saw Anya have a big offseason as far as cutting down his body fat, but this offseason he must continue to improve his conditioning and improve his skill set.

What areas do I think he could improve on in order to help the Pack?

1. Positioning: 

BeeJay is blessed with an enormous frame and backside that he should use to gain greater depth inside the lane. I am convinced that BeeJay should have at least 3 dunks a game by simply working hard off the ball and pinning his man beneath the basket. The high post offense is catered to his strength of ducking in. What is ducking in? It is where the low post man reverse pivots and uses his lower body to pin his defender under the basket, then the high post man has an easy bounce pass which should equal two points or a trip to the foul line.

All too often Anya played straight legged and didn’t use his greatest asset which is his hulking size. If Anya can learn to start low and explode into his reverse pivot there isn’t anyone in the ACC that can keep him from getting his desired position. I know that Anya is more skilled that we have seen, but at some point he has to start putting himself in positive positions to use his talent.

2. Defense

I may catch some flak for this but I don’t think he has reached his full potential on defense. BeeJay is a great shot blocker but could become much better as a defender. I love his aggressive nature in pursuing blocks; however, he sometimes gives up easy layups by overcommitting on help defense to challenge a shooter. Anya also could be much more effective if he just stands tall with his arms extended, this way he would get called for less fouls. He could be an excellent anchor to our defense and cover up for a lot of mistake if he works hard on playing sound angles and leveraging his outstanding length. His rim protection will be a must, especially if State plays small.

3. Glass: 

NC State needs to have a great team effort this season to control the glass. Anya needs to spearhead this effort by not being lazy and putting his body on opposing big men. Anya is not super quick, which is why he needs to utilize his girth and knock big men off balance. This way he can snag rebounds while other players are trying to regain position. The best rebounders to play the game understand the importance of blocking their man out and then tracking the ball down. BeeJay needs to think contact first and then attack the ball! He should be able to improve upon this by working on film study and rebounding drills.

There is no question that the time is now for BeeJay! He must use this offseason to improve himself physically which will give him the opportunity to improve on the court. He doesn’t have to score double figures every game (he has to keep teams honest), but it would be nice if he averaged around 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. The potential is there but at what point does potential become a bad thing?