Quarter century of memories: Blue Devils’ Anders teaches Panthers to show respect by going on two-minute scoring binge

Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman began covering the Quincy High School boys basketball program during the 1998-99 season, and with this being his 25th season following the Blue Devils, he put together a list of his 25 most memorable games. Here is today’s installment:

February 23, 2001 — Quincy 69, United Township 62

QUINCY — Patrick Anders usually tuned out the chatter he’d hear from opposing players about his size or lack thereof.

“That always happened,” the 5-foot-9 Anders said of the trash talk.

It even came from his own teammates at times.

“I got those cracks in practice,” Anders said.

When the snide remarks came from the sideline during a Western Big 6 Conference game, it rankled him.

Playing at United Township on Feb. 23, 2001, the Quincy High School boys basketball team needed a victory to earn a share of the WB6 title. The Panthers, who went 1-9 in the league that season, attempted to get in Anders’ head during the first half to disrupt the Blue Devils’ flow.

A taller UT player once shot over Quincy’s starting point guard and told Anders, “You can’t do anything. You’re too little.” One of the coaches on the UT bench had something to say, too, and that move backfired.

“We had a designed fast break, which I’m sure you saw over and over and over again,” said Anders, now living in Minneapolis. “The point guard would call a side, and we’d run to half-court then down to the corner and Brooks (Williams) or Tony (Douglas) — one of the fast guys — would streak down the middle for a designed layup.

“On a free throw, their coach positioned a defensive player on the back side of me, and he said, ‘We’re going to shut your little ass down.’ So I was like, ‘All right.’”

Forty-five seconds into the second half, Anders responded. The Blue Devils ran a fast break that didn’t lead to a basket, forcing them to recycle the play and get the ball back in the hands of Anders. Left open, he buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 40-29 advantage.

“That kind of started a short run,” Anders said.

In the span of 1 minute, 42 seconds, Anders scored 12 points, making three 3-pointers and completing a three-point play. It gave the Blue Devils a 15-point lead less than three minutes into the second half. Anders finished with 14 points as Quincy won 69-62.

Afterward, one of his teammates wondered aloud if Anders set a school record for the most points in a two-minute span. 

“In the locker room, Coach was like, ‘What happened? What was going on?’” Anders said. “Well, the (UT) coach was talking to us. That didn’t happen. You go around the Western Big 6 and those are pretty refined, old-school coaches. I don’t know if this one was.”

The victory created a three-way tie for the WB6 title as Quincy, Moline and Alleman all finished with 8-2 records. It was one of two WB6 titles Anders was a part of in his high school career and contributed to the legacy of a three-sport standout who was inducted into the Quincy Blue Devil Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

Growing up, Anders modeled his game after a point guard who engineered the Blue Devils’ fourth-place finish in the Class AA state tournament in 1990.

“Lamar Rudd is who I wanted to be when I grew up,” Anders said. “He was a classic Quincy kid.”

Other players he watched growing up roll off the tongue like a who’s who of QHS basketball, and being part of that tradition is special. But the connection to his teammates he enjoyed then and still embraces now is what made the experience memorable.

“Blue Devil basketball was a time for me to be with my friends,” Anders said. “I was really fortunate to be able to play with the guys I played with. … For me, it was time with my friends. It’s what we did.”