With help in the frontcourt this season, Cal's Ryan Anderson is flourishing

He makes it all look so easy: the drop-step layup on the low post, the smooth stroke from three-point range, the precise pass to an open teammate for an easy basket.

Life on the college basketball court certainly feels less demanding this season for 6-foot-10 Cal sophomore Ryan Anderson, who after a season of carrying the inside load for the Bears now has plenty of help in the paint.

DeVon Hardin, Cal's 6-11 senior center, has recovered from a stress fracture in his left foot that sidelined him for the final 22 games last season. Jordan Wilkes, a 7-foot sophomore backup, has returned after redshirting in 2006-07 with a knee injury. And 6-8 freshman Harper Kamp is making a sizable contribution.

Which means Anderson, the former Bee Player of the Year from Oak Ridge High School, can move back to his natural power forward position after spending much of his freshman season manning the middle.

The early reviews? Let's just say Anderson's development continues to impress, with the NBA moving onto his radar screen.

Anderson has emerged as the Pacific-10 Conference's leading scorer, his 23.3-point average ranking 12th nationally. That and his 9.4 rebounds per game have helped the Bears fashion a 7-1 record, their best start in six years, entering today's 3 p.m. meeting with Utah at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.

"With DeVon back, it frees me up like crazy," Anderson said of Hardin, who is contributing 11.3 rebounds, 9.9 points and 2.3 blocks per game since withdrawing his name from the 2007 NBA draft.

"He's a really talented guy, really athletic. He's going to draw people to him. It's easier for me to score when guys are focusing on him."

Anderson doesn't have to worry about defending opposing centers, either, with Hardin handling those duties.

The easygoing Anderson was Cal's only low-post offensive threat last season after Hardin went down, with 6-6 Theo Robertson forced to move from small to power forward. Still, Anderson managed to average 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds en route to Pac-10 all-freshman honors.

"I wasn't really expecting to come in and play center at the college level," Anderson said with a laugh. "Last year, I had to change the way I played, just to focus down low and get rebounds."

Said Cal coach Ben Braun: "It was unfair, really, to Ryan because he was asked to do everything. How do you become a post-up player and an outside threat with no other post guys on the floor?

"He really held his own last year under some really adverse conditions."

Anderson showed toughness, great hands, a good grasp of the game and a soft shooting touch for a big man (.382 from three-point range) last season.

After Anderson spent part of his summers as a teenager visiting Mexico with a church group to help build houses for the poor, his itinerary last summer included a visit to the Pete Newell Big Man Camp in Las Vegas to work on his footwork.

Free from his center duties, he has improved his three-point shooting percentage to .417 and his overall field-goal percentage to .556 from .476. He's also one of 50 candidates for the Wooden Award, given annually to the nation's top player.

Ask Anderson about his NBA prospects and he hedges, saying he's trying to enjoy the season before giving too much thought to testing the professional waters.

"I want to win some games, get to the (NCAA) Tournament and we'll see from there," said Anderson, who is ranked as the draft's 50th-best prospect by ESPN.com. "I mean, I'm having a lot of fun playing in college. We'll see when that time comes, but I've just got to keep playing the way I've been playing, having fun.

"If I had the best-possible scenario, it's going to be hard not to jump at that. … That's in the future. It might happen, but who knows?"

Anderson concedes he needs to work on his defense and perhaps add a pull-up jumper to his offensive repertoire. Braun would like to see Anderson rest on fewer defensive possessions.

"That's just a human tendency," Braun said. "We've got to get him to stay with it."

With school and basketball, Anderson said he hasn't had much time for other pursuits, let alone pondering NBA options. He hangs out with his teammates, connects with Sacramento-area friends on occasion and said he tries to make it home to El Dorado Hills once a month.

"My mom just wants me home as much as possible," Anderson said with a smile. "It's good to have parents who love you. … But you've got to grow up."

He just finished taking integrated biology, international studies, college writing and public health, finals now safely behind him.

Which leaves three more games before the Pac-10 season begins in January, with the Bears hoping to improve on a 6-12 league mark that left them 16-17 overall last season, well short of NCAA consideration.

There was that 76-69 overtime upset of then-No. 4 UCLA in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament. But the Bears lost to Oregon 81-63 in the semifinals, missing the NCAAs for the third time in four years.

"It makes me want to go there that much more this year," said Anderson, who lives in a house near campus with teammates Eric Vierneisel, Taylor Harrison and David Liss.

"We were that close to getting to the tournament if we won the Pac-10 tournament. It just shows how much better we are this year and how far we can go."

The only blip for Anderson this season was an eye problem in the season opener against Southern Mississippi. He entered the locker room at halftime, sat down and couldn't see out of his left eye.

Doctors concluded Anderson, who reported a similar episode in high school, was suffering a migraine without the headaches.

"It was really scary," he said. "Everything is fine now."

The Bears hope to say the same thing come March. If they do, Anderson will be a big reason.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's John Schumacher, (916) 326-5523.