Ex-Tech star Anderson says he’ll enter NBA draft at City Hall

LYNN – Lynn’s Antonio Anderson, who was a starter for Memphis – runner-up to Kansas for the NCAA men’s basketball championship – used the occasion of a brief reception for him in the mayor’s office Tuesday night to announce that he’s putting his name into the NBA draft.However, Anderson said that he is not going to hire an agent, which would make him eligible to complete his senior season at Memphis should he not get picked by an NBA team in the June draft.”I did this after consulting with coach (John) Calipari, and my family,” Anderson said after the reception. “Coach Cal said that he’s been getting a lot of phone calls, and a lot of positive feedback, so I figured I’d take the chance. But I’m protecting myself by not getting an agent.”Under NCAA rules, players become ineligible to play in college if they’ve hired agents. As long as they do not, they can return to school if things don’t work out in their professional endeavors.Anderson said that two of his teammates – Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose – will also enter the draft. Like Anderson, Douglas-Roberts will not hire an agent. Rose, however, is getting one.”He’s a lottery pick,” Anderson said. “He’s either the first or second pick the way I see it, so he needs one.”Memphis lost to Kansas, 75-68, in overtime on Monday, April 7. The Tigers had been leading by nine points late in the second half, but poor free-throw shooting, coupled with a clutch three-point play by Kansas’ Mario Chalmers, forced the overtime. Kansas, with all the momentum, pulled away in the extra five minutes.Anderson had a whirlwind day Tuesday, speaking to Lynn Classical’s athletes in the morning and attending the reception in his honor in Mayor Edward “Chip” Clancy’s office later in the day. (On Monday, he had spoken with the boys and girls basketball teams at English.)A crowd of people representing Anderson’s history in Lynn crammed into Clancy’s office, including his high school coach, Lynn Tech’s Marvin Avery; his uncle, former Classical basketball standout Calvin Johnson; coaches David (Winthrop) and Donald (Tech) Brown, Tech principal James Ridley; his brother, Anthony (himself a hoop standout for Lynn English); his parents and grandmother; and both Jeff and Jarell Byrd (a Classical basketball star).In presenting Anderson with a citation from the City Council, president J. Timothy Phelan noted that he watched the game with pride, “especially when your name was announced, and that millions of people saw that you were from Lynn, Massachusetts.”Anderson said that while the loss to Kansas was frustrating, the experience was “a lot of fun.”It was a heartbreaking loss,” he said, “but it’s over with now, though, and you have to move on.”While a junior at Tech, Anderson helped lead the Tigers to their only state title – a victory over Frontier Regional in 2002.This season, Calipari described Anderson as the “glue that held the team together.”