Super-junior Dwaun Anderson has etched his name among a handful of basketball players from Leelanau County to score more than 1,000 points during their careers.

Anderson, whose talents are being sought by college Division 1 coaches across the nation, remembered the moment, which occurred last Wednesday during the Suttons Bay-Kingsley basketball game. “I did a jump fake, and blew by their guy, and put it off the glass,” said Anderson.
DWAUN ANDERSON of Suttons Bay is pictured while making one of his trademark dunks earlier in the season during a game at Frankfort. (Photo courtesy of Dave Penne)
It was a near-patented move for Anderson, who at 6-foot-4 possesses a rare combination of explosiveness that can result in spectacular dunks and shooting touch. Coaches had arranged to stop the game, and award the basketball to Anderson.

“It meant a lot. I didn’t know I was even close until coach (Todd Hursey) told me a couple games before,” said Anderson, who brushed aside the accomplishment when asked what he had set as priorities.

“It’s about the tournament, and how good we’re going to do. We’ve still got two more (regular season) games, but we want to be ready,” he said.

Anderson is already juggling prep and college careers. He’s received scholarship offers from Oakland University, Utah and Central Michigan, but is hoping to receive invites from larger schools. Michigan State University coach Tom Izzo arranged to watch Anderson play a scrimmage last fall in the Suttons Bay gymnasium. Other Big 10 schools have also shown an interest; a Purdue coach was observed at one Norsemen basketball game this season.

Anderson scored 242 points as a freshman and 432 during his sophomore year. So far this season, he’s tallied 357 points for a total of 1,031.

Two other Leelanau County players are narrowing in on the 1,000 point plateau — and they play on the same team.

Leland seniors Galen Whittaker and Nate Sneed have good chances of reaching 1,000 points, according to Comet coach Jon Kiessel. Both have topped the 900-point marks; a Leland run deep into the state tournament could be enough to push them both over 1,000.

Glen Lake junior Matt O’Brien likely won’t top the 1,000-point mark this season, but is already beyond 800 and well on his way. In fact, O’Brien is on track to surpass his coach, Todd Hazelton, who scored 1,198 points during a four-year career that ended in 1988 with a loss in District play to eventual state champion Northport.

Hazelton was actually the second-leading player on that Laker team. Current Glen Lake junior varsity coach Brad Fosmore is third on the all-time scoring list in Leelanau County with 1,697 points.

To explain the challenge of reaching the 1,000-point mark, Jason Tropf of Northport is on target to finish his career with between 700 and 800 points, depending upon how far the Wildcats advance in the state tournament. He’s averaged in double figures since starting as a sophomore, his first varsity season, and is the county’s leading scorer this season. However, Northport has not advanced through the Districts during his career, which has included 18-game and 19-game regular season schedules. High school teams in Michigan may play up to 20 games during the regular season.

None of those players can catch Leelanau County basketball scoring leaders Sander Scott of Northport and Rick Baillergeon of Glen Lake. Both led their teams to Class D state titles; Scott as a junior in 1988, and Baillergeon as a senior in 1977.

Scott finished his high school career with 2,348 points, at the time fourth on the state’s all-time scoring list. Now an elementary principal for Traverse City Area Public Schools and a Leelanau Township resident, Scott finished second in the Mr. Basketball voting. He went on to break the 1,000-point mark during a four-year career at Central Michigan, where he still holds the 3-point basket record with 186.

Baillergeon’s 2,144 points placed him second on the state’s career scoring list in 1977. He went on to be named one of two “Bulldogs of the Year” for all Ferris State University sports teams in the 1980-81 seasons, and still holds the single game free throw record with a 13-for-13 performance against Oakland University on Jan. 26, 1980. Baillergeon retired as a lieutenant colonel after a 21-year career in the Army that included service in Desert Storm. He and his wife, Lei, reside in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where he works as a contract teacher at the Army base.