Former Oklahoma State Guard Avery Anderson Set to Return to GIA on Tuesday with TCU

STILLWATER — The transfer portal has made teams playing against former players a fairly regular occurrence, and another instance of that will take place in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Tuesday night.

Avery Anderson will return to Stillwater on Tuesday with TCU to take on Oklahoma State. Anderson spent four seasons with the Cowboys, totaling 1,061 points, 344 rebounds, 239 assists and 156 steals. He’s one of only 42 players to score 1,000 points in an OSU uniform. He ranks 24th in program history in career assists and 12th in career steals.

But this past offseason, Anderson — a 6-foot-2 guard from Justin, Texas — transferred back closer to home for a final season with the Horned Frogs.

“He was as good of a representative of the school as I’ve had, certainly,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “He played his butt off. Effort was always there. It’s obviously unfortunate that the climate of athletics creates this, now, space where a kid makes a choice that he thinks is best for him, and now he’s got to [return and play his former school].

“I hope [Anderson’s reception] is respectful. I certainly hope there’s no big ovation for him. We don’t want to see him get hurt or anything like that. We don’t want him to play well. But I got a lot of respect for him and his family, and I’m thankful for the time he gave us and this program. He’s a graduate of this place. He’ll always be that.”

Anderson has played in all 18 of TCU’s games this season. He recently broke into the Horned Frogs’ starting lineup, as his seven starts have come in their past seven games. After three consecutive seasons of averaging double figures, Anderson averages 9.1 points a game this season, but his 3.7 assists a game is a career-high.

He scored 15 points in TCU’s Jan. 10 win against Oklahoma, which tied a season-high for him. He’s struggled with turnovers in TCU’s past two games, both losses, having turned the ball over a combined 13 times against Cincinnati and Iowa State.

There won’t be a ton of familiar faces to Anderson on OSU’s roster. The Cowboys returned only three players from last season: Bryce Thompson, Quion Williams and John-Michael Wright.

“It’ll be fun,” Thompson said. “That’s my guy. We talked here and there. He’s been doing good over at TCU. I’m happy for that. I’m just ready to compete. We’re two competitors that work real hard at this game, so I think it’ll be fun.”

Other OSU Transfers

With Anderson’s return, let’s look at how other players that transferred from OSU this past offseason are doing at their new spots.

Kalib Boone (UNLV): Playing alongside twin brother Keylan (who played at Pacific last season after three seasons in Stillwater), Kalib is averaging a career-high 13.3 points a game with the Rebels. He is also averaging 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.7 blocks. He put up 25 points, seven rebounds and four steals in UNLV’s upset win against Creighton and dropped 29 on a now-ranked New Mexico squad. The Rebels are 9-8.

Moussa Cisse (Ole Miss): After being ruled eligible at the start of December, Cisse has played in 12 games for Ole Miss this season, starting the Rebels’ past four. He averages 4.2 points a game to go with 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. He has reached double figures one time, a 10-point outing in a win against Bryant. Ole Miss is 15-3.

Tyreek Smith (SMU): A sparkplug for the Cowboys last season, Smith has played in all 18 of the Mustangs’ games this season. He averages a career-high 7.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game. He has a pair of double-doubles on the year and scored a season-high 13 points in a win against Lamar. SMU is 13-5.

Woody Newton (George Mason): Newton has played in all 19 of George Mason’s games this season, making a single start. He is averaging a career-high 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds a game while shooting 35% from 3. He scored a season-high 13 in a loss against Tennessee, going 3-for-4 from 3 against the Volunteers. George Mason is 14-5.