OSU Basketball: Assessing the Strengths of 2018 Signee Yor Anei

On Wednesday, I took a look at the strengths of dunkin’ Duncan DeMuth, a member of Oklahoma State’s 2018 recruiting class. Today, we’ll see what power forward/center Yor Anei can bring to the table.

As was the case with DeMuth, I couldn’t find full game footage from Anei’s high school days, so we’ll have to settle for highlights. Thankfully, Anei has more minutes of footage on YouTube than DeMuth, so perhaps we can draw more conclusions.

Central Arkansas, UAB and Denver were the only other schools to offer Anei, who is 6 foot 9 and weighs 205 pounds. The soon-to-be graduate from Shawnee Mission South High School in Kansas is just outside of the top 300 nationally and outside the top 50 at his position. However, he’s the third-ranked player in his class from Kansas.

Now that we have some context, let’s get to the (highlight) tape – which shows a one-sided story most of the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQbH3f3bhSA&t=1s

Anei, a lefty, shows good touch around the rim with both hands. It must be noted, however, the athletes in the Big 12 are much larger and more physical than the ones he played against in high school. Regardless, he looks comfortable catching the ball and altering his shot before ultimately releasing it.

Defensively, he’s agile enough to play successful help defense and stop a layup, but again, Big 12 players aren’t going to lob a layup near the basket. They’re going to take it to the hole with a purpose or dunk it.

He seems decisive on the catch and doesn’t hesitate to put it up. At the same time, he has solid body control and feels defenders around him, which helps him decide which moves to make as he prepares to shoot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sZMwjEKYHg

In the next video, he shows off his range as he hits 14 of 25 shots from beyond the arc. He threw up a couple of bricks and airballs, but it’s encouraging to see a player of his size so confident from deep.

DeMuth is a solid prospect, but if we’re comparing the two, I think Anei’s upside is a bit higher. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Anei become a regular rotation player before his second season in Stillwater is over. Predictions are just predictions and don’t hold much weight, but I think his ceiling is a low-end starter or a key contributor off the bench. Only time will tell.