As the regular season enters its final weeks, the Loggers men’s basketball team looks to be in excellent position, with 7-3 conference record to go with a 15-4 record overall. A great deal of this success undoubtedly stems from strong veteran leadership on the team, with four out of five starters on the team being seniors. While all of these leaders brings his own particular value to the team, it is safe to say that the team would not be where they are today without the consistent performance of senior Anthony Gittens (Tacoma, Wash.).
It has been a rocky road to success for Gittens, who began his college career at Tacoma Community College, where he turned heads as a starting center before transferring to Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho before the 2009-10 season. He continued to improve his game there until he finally arrived at Puget Sound to close out his collegiate career.
While this is his first full season at Puget Sound, Gittens has made the most of his time as a Logger. After missing the beginning of the 2010-11 season for the Loggers, he thrust himself into the starting lineup down the stretch, averaging 7.6 points to go with 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during this time.
Entering his final season of eligibility, as well as his first full season at Puget Sound, big things were expected from Gittens as a starting forward in 2011-12. So far at least, Gittens has appeared to live up to the expectations, leading the team in points, rebounds and blocks. He has also seemingly settled into a starting role, as he has started at forward for 16 of 19 games this year, including the past nine in a row. Gittens has clearly come a long way in his collegiate career, going from a backup at a community college to a contributor at a small college in Idaho to finally becoming one of the stars of a Logger team that is getting ready for the playoffs.
PHOTO COURTESY/LAURENCE STACK
