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When Julius Smith first met Frank Anselem at his Georgia Stars AAU tryout in Atlanta in fall 2016, he saw a 6-foot-8 16-year-old brimming with promise. The Nigerian-born teenager had just started playing basketball — which brought him to the U.S. — two summers before.

Smith added Anselem to the team and worked to improve his skills. 

“He couldn’t run or jump or catch or dunk or anything like that,” said Smith, who is also Anselem’s legal U.S. guardian. “He was real uncoordinated.” 

At the start, teams would play “Hack-a-Franky,” intentionally fouling Anselem to put him on the free-throw line, where Smith estimates he shot 20%. But Anselem worked tirelessly, and by his third and final year with the Stars, he was the team’s best foul shooter, at 80%. 

Anselem grew 2 inches and moved to Prolific Prep in California, proceeding to earn over 25 scholarship offers, including blue bloods Kentucky and Kansas. 

Now at Syracuse, Anselem and his development could change the potential of the team’s center position. All year, Syracuse has scrambled to find depth at the position with Bourama Sidibe sidelined. Anselem has played the sport for fewer than six years, but he was still SU’s most coveted prospect coming out of high school.

Whether Anselem can grow into a key role for Syracuse down the road depends on how quickly he continues to learn and grow into his 6-foot-10, 210-pound body. Although the 2020-21 season’s been rocky for Anselem, the future of the position could hinge on his development. 

“He’s got humongous upside,” Prolific Prep head coach Joey Fuca said.

• • •

A year after the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Ejike Ugboaja with the 55th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, the Nigerian-born forward started his own nonprofit organization. He wanted to give back to the youth of his home country and provide them the opportunity to succeed in the U.S. like he had. 

Ugboaja holds an annual basketball camp in Lagos, Nigeria. He brings at least the five best players to the U.S. to help them earn a college scholarship. The Ejike Ugboaja Foundation graduates include former Syracuse bigs Paschal Chukwu and Chinonso Obokoh. Anselem attended Ugboaja’s camp in the summer of 2016 and came over to the U.S. that October. 

Ugobaja remembers how perceptive and coachable Anselem was. Every day, Ugboaja would try to teach him a skill. Anselem initially struggled with lefty layups, but Ugobaja reminded him to count his steps toward the hoop and not rush it.

Because of his late start, Anselem had to work much harder to catch up to his teammates’ skill level. He’ll have to continue to do so if he wants to play more minutes.Mark Konezny | USA Today Sports

“I never knew he was going to be that wonderful a player,” Ugboaja said. “But I knew one thing is the boy likes to work … In my camp, once you show Frank something, he’s going to do it. And he’s smart.” 

Anselem hasn’t seen his family in person since Ugboaja brought him to the U.S. He lived briefly with class of 2021 Baylor commit Dillon Hunter but then moved in with Smith, his AAU coach said. He went to Westlake (Ga.) High School, then moved to Napa Valley to attend Prolific Prep. There, he won the 2020 GEICO National Championship alongside G-League Ignite star Jalen Green and Texas Tech freshman Nimari Burnett. 

Everywhere he went, he continued to grasp the game better and grow into his body. 

“He did a really good job of picking up on the speed of the game and then just learning how to be an impact player at a high-level high school,” Prolific Prep’s Fuca said. “There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll help Syracuse down the road.” 

Ella Plowman | Asst. Digital Editor

He averaged 11.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game against some of the best prep schools in the nation with Prolific. But his recruitment process was hectic. 

After he initially committed to LSU, Anselem flinched when head coach Will Wade wanted him to officially pledge on National Signing Day. He reopened his recruitment, and Kentucky showed interest. But the Wildcats signed transfer center Olivier Sarr, and Anselem turned to SU assistant coach Adrian Autry. 

He committed to SU without ever visiting campus.

 

• • •

After the loss to Duke on Feb. 22. Boeheim said that Anselem “works hard. He’s just not ready.” 

Anselem only played three high school seasons and left for a year at Syracuse during the pandemic. 

Syracuse was outscored by 10 points during the four minutes he was on the court in the season-opener. Boeheim was “encouraged” by Anselem’s best performance of the season, which came against Rider, when he recorded six points, two rebounds, a steal and a block in nine minutes. But after that, he only played nine more minutes and hasn’t seen the court since Dec. 12. 

Part of that is likely because of COVID-19. Anselem was one of four players who tested positive during SU’s late-December pause, Smith said. He lost eight to nine pounds from his already slim 210-pound build while he was sick. And he returned even later than everyone else because initial heart test results were inconclusive, though he was later cleared, Smith said.

Ella Plowman | Asst. Digital Editor

A setback like that is the worst thing to happen for someone of Anselem’s experience level. At Prolific Prep, the main focus was body placement and learning how to best use his size. He needs practice to continue maturing. 

“That’s something that’s going to come with putting in the reps and him busting his butt in practice, getting coached and being able to take coaching, which he does a good job of,” Prolific assistant coach Anthony Gonzalez said.

Boeheim told Anselem he wasn’t a big part of SU’s plans in 2020-21. The hope is that he can improve his coordination and basketball I.Q. enough to put his 7-foot-2 wingspan and elite athleticism to use and eventually evolve into a rim-running, athletic center who can protect the basket in the middle of the zone.

And Boeheim has struck that long-game tone throughout the year in press conferences. He’s addressed the center position several times during conference play but doesn’t go out of his way to include Anselem — an indication of where he sits on the depth chart. 

Anselem’s made progress, though. Forward Quincy Guerrier said Anselem’s one of the most athletic guys on the team. Smith called his development “phenomenal.” 

“(Autry) said he finishes first in sprints in practice when he’s healthy,” Smith said. “Said he runs like a deer, is coordinated, can block shots, rebound, catches lobs really well. Still got to get some better hand-eye coordination. He doesn’t catch the ball that well on passes outside of lobs.”

For now, as Boeheim said, Anselem’s not ready. Maybe he will be one day. The project is only in year one.

Published on March 3, 2021 at 12:20 am

Contact Danny: [email protected] | @DannyEmerman