As Duke struggled and lost all three games at Boston College over the weekend, no Blue Devil felt more helpless than the one wearing No. 11.
That jersey belongs to Jonathan Anderson, the former-player-turned-volunteer-assistant coach for Duke. And, just one year removed from playing for the Blue Devils himself, Anderson still has a hard time watching from the dugout-especially during losses.
"At times, it can get frustrating, just because now I know I can't go out there and play," Anderson said. "If we're struggling, I can't do anything about it. The only thing I can do is try to help [the team] out through my experiences."
And Anderson had plenty of those during his time at Duke, serving as a four-year starter in the outfield and on the pitcher's mound. The southpaw routinely ignited the Blue Devil offense from the top of the order, cranking out 174 hits and a .280 average over his four years in Durham.
This season, Anderson is coaching outfield defense, baserunning and his own personal specialty, bunting. His experience has already paid huge dividends with the man who replaced him in center field, sophomore Alexander Hassan.
Hassan leads Duke in batting average, hits and runs during a breakout second season. Perhaps even more impressive than his .385 average out of the leadoff spot, however, is the fact that he has yet to commit an error while patrolling center field-a position he had never played prior to this season. And he owes a lot of that to his predecessor.
"In batting practice, he's always behind me, just working on everything involved with being a center fielder," Hassan said. "He's been an awesome coach and just an awesome resource because he played in this league and had great success in this league.... Seeing him leave, it was tough because I learned so much from him. But it was great news when we found out he was coming back."
The move to coaching was natural for Anderson, who always had an interest in the cerebral aspects of the game.
"As a player, one of my better attributes was the mental side of the game for me. I understood the game very well," Anderson said. "I knew once I was done playing that [coaching] was something I wanted to do to help give back to the younger players."
Anderson also lends his expertise in the classroom. Having graduated last spring, he's all-too familiar with the intense Duke curriculum and the balancing act student-athletes often have to play-something he admitted he struggled with in his first two years as a Blue Devil.
The move to coaching was also a bit of a struggle at the start for Anderson, who hoped to play professionally last summer. When that wish went ungranted, though, he jumped at the opportunity to return to Duke as a volunteer assistant-a position the Blue Devils didn't fill last year.
"I couldn't be happier...to have somebody who loves Duke and loves the program," head coach Sean McNally said. "[He] is such a great representative of what we want the program to be. I wanted him to play pro ball, and when that didn't work out, I had my fingers crossed he'd want to come back. I was really excited and still am every day I see him. He's a guy that really brightens your day all the time, exerts that kind of energy and adds a lot on a day-to-day basis as you go through a long season."
Aside from spending nine innings in the dugout, Anderson's biggest adjustment has been from being a friend to being a figure of authority with his former teammates. Just one year removed from playing, it was hard at first to be overly critical of his fellow Blue Devils.
"Initially, it was tough, especially with the seniors-I played with them for three years. They were really close friends of mine," Anderson said. "Obviously, I'm still friends with them now, but I'm also their coach, and I have to take it from a different perspective. If I have to get on them, I get on them."
Anderson and the three seniors on Duke's roster are the lone holdovers from the Bill Hillier era-one marked by a steroid scandal and a lack of success on the field.
Now in his fifth season with the program, Anderson is the longest-tenured Blue Devil. And his presence in the dugout represents a special victory for McNally, who was accused of alienating many of Hillier's holdovers. That provides Anderson with a unique vantage point on Duke's turnaround from ACC doormat to a winning squad.
"We've obviously made tremendous strides record-wise. [Coach McNally] really changed the mindset of all of us as far as the classroom goes and on the baseball field," Anderson said. "We expect to win now, and we're really prepared, and that's shown the last two years. That's one of the reasons I came back. I knew this program was headed in the right direction, and I wanted to be a part of it."
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