Accidental Discovery

When Rhonda Anderson shares the story of how she first started playing basketball competitively, it evokes visions of an "after-school special" television program. A star on her Brooklyn high school track and field team, Anderson had proven her athletic prowess. It was this athletic ability and 5 foot 11 inch stature that attracted the John Jay High School basketball coach to Anderson.

Walking down the school hallway one day during the fall of 1977, coach Richard Danter approached Anderson, a junior at the time, and asked her if she had ever played basketball. She explained that her only experience with the game was her days of playing crate ball on the playgrounds of New York City.

"There were no rims so we would nail crates to the posts and play basketball that way," said Anderson. "My sister and I were tomboys and we played all kinds of games. But we were just fooling around on what we called the 'block' and I told the coach I never had played seriously."

However, Anderson did take his suggestion to try out for the team seriously and a few weeks later she was on the court wearing a John Jay High School basketball jersey. She must have felt very comfortable on the hardwood floor because Anderson gave up track and field to completely dedicate herself to becoming a better basketball player.

"Because I didn't have any bad habits to work out of, and I had a good coach and teacher, I was able to become a college varsity level player in two years," explained Anderson. "It was a combination of my desire to learn and my athletic ability that made it possible."

Entering her freshman year at Cornell University in the fall of 1979, Anderson says she had no plans of continuing her basketball career beyond the high school level. However, she soon found herself dribbling the ball on the Big Red campus. "I never went to Cornell with the intentions of playing basketball. I chose the school not based on basketball, but based on my studies," she said. "When the opportunity to play arose, I decided to do it."

Anderson discovered that Ivy athletics suited her. She was amazed by the athletes' dedication to sports without any motivation from financial assistance. "Sacrificing so much time to train and practice and doing all of the other necessary things to be competitive and getting nothing in return, is athletics in its purest form," Anderson said with conviction.

According to Anderson's teammate and co-captain, Eileen Pfeiffer, this type of dedication is exactly what set Anderson apart from everyone else. "Physically and talent wise, Anderson was the best player of the team and she just continued to improve with time," said Pfeiffer. "But she was dedicated to the program in so many ways that you couldnt see from the stands."

Pfeiffer laughs as she recalls Anderson and her ice packs. As a sophomore, Anderson suffered a stress fracture that sidelined her for a period of time. From that time forward, the Cornell hoops star showed up to each practice and game a half hour early and stayed a half hour late to ice. "She would ice her knees, ankles, shins; she was just ice from foot to knee," Pfeiffer said.

Anderson came to practices and games early for another reason as well. The team shared the gym with the gymnastics team and players had to arrive early to clean up the chalk and other equipment before practice could begin. Sure enough, Anderson was always in the gym early to get the court set up for practice. Anderson made the most of all her of her time in the gym, setting more than a dozen school records for scoring and rebounding, serving as the teams captain her junior and senior season and earning all-Ivy first and second team honors from 1980-83. She was the first woman to be named the Cornell Sun Athlete of the Year and was the first player in team history to surpass the 1,000-point career mark.

However, for Anderson, it wasn't the awards or recognition that made her love playing basketball at Cornell. She enjoyed the travel and the opportunity to experience other parts of the country and other universities. Anderson also cited the camaraderie as a special part of her career at Cornell and said she felt lucky to be among the brightest and the best.

Teammates of the New York native must have regarded her highly as they named her captain twice, and also skipped a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to meet her request. When Big Red coach Linda Learch asked her squad what they wanted for Thanksgiving while it was away at a tournament most of the players offered typical responses: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. All except Rhonda Anderson macaroni and cheese was the only item on her off-the-wall Thanksgiving menu. Despite grumbling by most of her teammates, they gave in and it was a macaroni and cheese Thanksgiving for the Cornell hoops team that year.

Anderson's roommate at Cornell, Dr. Daphney Mobley, remembers teasing her basketball star roommate about the groupies that followed Anderson around and constantly called their dorm room. "I use to say to Rhonda, 'What is this? Some kind of hotline?'" recalled Mobley. "Of course I was only kidding, but her teammates worshipped her. Fortunately, Rhonda had her head screwed on right and she didn't let her success go to her head," said Mobley.

Since her days as a Cornell hoops star, Anderson has earned an MBA from Penn State University and held several positions in the field of marketing. She currently is employed by Simon and Schuster in Upper Saddle River, N.J., where she is the marketing manager for the education publishing division. A dedicated member of the Christian community in her northern New Jersey neighborhood, Anderson keeps basketball in her life by organizing clinics for youngsters from the Perth Amboy, N.J., area, populated mostly by Hispanic and African American children. She coordinates the scheduling and serves as a coach to children ranging in age from 10 to 17.

"I try to be a role model for these kids, especially the young ladies," said Anderson. "I want to show them that they can play sports and compete just like boys can, and show them all of the opportunities involvement in athletics can offer them."

Anderson will never forget the wealth of experience and opportunity her involvement in athletics brought her. The connection and dedication she developed in her early days at the Big Red campus have stayed with her for life and she still is involved with the womens basketball program. She attends games and served on the Cornell Athletic Advisory Council for a few years. Currently, the 1983 graduate is involved in a fund-raising effort for the womens basketball program, which keeps her in contact with present players and alumni.

In Anderson's recent contact with the Ivy League she noticed that diversity is an area that needs improvement. "The schools do a great job of attracting a very diverse student body, but in terms of athletics, there is definitely room for improvement," said Anderson. "I look out onto the floor and I don't see enough representation not just from African Americans but from Hispanics and Asian Americans as well. I am saying this from a glance without numbers or hard facts, but I think there is a need to intensify efforts to get athletes that are more reflective of society."

Rhonda says this didn't negatively affect her experience at Cornell. She has great memories of being an athlete and a student at the University.

However, of all of the memories and awards, one particular Ithaca homecoming will stay with Anderson for the rest of her life. In 1989 she returned to Cornell to serve as a speaker for the Hall of Fame inductions. She found herself among the group being inducted that day and considers it as one of the best moments of her life.

"It was quite an experience (being inducted into the Hall of Fame)," said Anderson. "As I reflect it was one of the most exciting things that has happened to me in my life. It was a big surprise and an honor for me and my family. Although I have no children right now, I think of taking my kids to show them my picture on the wall."

Maybe she should take Richard Danter, her coach from John Jay High School, as well!

-- Erica Hurtt

***Please note, this story was written for a previous Ivy League Black History Month celebration. It is reproduced here for archival purposes and has not been updated.***