One of two members of Coach K's first Duke recruiting class in 1981 alongside Greg Wendt - the 6'8" Golden Valley, Minnesota forward from Robbinsdale Armstrong High School who stayed all four years through the Coach K rebuild. Started seven games as a freshman on Coach K's 10-17 second Duke team in 1981-82 and was a senior reserve on the 23-8 1984-85 Sweet Sixteen team that announced the modern Coach K era had arrived. The four-year-class survivor of the 1981 Coach K cohort. Holds dual French and American citizenship per FIBA records, indicating a substantial professional basketball career in France after his 1985 Duke graduation.
Forward6'9"1981–85
Born MARCH 27, 1963 (per FIBA database) • Full name TODD HARVEY ANDERSON • Hometown GOLDEN VALLEY, MINNESOTA (western Minneapolis suburb in Hennepin County) • High school ROBBINSDALE ARMSTRONG HIGH SCHOOL (Plymouth, Minnesota; the public secondary school founded in 1970 and named after Neil Armstrong; serves the cluster of inner-ring western Minneapolis suburbs including Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Plymouth, and Golden Valley) • Class of 1981 (Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) • 6'8” (Sports-Reference) / 6'9” (Duke stub roster), 225 lbs, Forward, jersey #44 • One of TWO members of COACH K's FIRST DUKE RECRUITING CLASS in 1981 alongside Greg Wendt of Detroit Catholic Central HS • Four-year Duke career 1981-1985 (Class of 1985) • Freshman 1981-82: 20 G, 7 STARTS, 14.9 MPG, 64 pts, 3.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 44.9% FG, 83.3% FT on 20-of-24, on Coach K's 10-17 second Duke season (the bottom of the rebuild) • Sophomore 1982-83: 22 G, 10.5 MPG, 2.1 ppg on Coach K's 11-17 third Duke season featuring the arrival of the six-member Godfather Class (Dawkins, Alarie, Henderson, Bilas, Williams, Jackman) • Junior 1983-84: 18 G, 3.7 MPG, 0.5 ppg on the 24-10 Duke team that won Coach K's FIRST NCAA TOURNAMENT BID • Senior 1984-85: 21 G, 3.9 MPG, 0.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg on the 23-8 SWEET SIXTEEN TEAM that finished top-10 nationally and announced the modern Coach K era of Duke basketball had arrived (the Godfather Class as juniors plus freshman PG Tommy Amaker) • CAREER TOTALS: 81 games, 7 starts (all as freshman), 135 points, 117 rebounds, 676 total minutes • The FOUR-YEAR-CLASS SURVIVOR of Coach K's first Duke recruiting cohort (Greg Wendt transferred after sophomore year; Anderson stayed all four years) • POST-DUKE: per FIBA database, FIBA player ID 105514, holds DUAL FRENCH AND AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP (the dual citizenship combined with FIBA player registration indicates a substantial European professional basketball career, most likely in France) • Proballers basketball player ID 238489 • Specific French clubs and pro-career years: NOT YET in the public record; Brotherhood call-to-action active for those who knew him during his Duke years or his subsequent European pro career
Now: Todd Harvey Anderson holds dual French and American citizenship per the FIBA database, suggesting a long professional basketball career in France after his four-year Duke career under Coach K. Hometown Golden Valley, Minnesota; high school Robbinsdale Armstrong High School (Plymouth, MN). Four-year Duke career 1981-1985 as one of two members of Coach K's first Duke recruiting class alongside Greg Wendt. Started seven games as a freshman under Coach K in 1981-82 (Coach K's second Duke season, 10-17 finish) and shot 83.3% from the FT line as a 6'8" freshman role player. Played reserve roles on the 1982-83, 1983-84, and 1984-85 teams. Senior reserve on the 23-8 1984-85 Sweet Sixteen team that announced the modern Coach K era of Duke basketball had arrived. Career totals: 81 games, 7 starts, 135 points, 117 rebounds across four Coach K seasons. The four-year-class survivor of Coach K's foundational 1981 recruiting cohort. If you know Todd Harvey Anderson of Robbinsdale Armstrong HS Class of 1981 and Duke Class of 1985, please write to the Brotherhood.
Todd Harvey Anderson grew up in Golden Valley, Minnesota - the western Minneapolis suburb in Hennepin County along the Theodore Wirth Parkway that has long been one of the most desirable inner-ring suburbs of the Twin Cities. He was born on March 27, 1963. He attended Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in nearby Plymouth, the public high school founded in 1970 and named for the Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, that serves the broader cluster of Hennepin County communities including Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Plymouth, and Golden Valley. He was, by his senior year of high school, 6'8" tall, 225 pounds, and one of the higher-profile Division I basketball recruits in the state of Minnesota.
In the late winter and early spring of 1981, the recruiter who landed him was a thirty-four-year-old former West Point basketball coach who had just finished his first season as the new head basketball coach at Duke University. Mike Krzyzewski's first Duke season, 1980-81, had finished 17-13. Coach K was preparing his first full recruiting class as a Duke head coach. He needed bodies who could fill the post and the wing. He signed Greg Wendt of Detroit Catholic Central HS and he signed Todd Anderson of Robbinsdale Armstrong HS. The 1981 class - two-name, Wendt-and-Anderson - was Coach K's first Duke recruiting class. The Godfather Class would arrive the next October. The 1981 class arrived first.
The Emily K Center, founded by Mike Krzyzewski in 2006 and named for his mother Emily, provides K-12 educational programs to under-resourced Durham students. For a Brotherhood member like Todd Anderson - the four-year survivor of Coach K's very first Duke recruiting class in 1981, who stayed through the 10-17 freshman year and the 11-17 sophomore year and the 24-10 junior year and the 23-8 Sweet Sixteen senior year that announced the program had arrived - the natural Brotherhood charity is the institution Coach K himself built in honor of his mother. Anderson was on the floor for the bottom of the Coach K Duke career. He was on the bench for its first Sweet Sixteen ascent. The Emily K Center is the right place to direct the kind of Brotherhood giving the foundational K-era recruits represent.