UND senior Aaron Anderson dribbles the ball last weekend against Montana. Photo by Chester Beltowski/The Dakota Student.

Aaron Anderson’s quiet demeanor may be the first thing noticed about him, but his quiet confidence speaks volumes.

The senior starting point guard is having a respectable year with 10.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. But what the box score will not tell you is that Anderson, along with the other seniors on the team, is leading the way for the Green and White’s success.

“Being the leader, you just gotta bring it every day in practice, to show to the younger guys and the rest of the teammates who are around your age group and what coach wants,” Anderson said. “We’ve just got to go out and play every night — play every possession as your last. Just being here, knowing what the coaches expect, and me, Troy Huff and Jamal Webb know what to expect from coach and pass that on.”

Anderson and his other senior teammates are feeling the pressure of being the leaders, but are accepting the responsibilities of leadership as the results speak for themselves.

UND is having one of its best basketball seasons in the last couple of years and currently is sitting in the upper half of the conference in the Big Sky tournament race with five games to go.

UND coach Brian Jones also knows he needs his seniors.

“All of them are great kids and we are only going to be as good as our seniors allow us to be,” he said. “That’s what I have tried to stress to them … I expect them to lead by how hard they play.”

Though the regular season has come with its ups and downs, Anderson and the other leaders of the team have tried to stay level headed, knowing what their focus truly is.

They all know that if they were to win the Big Sky Tournament, they would make a mark in the record books.

The biggest stage is the NCAA Men’s Division I Championship — informally known as the Big Dance.

“Basically, a tournament win would be big because we would make history,” Anderson said. “Just because it’s the school’s first year it would get into the dance and winning the conference tournament to get the automatic bid, so it would just be special in that sense of just being the first to do it.

“Just going out and playing in the dance is everybody’s dream. When it comes, they come to college and play Division I just to get there and get the experience, so we know this is our last go arround, and we know we’ve got to give it everything we have.”

The writing is on the wall. Anderson and the seniors know that they are running out of time to accomplish what they have set out to do for four years.

Even though the focus is on the Big Sky and the March Madness tournament, Anderson knows there is life after college, and he has prepared for that.

With his focus unwavering, Anderson can see the finish line, and knows exactly what he has to do to lead his team, and to fulfil the dream of every college basketball player.

“I hope to keep playing overseas somewhere,” he said. “I want to keep playing this game. I love it too much to stop right now. I would like to keep playing, but if not, then I got the degree in economics to go find a job.”

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].