Spotlighting Detroit Cass Tech center Raheem Anderson, a 4-star recruit, against Detroit King, Sept. 20, 2019. Joey Delgado, Special to Detroit Free Press
Next year, when Detroit Cass Tech center Raheem Anderson II decides which college he wants to attend, making the announcement should be a snap.
It certainly couldn’t be any tougher than when he decided to enroll at Cass as a ninth grader. He had to break the news to his father, Raheem, who was a mainstay in the trenches for the late 80s football teams at arch-rival Detroit King.
“We had an agreement – I told him ‘If you keep your grades high, you could pick the school that you want to go to,” his father explained. “He got a 4.0, he shook my hand, he looked me in the eye, and said, ‘Dad, I want to go to Cass.’ It was rough (for me to hear), but it was like, I don’t want to micro-manage his life.
It turned out to be a fruitful move for the 6-foot-3, 298-pound Anderson, who’s received 19 scholarship offers – including one from Michigan, which seems to be where he's leaning.
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According to 247 Sports Composite, Anderson is the second-ranked center in the country among the class of 2021 and the No. 6 junior in the state.
“First of all, academics is the main thing on my list (influencing a decision),” said Anderson, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average and wants to major in electrical engineering. “I’m also looking at the stability of football coaches they have, and to see if the team is like a family.”
But there seems to be no rush on closing in on a decision.
“He’s enjoying the recruiting process right now; we just left from Syracuse, we’re going to another game at Notre Dame in a couple of weeks,” Anderson’s dad said. “It’s his junior year; I just want him to enjoy being recruited, and soon enough he’ll make the decision, and we’ll go from there.”
Like he did when he chose Cass Tech as an incoming ninth-grader.
“It’s like he was saying he wants to create his own legacy,” said the elder Anderson. “By me going to King, he didn’t know anybody over at Cass, so he earned it himself. Nobody had any reason to show any favoritism, so it was all his hard work and effort.”
And that makes for some interesting family dynamics each time a Cass-King matchup rolls around – including last Friday, when King rolled, 47-7. At halftime, the Crusaders celebrated the 20th anniversary of their 1989 squad, the first Detroit Public School squad to reach the state championship. Many former players – including Anderson – took the field in black-and-gold jerseys and were introduced to the crowd.
“I feel like I’ve got everybody under contract,” he said following King’s 47-7 victory, “but you never want your kids to lose anything. I know he’s feeling down, so I’ve got to be a dad when I get home. The King shirt will come off when I get home, and it’s my time to be Dad.”
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Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher has been high on Anderson ever since he first set foot on campus. He started as a freshman, so he’s now one of Cass’ most-experienced players, and has since built his skill set enough to become one of the team leaders, often calling the blocking schemes.
“I see a kid who can elevate the team, a kid who can motivate the team and a person who has every little thing it takes to be a great player,” Wilcher said. “He has the GPA, he has good listening skills, he has the work ethic to keep trying, he has that engine that just don’t quit. He’ll just be a great player as long as he keeps going the way he’s going.”
Detroit King crushed rival Detroit Cass Tech, 47-7, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. Here are the highlights. Joey Delgado, Special to the Detroit Free Press
2019-09-22 10:00:00Z
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/09/22/detroit-cass-tech-raheem-anderson-recruiting/2407936001/
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