Andie Anastos never wanted to choose between basketball and hockey.
A standout in both sports at Ladywood High in Livonia, Mich., Anastos built upon the legacies of her parents and developed into a top recruit on the ice and the hardwood. Her mom, Lisa, played basketball at Dearborn Fordson while her dad, Tom, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and later coached men’s hockey at Michigan State. Her oldest sibling had committed to hockey and her two other older siblings had settled into basketball, leaving her with a tricky decision during her junior year.
“I love playing both,” she told USA Today back in 2013, “and I just didn’t want to stop.”
In the end, Anastos said, Boston College women’s hockey chose her. She met with coaches and toured the campus during a U-16 tournament in Boston. Later that day, Anastos called to accept a scholarship offer from head coach Katie Crowley & Co.
A little more than four years later, Anastos completed a decorated career for the Eagles, capped off by a game-winning goal in overtime of the Hockey East Championship. But what if she had stuck with basketball? What if the 5-foot-8 captain was really meant to be an ACC-level point guard? Well, we’re about to find out.
As BC Interruption reported on Saturday, Anastos—who exhausted her four years of hockey eligibility—will spend her final year of collegiate eligibility with Erik Johnson and the women’s basketball team as a graduate student.
It’s more than just squeezing out every last drop of eligibility from one of the finest athletes on the Heights. It’s about taking advantage of the opportunity to play the sport in which she first fell in love. According to Anastos, she picked up basketball around the same time that she learned to skate, and often felt more comfortable with a ball in her hands rather than a stick.
Anastos was also stronger than most of the opposing guards in high school, a mismatch that was easier to exploit on the court than on the ice. She averaged 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists during her senior season, one which she played after already committing to BC for hockey. It was all for fun. Coaches praised her physicality, as well as her ability to get inside and finish creatively around the rim.
For Johnson and the women’s basketball program, the news could not come at a better time. With all-time 3-point leader Kelly Hughes graduating and star center Mariella Fasoula transferring, the Eagles are returning Georgia Pineau and Taylor Ortlepp as their leading scorers. They are in desperate need of a playmaker, and if former teammate Kenzie Kent’s performance in the Women’s Lacrosse National Championship is any indication, Anastos might just be the “Captain Awesome” they’ve been waiting for.
Featured Image by Julia Hopkins / Heights Editor
