Former Mt. Spokane, Whitworth and Idaho guard Jojo Anderson stays local with EWU hoops

CHENEY, Wash. – Jojo Anderson is right at home in Cheney.

“I’m excited to see what these guys got,” Anderson said.

Not technically in his hometown, but the same county. He’s only 45 minutes away from his high school, the Mt. Spokane Wildcats.

Anderson shined for the ‘Cats, finishing runner-up in the 2019 WIAA 3 state tournament, and then he went on to Whitworth for three years winning conference player of the year before his latest stop for the Idaho Vandals.

“Jojo Anderson is the epitome of experience in college basketball,” EWU head coach Dan Monson said.

Anderson says he’s grateful for his time leading up to now but also thrilled to land with the Eags for his last dance.

“My sister was a cheerleader here for a long time, I got to watch Bogdan and Jake Wiley play, and I’m big fans of them and they’re some of my mentors now,” Anderson said. “I love being around high-level basketball. I think the Big Sky is a very underrated Division I conference. I’m honestly happy to be in the conference again, it’s great.”

“When he got on the market and wanted to stay close to home, we were thrilled about it,” Monson said.

His final season brings a wealth of experience to Eastern: a top-25 youngest team in the NCAA last year.

“I wanna make sure everyone hears me, I wanna make sure everyone else is heard, I wanna be infectious,” Anderson said. “I think that’s something I learned at Idaho and Whitworth, which is I gotta be authentic to my character, which is I’m loud and obnoxious, and I want the gym to be loud when we’re here, we got two hours.”

Eastern’s full schedule including conference dates is expected to drop early next week, and in typical Coach Monson fashion, it won’t be easy.

“Play the best teams you can in the preseason. For a place like Eastern Washington, it truly is a pre season, and we have to… the best way to learn is playing against the best teams you can.”