Sports

Anacreon spurns locals, signs with Wichita State

When James Anacreon fell three classes short of qualifying, it was a humbling moment for the Queens product who thought he was passed such days. Suddenly his future – the National Letter of Intent he signed with Iona College was void – was again in doubt.

“I wasn’t sure if I was gonna still be able to play Division I or not,” recalled Anacreon. “It was stressful.”

Anacreon buckled down even further after that, however, making up the classes at JUCO Lake Land College (Ill.) and qualifying academically. And Saturday afternoon, he put the disappointment in the past, signing with Wichita State and joining good friend and Queens native Ede Egharevba in the Shockers 2011 class.

“I feel like everything happens for a reason; me not qualifying happened for a reason,” he said. “Now I’m in the best situation possible.”

Anacreon, an athletic 6-foot-7 forward who played just briefly in high school at Francis Lewis and spent two years of JUCO ball at Snead State Community College (Ala.), Broward College (Fla.) and Lake Land College, picked Wichita State over Iona, Hofstra, IPFW and Utah. He never visited the Kansas school, but said he didn’t need to. Anacreon heard great things about the campus from Egharevba and had a bond with newly hired assistant Greg Heier, who recruited him when he was at Southern Mississippi.

“They got a lot of former JUCO coaches, I can connect more with those coaches, they know more about the transition from JUCO to Division I,” said Anacreon, who averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game for Lake Land last year and was an All-Region 24 first team selection. “It’s a great program. I feel like it’s a great fit for me. They said I can come in and compete for starting minutes immediately and help them win games.”

The timing of the commitment was peculiar. Anacreon had a visit schedule for Iona Sunday and Hofstra Monday. Sources said Iona expected a commitment from Anacreon on his visit. When he signed with them initially, he lauded the program and said he couldn’t wait to play with childhood friends Scott Machado and Trinity Fields, calling it his dream school.

Lake Land coach Cedric Brown said he never heard from Iona when Ancreon failed to qualify in May while Wichita State got back in the picture and he figured the Gaels needed to fill out its 2011 class.

“It’s a gut feeling,” Anacreon said. “I did all my research, I looked into both situations and I felt Wichita State was better. Playing style, role I’m gonna play on the team, conference – everything.”

In high school, Anacreon was strictly a limited post player who rarely made an impact outside of the lane. But he developed into an explosive and versatile forward in junior college. One college coach familiar with Anacreon described him as “very athletic, a quick leaper, and he loves to attack the basket.”

“James is a true four, he’s a rebounder, he’s a shotblocker,” Brown said. “Skill-wise, inside the arc, he can put it on the deck, finish at the basket. He’s improving his range consistnetly from 12-15 feet out to about 21, 22.”

He’ll bring those qualities with him to Wichita State after a brief detour.

“I’m relieved,” Anacreon said. “I’m ready to get to work.”

zbraziller@nypost.com