SAN ANTONIO — Steve Alford was barely into his first week as UCLA's new basketball coach when he first met the kid everyone called “Slow-Mo.”

That was a little more than a year ago.

It wasn't long before Alford came to appreciate, and even admire, Kyle Anderson's deliberate, earthbound approach to the game.

“Athleticism is very overrated for the most part,” Alford said Friday. “You can either play or you can't play.”

Fresh off an NBA championship, the Spurs spent their first-round pick in Thursday's draft, No. 30 overall, banking that Anderson — aka Slow-Mo — can play.

If anything, Anderson — a 6-foot-9 forward with the beautiful mind of a point guard — fits the Spurs' mold. Were Gregg Popovich's team ever to tire of “pounding the rock” as the company motto, “athleticism is overrated” would serve as a suitable replacement.

Anderson, 20, averaged 14.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and a Pac-12-best 6.5 assists as a sophomore last season and earned first-team all-conference honors.

He is one of only three NCAA players in the past 30 years to reach those thresholds in a single season, joining Ohio State's Evan Turner in 2009-10 and Memphis' Anfernee Hardaway in 1992-93.

But back to that nickname. Slow-Mo?

“It's cool,” said Anderson, who uses the pseudonym as his Twitter handle. “I love it. I really embrace it.”

Alford says he never saw Slow-Mo's moniker as a pejorative. Rather, he views it as an homage to Anderson's “ability to slow the game down.”

Still, there's no arguing that the lead-footed Anderson uses his brain — more than his brawn or other physical attributes — to make things happen.

“Some people get wrapped up with jumping over the backboard,” Alford said. “But do you understand how to play the game? Kyle comes to San Antonio knowing how to play.”

Alford should know. He often ran his offense through Slow-Mo en route to the school's first Sweet 16 appearance since 2008.

In a way, and without really knowing it, the pass-happy Anderson has been training to be a Spur his entire life.

His basketball education began under the guidance of his father, Kyle Sr., who made his son play against older kids in order to face tougher competition.

When he was 8, Anderson was playing against players 10 or 11 years old. He often was the shortest player on the floor, so he gravitated to point guard.

As Anderson got older, sprouted to 6-9 and began playing against opponents his own age, the point-guard skills stuck.

A New York native, Anderson spent his final two years of high school at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey. His coach there: Bob Hurley, an East Coast prep coaching legend whose son, Bobby, remains the NCAA's all-time assists leader.

St. Anthony's went 65-0 in Anderson's two seasons. Hurley often (and perhaps prematurely) compared his towering point guard to Larry Bird.

Anderson assesses himself this way: “Just a guy who's unselfish, likes to get his teammates involved. That's what you saw a lot with the Spurs this postseason.”

General manager R.C. Buford quibbles slightly with the notion that Anderson's game meshes uniquely with the Spurs Way.

“His game would fit a lot of places,” Buford said. “He is such a skilled player, and has such good size for the position, I don't know he would just fit here.”

Still, heading into the draft there were only a small handful of U.S. college players the Spurs thought might be available at the end of the first round that might help them. Anderson was one.

There are other reasons to like Anderson than just his high hoops IQ. He has a 7-3 wingspan, same as Kawhi Leonard. He is an eager rebounder. After tweaking a hitch in his jumper, Anderson shot 48 percent from 3-point range in his final college season.

Anderson will need to work on his defense to thrive in the NBA, something his college coach says he understands.

“If you're in Pop's franchise, and want to play, you have to be committed at both ends,” Alford said. “He'll do that.”

As seamlessly as Anderson would appear to fit with the Spurs, it could be asking a lot to expect the final pick of the first round to show up and immediately contribute to the defending NBA champions.

Likewise, Anderson knows he is likely to see more action in 10 days at the Las Vegas Summer League next month than in the first 10 weeks of the regular season.

“That's cool,” Anderson said. “I understand I've got to earn my spot.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN