Life doesn’t always bring the expected, but often, the unexpected and unforeseen occur. It is how you react to the sudden events that take over your life that separate the strong-willed from the weak-hearted.

Sports, over the years have provided the worldwide audience with moments that will last a lifetime. As fans, we tend to associate ourselves with the athletes that are “special.”

Karvel Anderson is a special athlete, the best kept secret, and soon to be, “the Best Kept Secret in the NBA.”

What sets Anderson apart from the rest is the story that needs to be told starting with his arrival at Robert Morris University. From a very underprivileged area, the Elkhart, Indiana native persevered throughout the troubling times of his adolescence.

Instead of falling for the addictions of drugs, alcohol and stereotypes of the “streets,” Anderson turned that into a promising career that could reach the top.

In his first season as a Colonial last year, Anderson played only 25 minutes off the bench as the sixth man, while scoring 12.5 points per game. One of the reasons head coach Andy Toole recruited the junior college transfer was for his three-point shooting ability.

Anderson’s junior year saw him shoot 44% from beyond the arc, including an 8-8 outing against Ohio University on December 21st, 2012.

Remember: that was coming off the bench.

Fast-forward to this season and you will find Anderson as the difference-maker on the court for the Colonials. His three-point percentage jumped to 47.7% and field goal percentage up to 52.2%. While that stat jumped significantly, the minutes on the court increased by four per game.

In total, Anderson is making a big case for NEC Player of the Year.

Through 20 games and 615 minutes this season, the shooting guard has already eclipsed the 400-point mark. In the 2012-13 season, he scored 415 points in 825 minutes.

You can do the math.

Anderson is vastly improving every game. There has only been one game this season when Anderson didn’t score in double-figures. On December 22nd, 2013, the Colonials played Oakland University. He contributed nine points, but was 0-6 from three-point land.

Anderson started the year on a 12-game double-digit point streak and is currently on an eight-game streak of the same kind. This is his year to make a case for the big-time, the show, the National Basketball Association.

The RMU Colonials website lists Anderson as 6-foot 2. For the skeptics who worry about size, there are exceptions to every rule.

Stephen Curry: From Davidson University, he spent three years at the college that made him famous. Averaging over 30 minutes each season, Curry scored 21.5 points his freshman year, 25.9 in his sophomore campaign and 28.6 points in the final year before declaring for the NBA draft in 2009. Curry averaged 41.3% from behind the line in his collegiate career. He is listed at 6-foot 3: only one inch taller than Anderson.

J.J. Redick: The Duke graduate played all four years at the institution under Mike Krzyzewski. Redick played over 30 minutes per game all four years; only to see his point totals increase by the season. He averaged 40.4% from behind the three-point line in college. Billed at 6-foot 4, Redick is only two inches taller than Anderson, with a worse outside shooting percentage.

Kyle Korver: Although, Korver is a tall 6-foot 7 NBA star, his college pedigree is quite similar to that of Anderson’s. He hailed from Creighton University, out of the Missouri Valley conference (now in the Big East). Korver played two seasons with the Blue Jays and shot 45.5% from the three-point line. He started every single game but one, and averaged over 30 minutes per contest. His sophomore season saw 1082 minutes of action and totaled 604 points. In his second and final year at the program, Creighton played one ranked team, Xavier at No. 14. RMU has played two ranked programs this year, both in the top seven at the time.

To the blind eye, Anderson isn’t the flashiest player with the highlight-reel dunks, behind-the-back passes and one-handed slams. However, his presence on the court is felt by the entire Charles L. Sewall Center.

That’s how stupendous Anderson is and that doesn’t stop at the three-point line. It’s been said that NBA scouts love a great player, but as a person, his demeanor has a reticent feel to it, but the better players do their talking on the court and not with their mouths.

The Colonials’ star has provided the Colonial Crazies with many memories in the last year and a half. Without Velton Jones, Russell Johnson and Coron Williams, Anderson has found a way to step into the spotlight, while still remaining humble throughout the team’s success.

With 10 games remaining, Anderson, Anthony Myers-Pate, and Lucky Jones have a task that only the few could say they have achieved. “Eight is Enough” is the new moniker floating around the team as of January 24th and having an NBA hopeful can remove doubt from the fans’ heads.

Life hands you nothing and you have to create that nothing into something.

Karvel Anderson will be something.