Topic: Larry Sanders

Larry Sanders (born November 21, 1988) is an American basketball player drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. He played power forward for the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. As a junior Sanders averaged 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. He then declared himself eligible for the 2010 NBA Draft and was selected 15th by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was born in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Sanders was not playing basketball in the ninth grade; the private school he attended did not offer sports. He was 6'1" when he transferred to Port St. Lucie High School. Kareem Rodriguez, the school's basketball coach, spotted Sanders, saw ability and talked him into playing. Sanders was 6'4" after the 10th grade, and 6'6" after the 11th grade. That is when Rodriguez alerted Tony Pujol, a VCU assistant and friend. Sanders sprouted to 6'9" in his high school senior year. Sanders liked the idea of learning under then VCU head coach Anthony Grant, who previously tutored prominent big men at the University of Florida as an assistant. Sanders began drawing statewide attention when he helped lead Port St. Lucie to the Class 5A state semifinals his junior season. He averaged 18.9 points and 13 rebounds his senior season, leading Port St. Lucie (20–8) to the District 13-5A championship, and was named first team all-state. He committed to the Rams just as some major schools began to show interest.

For his first two seasons for VCU, Sanders played 2nd star to guard Eric Maynor. He excelled in that role, utilizing his size and athleticism to disrupt teams defensively. As a sophomore he helped the Rams into the 2009 NCAA Tournament against the UCLA Bruins, but lost 65–64 in the first round of the tournament. Sanders went on to have a more prominent role in his junior season after Maynor was drafted into the NBA. As a junior Sanders averaged 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks, with 53% field-goal accuracy, all statistical team highs, on his way to earning the second of his consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2008–09 and 2009–10.