As a freshman in 2007-08, VCU center Larry Sanders earned CAA All-Rookie and All-Defensive Team honors. (This writer didn’t vote him All-Rookie-because of his minutes played-but actually voted him Defensive Player of the Year in addition to All-Defensive Team–ODU’s Brandon Johnson was so named, a selection that seems even sillier ten-months later). After last season, when Anthony Grant was mentioned for a number of major conference coaching jobs, this writer just assumed that if Grant took a big job, he’d bring Sanders along to the “big time.” This season, even with Sanders’ teammate Eric Maynor still in school, Sanders was my selection for conference Player of the Year (averaging just 10.5 points and 7 rebounds-and 3 blocks–at this juncture, that honor is probably out of his reach). I’ve also mused in print as to whether he’ll play all four years at VCU, though at this point it seems overwhelmingly that he will.
I had my first opportunity to see Sanders in person this season yesterday, in the Rams’ home win over Old Dominion 61-44. And while Larry’s 16 points (7-9) and 6 rebounds in just 24 minutes dominated the game while he was on the floor, I got a chance to observe the good and the less-good in Sanders’ game. First of all, the 6-10 Sanders runs and jumps better than anyone in the country, often rebounding off two feet on defense, outletting to a guard, running the floor like the wind, and completing the break at the other end off one foot (many times with a thunderous dunk). His jump is as quick as it is high, and he has the ability to wait until an opponent leaves the floor before leaping himself, and then catching that opponent in mid-air. Sanders also has developed a nice soft touch on his mid-range jumper (to 15 feet), which he showed along the baseline yesterday. And in addition to his athleticism, he has a nose for the ball off the board that leads to great timing in his rebounding. Oh, and as ODU Coach Blaine Taylor said yesterday, quoting something one of his own players said watching film of VCU, Sanders is “longer than leap-year.”
After the game, I asked Coach Grant what aspects of Sanders’ game needed the most work, the most improvement, at this stage. Unfortunately, the post-game protocol at VCU is such that the players selected for questioning by the media were seated right next to Grant when I asked the question, and with Sanders inches away, Coach was appropriately general (ie, he didn’t really answer the question). By my observation, Sanders’ game appears weakest on three fronts, fronts which may be related to one another, at least in part: he has not yet developed a versatile and effective low-post game on offense, his hands aren’t quite as good as he is athletic, and he commits too many fouls costing him minutes on the floor. First on his hands, Sanders gets his hands on many more rebounds (and passes) than he ends up bringing in, reminding me a bit of Patrick Ewing (imagine how great Ewing would have been if he had been blessed with good hands). Second, Sanders does not yet appear comfortable with the ball in the low block; if he should develop that part of his game he will dominate the CAA offensively. Third, a combination of some lateness on defensive help and a strong interest in leaping for blocked shots (as opposed to early position sealing off penetration, and an interest in taking charges) has made Sanders foul prone. Throw in as a fourth the fact that Sanders isn’t particularly comfortable yet in defending out on the perimeter (which he had to do some of yesterday when guarding Gerald Lee).
All that said, Sanders was a man among boys yesterday at the Siegel Center, and after sitting 14 first half minutes with two fouls, his dominant play during the first half of the second half ended any chance the Monarchs had of winning the game. And while ODU’s Lee did pull down 11 rebounds in the game, when Sanders was in the game Lee was overmatched both on the boards and in the post. (ODU’s sophomore power forward Frank Hassell showed more ability to compete with Sanders on the boards than Lee did).
So reevaluating Sanders mid-January of his sophomore year, he may be the best possible player for Coach Grant. Perhaps not yet conference Player of the Year, he is already dominant in the CAA, will be more so next season, and appears to have a skill set just short of what would be needed to leave early for the next level. And while he is a year behind ODU junior Lee and Northeasetern’s junior center Manny Adako, and two years behind Towson’s senior Junior Hairston and Delaware’s senior Jim Ledsome, he is already head and shoulders better than all four of those players. So even though he won’t be Player of the Year THIS YEAR in the CAA, Sanders is right where Coach Grant would like him to be, with two and a half years still to go in his VCU career.
