November 2, 2009

SANDERS SELECTED TO NAISMITH TROPHY PRESEASON WATCH LIST
Complete Preseason Watch List

ATLANTA, Ga. – The season is still two weeks away, but Virginia Commonwealth University junior Larry Sanders (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) is already piling up the national recognition.

For the second time this preseason, Sanders earned a spot on a national award watch list, this time it was a spot on the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List, which goes along with his spot on the Preseason Watch List for the John Wooden Award that he received last month.

In just two seasons with the Black & Gold, Sanders has been a menace for the opposition, on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court.

He already ranks third in school history with 187 blocks and is on pace to become only the third men’s basketball player ever to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.

Averaging 11.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last year, he was named to the All-CAA Second Team and earned the CAA Defensive Player of the Year award. He also ranked in the top-10 in the country in blocks per game with an average of 2.7.

Sanders used a record-breaking 18-point, 20-rebound performance in the CAA Championship game to gain national recognition.  

This summer, Sanders took his status on the national stage to a new level with outstanding performances at both the Amar’e Stoudemire Camp and the LeBron James Basketball Academy.

Sanders and his teammates open up the 2009-10 campaign with a Nov. 5th exhibition contest against intra-city rival, Virginia Union.

The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2009-10 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2010 NCAA Men's Final Four in Indianapolis, Ind.

Since 2005, presenting sponsor AT&T has set the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining the trophy winner. Through the power and ease of text messaging, fan voting will account for an unprecedented 25% of the final results – more than any other national college basketball award. In February, during CBS' coverage of college basketball, the “AT&T at the Half” segment will feature a Naismith Trophy update highlighting the players in contention for the award.

In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors will compile a mid-season team of the Top 30 players in the nation. Then in March, the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four finalists.