COMMENTARY: ON MATT’S MIND

With freshman Larry Sanders (Fort
Pierce, Fla./Port St. Lucie) moving into
the top 10 for most blocks in a season
for VCU, the Rams now have their best
triple-threat post presence in more than
a decade.

Kendrick Warren set the bar high in
the early 1990s and maintains a presence
at every home game – his jersey hangs
from the rafters. Lorenza Watson, who
played in the program’s early days from
1975-1979, was perhaps the best big man
in VCU history. Watson is the school’s
all-time leader in blocked shots (391),
rebounds (1,143) and double-doubles
(46).

Sanders, through Saturday’s win
over Towson, averages 5.1 points, 4.8
rebounds and 2.8 blocks in only 15.5
minutes per game. He has shown continued
improvement both in maturity and
statistically. Sanders has become a regular
fixture in the starting lineup and has led
the team in rebounding seven times.

One of Sanders’ best qualities is his
ability to help his teammates improve.

“He gives our perimeter guys a lot of
confidence knowing that they can really
extend defensively and take some chances
and be aggressive with him back there to
clean things up,” coach Anthony Grant
said after Saturday’s win.

Next season, after the graduation of seniors
Michael Anderson (Virginia Beach/
Landstown) and Wil Fameni (Douala,
Cameroon/Amelia Academy), Sanders
will see an increase in minutes. Twice
the time, twice the stats means Sanders
will be a double-double candidate every
time he takes the floor.

There are a couple of Watson records
Sanders won’t want to touch: most career
fouls (358) and most times fouling out
(28).

Sanders currently leads the team
this season with 61 fouls through 21
games. He has fouled out of three games
(Maryland, Bradley and Old Dominion),
although the Rams won all three.

Practice time is vital for the freshman,
who is in just his third season of organized
basketball, to learn to be aggressive at
both ends of the floor without fouling.

“I thought there were a couple blocks
that were called something else,” Grant
said of Sanders’ defense Saturday. “But
that’s the way the game goes.”

When Sanders gets a few more games
under his belt, close calls will become
clean blocks. He leads all freshmen in
the nation in blocked shots per game and
has already made a mark on the identity
of VCU basketball.