Associated Press Names Thomas Sanders To 2008 All-America Team
March 31, 2008 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK – Gardner-Webb men's basketball standout Thomas
Sanders earned an honorable mention spot on the 2008 Associated
Press All-America Team, which was announced Monday.
Sanders, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound forward, is the first GWU men's
basketball player to earn All-America honors since swing man Robbie
Turner was named third-team Division II All-America following the
1995-1996 campaign.
The Sugarland, Texas, senior becomes the school's first NCAA
Division I All-America selection in basketball, and is the 16th
All-America choice in Gardner-Webb's history-rich tradition on the
hardwood – joining Hall of Famers Artis Gilmore (NJCAA),
Dennis Childress (NJCAA), George Adams (NAIA), John Drew (NAIA),
Jim Blanks (NAIA), Lew Young (NAIA), Dave Bormann (NAIA), Stan
Easterling (NAIA), Ben Davis (NAIA) and Eddie Lee Wilkins (NAIA),
among others.
Sanders, who spent two seasons at Gardner-Webb after transferring
from Otero (Colo.) Junior College, led the ‘Dogs in scoring
and rebounding this past season – earning A-Sun Player of the
Year honors with averages of 18.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.3
assists per game. A dynamic player, Sanders finished third
nationally with a school-record 20 double-doubles – and became
the first GWU player to average a season double-double since
Easterling did so 20 years ago.
Sanders finished the 2007-2008 season with the fourth-best
rebounding total in A-Sun history (345) and broke the league's
single-season record for double-doubles. He finished a spectacular
two-year career at GWU with 555 rebounds and 910 points – and
had career-high game totals in points (30 vs. Kennesaw State) and
rebounds (22 vs. USC Upstate) in his final campaign.
A former high school All-America selection on the home school
circuit (Houston's HCYA Warriors), Sanders is on track to graduate
in May, 2008, and will likely pursue a career in professional
basketball.
He was named to the A-Sun's All-Academic Team earlier this season,
and was a first-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District III
choice in February after compiling a 3.32 grade point average in
Social Sciences.
