BREAKING | Notre Dame Hoops Lands 2020 F Tony Sanders Jr.
With in-person recruiting on pause for the foreseeable future, some prospects who are going to have to make quick decisions.
Tony Sanders Jr., did just that.
The 2020 Florida forward received a scholarship offer from Notre Dame earlier this week and the Gulliver Prep standout ended the week by offering his verbal commitment to the Irish.
The 6-foot-7 Sanders joins forwards Matt Zona and Elijah Taylor who signed with Notre Dame during the early signing period.
Sanders chose Notre Dame over offers from schools like Florida State, Georgia, South Carolina and Dayton along with some Ivy League programs.
Sanders’ father, Tony Sanders Sr., spoke with Irish Sports Daily following the decision.
“Tony was probably raised different than many situations of others,” Sanders Sr. “We understand the prestige of the University. We were looking for something that was going to give him the best of both worlds and I don’t think you can go wrong with Notre Dame, so I supported him with his decision on that.”
Sanders Sr. said the Irish staff was “very excited” to hear of the decision.
“They said Tony can come in and make an impact for their team,” Sanders Sr. said. “Again, for me, the basketball piece is not that important. That’s for Tony, but I have the upmost confidence in him and I know he will do well.”
Earlier in the week, ISD spoke with Sanders’ summer coach for Game Elite Florida, Russ Powell.
“Honestly, it has nothing to do with basketball,” Powell says of Sanders’ potential. “It’s his maturity and just the way he goes about things on a day-to-day basis, which carries over to the basketball court. He’s a hard worker in life in everything he does period.
“Obviously, he loves basketball tremendously, so he works hard at that as well. He’s honestly one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever been around and one of the most mature kids I’ve been around. He just works extremely hard at his craft and everything he does.”
He’s obviously gifted as well.
“He has a really good game,” says Powell. “He can score it on all three levels. I think one of his best attributes is going to be how he’s able to defend a lot of different positions being 6-7 and having long arms. He can literally guard the 1 through the 4 positions in some cases.
“I think his versatility is one of the things Notre Dame likes in him. He’s one of those guys they can play at a few positions.”