RICHMOND, Va. – We’ve seen him rebound, we’ve seen him throw down some dunks, we’ve seen him block shots, but on Tuesday night the Richmond area will get to see something new from former Ram Larry Sanders, throwing a baseball.

Sanders will be a special guest of the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Tuesday night at The Diamond when they host the Reading Phillies in a 7:05 p.m. contest. He will be on hand to throw out the first pitch as well as being available for autographs for his beloved fans.

“The city of Richmond and the VCU community are major reasons why I got this great opportunity in the NBA,” Sanders said. “This was just an opportunity that was presented to me and I couldn’t pass up a chance to thank so many of those fans that supported me during my time at VCU.”

Sanders became the second straight Ram to be drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft when the Milwaukee Bucks selected the Fort Pierce, Fla. native with the 15^th pick. He excelled in the week long summer league and looks to be a major contributor to the Bucks this season.

For more tickets, call the Richmond Flying Squirrels ticket office at 804-359-3866.

Once again, Sanders lead the Bucks with a game high of 17 points in a final Las Vegas Summer League matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  It was his second consecutive double-digit output, and Sanders’ highest total since dropping 22 this past Tuesday.

Larry finished the summer season with a 14-point scoring average, but it was on defense where the 2-time former CAA Defensive Player of the Year truly shined.

VCU fans watching at home saw the familiar shot blocking prowess that Sanders displayed in his three years with the Rams.  His 3.2 blocks per contest were tops among all players, including last year’s 2nd overall pick and shot-blocking sensation Hasheem Thabeet, as well as the NCAA’s all-time leading shot blocker and Miami Heat rookie, Jarvis Varnado.

“If I take that first game away I’d say maybe a B+, if I keep that first game I’d say maybe a C-”, Sanders graded himself on this week’s play.

Larry started the week with a serious case of the rookie nerves, trying to do too much and hitting only 4-of-15 shots in his first taste of NBA action.  He quickly settled down however going 9-14 the following evening and added 9 rebounds to go with his 22 points on the night.

Sanders then followed his offensive explosion with a dominating defensive effort — grabbing 13 boards to go along with 3 blocks and 4 steals in a summer league version of last years playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.

The following night saw Sanders block a week high 5 shots in a loss to the Heat.  He added 14 points and 8 rebounds in the effort.

LS8’s 14 point average was tops among all Bucks players, but his versatility on both sides of the ball was what impressed most.  The rookie out of VCU averaged a team high 8.4 rebounds and ran the floor like a “Gazelle” to quote play-by-play man and ex-NBA forward, Denise Scott.

Larry will take the rest of his summer to prepare for the rigors of a full NBA season, some 77 games longer than this 5-day version that saw him break out onto the nation radar.

2010-11 MEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Season tickets for the 2010-11 VCU Men’s Basketball season are on sale now. Today is the perfect time to secure your seats! This season the men’s team will have 15 home games. Highlighting the home schedule are games against VMI, Tulane, George Mason, Old Dominion, and James Madison.

New this season – the Swaders Family Season Ticket Plan! This package includes two adult and two youth tickets to every home game – for the low price of $300! In addition, all Young Alumni receive a 50% discount off the regular price after joining the Ram Athletic Fund. For your convenience, a payment plan option is available to break up the total cost over four months.

Don’t miss out on all the great action at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center this year!

2010-11 Season Ticket Pricing
Reserved Season Ticket: $215
Faculty/Staff Ticket Package: $195
Baseline Ticket Package: $165
Young Alumni: $107.50*
NEW – Swaders Family Season Ticket Plan: $300
NEW – VIP Floor Season Ticket Plan: $500

***Season ticket renewals will be sent out the week of July 12.

Mini Plan packages will go on sale in September once the schedule is finalized. Single game tickets will go on sale on Monday, Oct. 18.

*Young Alumni receive 50% off regular price when joining the Ram Athletic Fund.

For more information on VCU Men’s Basketball Season Tickets, click here or contact the VCU Ticket Office at (804) 828-7267

AP

Sanders struggled in his first game going just 4-15 from the field but bounced back in a major way, just a rebound shy of a double-double and even hit 2-of-3 long range shots including what seemed to be an overtime forcing tre with 0.7 left in regulation.

Unfortunately for the Bucks the refs are currently in Summer League mode as well, as Sam Young sank a three pointer post-buzzer that was counted as the game winning bucket for the Grizzles.

Sanders added two assists, a steal, and cut his turnovers in half from yesterday’s 6 against the Dallas Mavericks. LS8 looked much more relaxed in tonight’s outing, hitting 9-of-14 shots from the field, most of which were of the jump shot variety but did manage to sneak in his first dunk of Summer League play.

The Bucks move to 0-2 and will next face the Atlanta Hawks this Wednesday at 8:30PM.

All Summer League games are shown on NBA TV.

Buck’s assistant coach Jim Boylan said he expects Sanders to see 25 to 28 minutes of play in today’s game.

Sanders will compete alongside Buck’s second round draft pick Keith “Tiny” Gallon.

The last time these two shared a court was during a 82-69 VCU victory as the Rams hosted Gallon’s Sooners squad coached by ex-VCU head coach Jeff Capel.

Joining the Buck’s is former Hofstra standout Antoine Agudio.  The former CAA sharpshooter has spent the past two season in the NBA’s D-League with the New Mexico Thunderbirds.

Coming off an 87-82 win against the Celtics in which Eric posted 15 points, 5 assists, and zero turnovers, the young Thunder take on the Bobcats at 3PM today on NBA TV.

Maynor was one of four Thunder players to drop double-digit points in yesterday’s matchup against the Celtics in the first game of Orlando Summer League action.

Maynor averaged 4.7 points and 3.3 assists in 15.7 minutes per contest his season with the Thunder.

Averaging 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists as a senior this past season, Weber, young for his class, will play one prep season at Fork Union before joining the Rams in 2011.

Weber, a Southern District Player of the Year, was courted by the likes of UVA, Marshall, Creighton and CAA rival Old Dominion.

ESPN compares Weber to a Rajon Rondo type, a long armed player who uses his defense to set up offensive opportunities.

Weber joins 6′4 West Virginia product Pierria Henry as the only commitment for the 2011 class after 6′6 forward Kasey Wilson reopened his recruitment this past month.

With that, Larry becomes the highest ever draft pick to come out of Virginia Commonwealth University, and the selection makes VCU the only Virginia school to have back-to-back first rounders in the NBA Draft after seeing Eric Maynor go to the Utah Jazz in last year’s first round.

Larry joins a talented young Buck’s team that finished 6th in the NBA Eastern Division this past season.

The Bucks had expressed interest in Sanders after a pre-draft workout, and signs from the previous weeks pointed to a possible selection at that 15th spot.

A Huge Congratulations goes out to Larry from all of VCU Ram Nation!

Houston has a college-ready body at 6′8, 240 pounds and is a face-up 4 who is pretty skilled and has a nice jumper out to 20 feet. He’s yet another lefty who will be a great on-the-ball defender in the press for the Rams. He is not highly-rated by recruiting services (83 ESPN grade, Scout 2 star, unranked by Rivals), but his offers do speak for themselves. He has a high-major body and has shown flashes of high-major ability during his high school career. While he may not be an impact player in the SEC, he is more than good enough at the CAA level. He will be a steady 4-year player for the Rams who won’t be flashy, but will get the job done. He is also a fairly good athlete (though not as explosive as Toby Veal) who will give us even more frontcourt depth with Jamie Skeen, Toby Veal, Juvonte Reddic, and DJ Haley.

VCU’s Coaching Staff is recruiting at a very high level with well-regarded players and building for a bright future. Just when we thought the 2010 class couldn’t get any better, we get a SEC decommit to cap off the class! Awesome stuff from Shaka and crew! Ladies and Gentlemen, I officially present the full VCU 2010 recruiting class: Reco McCarter, Juvonte Reddic, Toby Veal, Rob Brandenberg, DJ Haley, and Heath Houston! GO RAMS!