Virginia Commonwealth is a week away from its season opener, but big man Larry Sanders is already making headlines.
The Port St. Lucie High School graduate has been named to the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list. He is also on the watch list for the John Wooden Award.
The 6-foot-11 junior forward was also named to the preseason All-Colonial Athletic Association first team.
Sanders was the CAA defensive player of the year last season. He averaged 11.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, and had 92 blocks, which was in the top 10 in the nation.
Sanders has 187 career blocks, third most in school history and is on pace to become just the third VCU player to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.
Both the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award are national awards for the top players in the country.
