Jonathan Sanders
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Sanders is an American
semi-professional basketball
player and amateur poet
. He has played for teams in Lithuania
, Japan
, and Taiwan
with most of his career spent with the Super Basketball League
(SBL) of Taiwan.
along with his new stepfather and soon-to-be high school basketball coach at Belleview Christian High School. He has a stepbrother named Bryson Sharpley.
awards. In his Senior Year, he was awarded the Gatorade
Player of the Year for the state of Colorado, and was among the top 100 basketball prospects in the country, being heavily recruited by such colleges as Kansas University, USC
, and St. Louis University. All of his high school basketball accomplishments were done while he maintained a 3.8 GPA.
to Saint Mary's College of California
, he switched his major from BioChemistry
to psychology
. Sanders eventually became a two year starter for the Saint Mary's Gaels Men's Basketball team. He has the ability to play every position on the court, while most effective at the guard position. In 2005, Sanders was a starter on a Gaels team that made a first-round NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament appearance despite a first round loss to a mediocre Southern Illinois with a score of 56 to 65.
. Sanders garnered the league's MVP award as well as an NKL championship.
After a brief appearance in the Basketball Japan League
in 2006, Sanders joined the SBL of Taiwan and has since played for three different teams in the league. Despite his unsuccessful effort to lead his teams to championship, he led the league in rebounds
in all three seasons he played and in assists
for two seasons. He was also among the leading scorers of the league. These extraordinary contributions rendered Sanders a strong MVP candidate each year, but he has yet to win the honor.
, having published his first book of poetry Ordinary Poems for Extraordinary People in these Ordinary Times (2007) ISBN 0-595-42891-6.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
semi-professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player and amateur poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. He has played for teams in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
with most of his career spent with the Super Basketball League
Super Basketball League
The Super Basketball League , often abbreviated to the SBL, is the pre-eminent men's semi-professional basketball league in Taiwan. It was founded in 2003 and considered by many as the successor organization to the short-lived Chinese Basketball Alliance , a men's professional basketball league...
(SBL) of Taiwan.
Early life
Sanders was raised primarily in North Hollywood by his mother who was a single parent. At the age of 12, his mother and he relocated to Denver, ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
along with his new stepfather and soon-to-be high school basketball coach at Belleview Christian High School. He has a stepbrother named Bryson Sharpley.
High school
During the course of his high school basketball career, Sanders won two State Championships as well as three Mr. BasketballMr. Basketball
Mr. Basketball is an award given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in a specific U.S. state....
awards. In his Senior Year, he was awarded the Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
Player of the Year for the state of Colorado, and was among the top 100 basketball prospects in the country, being heavily recruited by such colleges as Kansas University, USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and St. Louis University. All of his high school basketball accomplishments were done while he maintained a 3.8 GPA.
College life
After transferring from Colorado State UniversityColorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
to Saint Mary's College of California
Saint Mary's College of California
Saint Mary's College of California is a private, coeducational college located in Moraga, California, United States, a small suburban community about east of Oakland and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church...
, he switched his major from BioChemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
to psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
. Sanders eventually became a two year starter for the Saint Mary's Gaels Men's Basketball team. He has the ability to play every position on the court, while most effective at the guard position. In 2005, Sanders was a starter on a Gaels team that made a first-round NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament appearance despite a first round loss to a mediocre Southern Illinois with a score of 56 to 65.
Semi-pro basketball career
Since graduating college, Sanders has been playing semi-professional basketball outside the United States. In Lithuania he played for a 2nd-level team managed by former NBA player and Lithuanian basketball legend Šarūnas MarčiulionisŠarunas Marciulionis
Raimondas Šarūnas Marčiulionis is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player. He was one of the first Europeans to become a regular in the North American National Basketball Association...
. Sanders garnered the league's MVP award as well as an NKL championship.
After a brief appearance in the Basketball Japan League
Bj league
The bj league is a professional basketball league in Japan that began on November 5, 2005. The ten team league is divided into two conferences, the Eastern Conference, and the Western Conference. It had its inaugural All-Star game in 2006. One of its major sponsors is Spalding.The bj league...
in 2006, Sanders joined the SBL of Taiwan and has since played for three different teams in the league. Despite his unsuccessful effort to lead his teams to championship, he led the league in rebounds
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
in all three seasons he played and in assists
Assist (basketball)
In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
for two seasons. He was also among the leading scorers of the league. These extraordinary contributions rendered Sanders a strong MVP candidate each year, but he has yet to win the honor.
Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | SPG | BPG | RPG | APG | FG% | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | Colorado State | 27 | 7.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 0.5 | .333 | 1.3 |
| 2002-03 | Saint Mary's | 23 | 26.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 1.4 | .409 | 5.0 |
| 2003-04 | Saint Mary's | 31 | 26.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 2.5 | .449 | 6.4 |
| 2004-05 | Saint Mary's | 33 | 28.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 1.8 | .486 | 7.7 |
| 2005-06 | Akademija MRU | 49 | 30.3 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 10.1 | 1.9 | .527 | 13.8 |
| 2006-07 | Videoland | 30 | 28.5 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 16.3 | 2.4 | .510 | 23.5 |
| 2007-08 | dMedia | 29 | 36.2 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 16.6 | 5.8 | .520 | 21.3 |
| 2008-09 | Did not play | ||||||||
| 2009-10 | Pure-Youth | 32 | 33.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 13.2 | 4.7 | .490 | 18.8 |
Poetry
Jon Sanders is a part-time poetPoet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, having published his first book of poetry Ordinary Poems for Extraordinary People in these Ordinary Times (2007) ISBN 0-595-42891-6.
Anecdotes, rumors, and trivia
- Jon Sanders is a computerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
geekGeekThe word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
, a blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, and has a weird sense of humor. In his own video blog he joked about being willing to go so far as to be described as "gayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
" in order to have something written about him on WikipediaWikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, despite having declared his sexual orientationSexual orientationSexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
as "straightHeterosexualityHeterosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions to persons of the opposite sex";...
" on his MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page.
- In the fall of 1995, Jon Sanders attended Laurel Hall, a San Fernando ValleySan Fernando ValleyThe San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
K-8 school. His 8th grade classmate was actress Kirsten DunstKirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
. In addition, the Olson Twins were members of the school, then enrolled at the school's 4th grade level.