April 28, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- UAB head coach Mike Davis has announced the addition of 6-4, 205-pound guard Jamarr Sanders, who signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at UAB.

Sanders becomes the first junior college player signed by the UAB staff in the 2009 class, and joins previous signees Adrien Coleman (Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson HS), Dexter Fields (Orlando, Fla./Olympia HS) and Robert Williams (Greenville, Miss./Weston HS) as new Blazer additions for next season.

"Jamarr was a key signee for us and we expect him to be a big part of what we are trying to do," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "Jamarr is a type of player that will be able to play a lot of different positions for us. He really has improved over the past season and has stepped up his game. We expect him to come in a contribute right away."

Sanders, a native of Montgomery, Ala., will join the Blazers after a productive season at Northwest Florida State College (formerly Okaloosa-Walton), where he was a first-team all-Florida and first-team All-Panhandle Conference selection while helping the Raiders to a 21-7 record.

During the 2008-09 season, Sanders ranked seventh in the conference and 37th nationally in scoring by averaging 18.6 points per game. He hit 53.5 percent from the field, including an impressive 44.3 percent from 3-point range, and connected on 75.4 percent (101-of-134) at the charity stripe. Sanders ranked among the top 20 in the conference for free throw percentage (15th), assists (4.7 apg, 12th) and steals (1.9 spg, 16th). A big guard, Sanders also pulled down 4.9 rebounds per game.

Sanders also earned player-of-the-week honors in consecutive weeks (Feb. 10, Feb. 17) in the FCCAA, which included two of the top three teams in the final NJCAA Division I poll. He earned the first honor after posting 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists against then-No. 6 Tallahassee before pouring in 25 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer, with six assists to defeat No. 3 Gulf Coast. The following week, he averaged 34.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists while hitting 57.6 percent from the floor and 86.7 percent at the line over two games, including a one-point loss to top-ranked Chipola. In that game, he posted a career-best 40 points on 12-of-19 shooting while adding seven boards and seven assists.

Sanders started his career near his home by playing at Alabama State. After redshirting his first year, Sanders played in 31 games in 2007-08, averaging 5.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He averaged 17.6 minutes per game as ASU went 20-11, won its league regular-season title and earned a spot in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

While at Jeff Davis High School under head coach Terry Posey, Sanders to the 2006 state title while earning first-team Class 6A all-state honors. He earned a starting spot in the 2006 Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game after averaging better than 18 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game while helping Jeff Davis to a 34-2 record, including a 49-43 win over Huffman HS in the championship contest. Sanders was also an honorable-mention all-state player as a junior.