Amory Sanders

By BRAD HURT | Sports Writer

In his playing days, coaches counted on Amory Sanders to come through in critical situations to seal the deal, either by knocking down high-pressure free throws or beating the clock with a jumper.

Now, the former Three Rivers and Southeast Missouri State sharpshooter works as a senior broker at The Lending Source, Inc., in Memphis.

"I just kind of fell into it," Sanders said of his current position. "A friend of mine started his own business and offered me a job."

The most important aspect of playing basketball that Sanders has translated into his current job is having a good work ethic and being part of a team.

"Playing a sport you have to have work ethic, and it's the same with anything else," he said. "It's not just about you. You have to think about your teammates and going hard all the time."

While with the Raiders, Sanders established himself as one of the team's main scoring options. His smooth jump shot and accuracy from any distance made him a priority for opposing defenses.

"Coach (Gene) Bess told me all he wanted me to do was just catch the ball and shoot it," he said.

As a high school player in Bartlett, Tenn., Sanders learned from two of the best prep coaches in the Memphis area in head coach Hubie Smith and his assistant John Harrington, who both invested plenty of their time in molding his skills.

"Coach Smith and Coach Harrington spent hours and hours with me before and after practice just shooting," he said. "They went to the gym early with me and stayed late."

Sanders learned about TRCC during his senior year when Raiders assistant coach Brian Bess made the trip to Memphis for the annual Steamboat Classic, where Sanders and his Bartlett teammates were playing.

Upon making a visit to TRCC, Sanders knew where he wanted to continue his playing career.

"I came and saw the banners, and I was used to winning in high school," he said. "I knew this was where I wanted to be."

For Sanders, the adjustment to college basketball was difficult at times, not only on the court, where practices increased in intensity, but also off the court.

"You really have to take care of your body," he said. "It was hard for me coming in because I wasn't used to working so hard on my body in the offseason. It's all about making sure you eat right and stay in game shape."

Although he encountered his share of difficulties, Sanders had a group of teammates around him to help him get used to his new lifestyle.

"The sophomores were great," he said. "They really took me under their wing."

Sanders credits players such as Jerrick Kellum, Ramond Perine and Larry Fisher with helping him to become the best he could be at TRCC.

Sanders quickly developed into a reliable scoring option for the Raiders. He led the team in scoring both years, averaging 14.6 points per game as a freshman and 15.3 points per game as a sophomore.

"He knew his role and he was an exceptional shooter," Raiders coach Gene Bess said.

He also displayed a clutch ability to knock down free throws using a routine he said came to him in high school.

"I had a rhythm that I picked up in high school that worked really well for me, and I just stuck with it," he said. "It was just dribble, dribble, dribble, shoot."

The three-dribble technique helped him lead the Raiders with a 79 percent mark his sophomore year.

"He had been really well coached in high school and he had the ability to read screens really well and was just really sound offensively," Bess said. "He didn't beat his man a lot or anything like that, he was more of a pure shooter."

Sanders also drew tough defensive assignments.

"Coach Bess usually stuck me on a team's leading scorer," he said. "I was in the games mostly for my defense and to knock down shots."

One of the most memorable shots of his Three Rivers career came as a sophomore in a game at West Plains.

With the Raiders down late and time winding down, the play went to Sanders, who knocked down the game-winner with 1.3 seconds left.

"It was usually me or Jair (Peralta) when the game was on the line," he said.

After he left Three Rivers, Sanders went to SEMO, where he led the NCAA in 3-point shooting as a senior in the 2000-01 season by connecting on 55.8 percent of his longrange attempts.

He then returned to Memphis, where he served on Smith's staff at Bartlett during the 2002-03 season.

Now he serves as an assistant to Harrington at Briarcrest Christian School. While he may not be in uniform anymore, Sanders' love for the game of basketball still burns brightly.

"I'm looking to go back to school and become a coach," he said. "Basketball has always been my passion, and I want to keep it going."