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Former Cottey standout Sanders returns to old stomping ground
Nevada Daily Mail
Former Cottey College basketball player Blakelee Sanders has returned to the Cottey campus as an assistant coach on Stephanie Beason's staff.
Sanders played for the Comets from 2011-13. During her sophomore season, Sanders, a small forward, averaged 16.9 points per game to go along with double-digit rebounds, while leading the Comets to a 16-4 record. Her performance on the court earned her First-Team All-Region honors.
After finishing her playing career at Cottey, she enrolled at Lindenwood University in Belleville, Ill, where she planned on continuing her basketball career.
However, Sanders suffered a career-altering injury during a preseason scrimmage, in which her hips, knees, and ankles were all knocked out of alignment.
Sanders said having her playing career end so abruptly was disheartening, but that she has handled the adversity well.
"It was something totally new to me," she said. "I had played ball since second grade and got to where I was by playing every day. And then I didn't have a choice (because of the injury) and I had to stop. So it kind of made it difficult on me to make that transition (to not being able to play every day)."
Sanders said her injury was so severe that she was unable to resume running for six months. Sanders transfered back to Cottey for the 2014-15 school year, where she landed the assistant coaching gig, while also working to finish her psychology degree.
Sanders said that she is thankful for the opportunity that Beason afforded her.
"When Stephanie gave me the option to come help her, that really opened up doors for me," Sanders said.
Sanders said she is adjusting on the fly to her new role.
"Coaching is definitely a different role for me," she said. "I was the captain of the team my senior year (in high school) and my sophomore year at Cottey. And coming up to this spot I get to put the skills that I had and that I used every day into our post players like Emily (Allen) and Linsey (Denney).
"So now I get to use the other side of it and be the encourager, and help the team on little things that they don't understand or they don't see."
When it comes to coaching, Sanders said that she has a specific message for each of her players.
"The biggest thing I want the players to learn is... it all comes down to effort and heart," she said. "It doesn't matter how many points you can score or how tall you are, how short you are... it all comes down to how hard you actually work."
With only eight players on the Cottey roster, Sanders said she gets in some run with the team during practice, even though she risks suffering a setback related to her injury.
"Stephanie and I get in there and play with them in practice and run through stuff,"she said.
Sanders said her two years playing at Cottey was an unbelievable experience.
"My first season we went 6-19, so it was kind of a rebuilding year," she said. "My second year was my favorite year. So it was definitely a different experience, because it was getting to come up and play collegiate ball. It really showed me what kind of leader I was and what I could do on the floor."
Sanders, who grew up in Bentonville, Ark., transfered to Atchison (Kan) High School for her senior year, where she played for former Cottey basketball player Lacy (Leonard) Warren.
Sanders said her biggest influence growing up was her mother, Shelly Kerr.
"My mom was the one that pushed me to play basketball and took me to all the practices," she said. "She was my biggest influence on my athletic abilities."
Sanders is currently on target to graduate in May. After that, she plans on pursuing her Master's degree in either social work or sports psychology. Sanders said she is leaning towards social work, and wants to be a coach and a counselor.
"I need more time coaching-wise because I'm still in that whole player-mode," she said. Once I get more experience I would love to be a head coach."
Sanders said she has picked up a lot during her short time as Beason's assistant.
"Stephanie definitely has a different coaching style, which I absolutely love," Sanders said. "She has core values that she wants you to know. And as long as they pay attention to what she's saying, she's going to help them win games.
"And I think that's really important that she gets her players to pay attention to her."
Beason said Sanders has done a fabulous job to this point.
"Blakelee has been a huge help," Beason said. "She has probably been one of the best assistants that I've had. Which is really outstanding considering she's 22-years old.
"She fits right in with me. We kind of have the same personality. But it seems like she's looking for things that I don't really look for when a game situation is going on. So it's worked out really well for us."
Although she didn't elaborate on the job title, Sanders said she has already been offered a job in the Atchison school district, but has yet to decide if she will take it.
Sanders has two older sisters, Courtney and Laikyn, and a younger sister Madison, as well as two brothers.