Gulliver Prep boys’ basketball star Tony Sanders commits to Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Tony Sanders didn’t have a scholarship offer from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish until Tuesday. Now the the Miami Gulliver Prep boys’ basketball star is planning to head to Notre Dame for the next level.
Sanders, a three-star small forward in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, orally committed to the Fighting Irish on Friday while on a video chat with Mike Brey. Sanders then announced his commitment on his Instagram page.
“I just felt like it was the right fit,” Sanders said. “Just how the school is and just the history of it kind of reminds me of my setting at Gulliver, and also the ball is going to stop eventually dribbling, so I just like the aspect they give me of the education part and also, of course, the basketball. You just can’t beat that.”
Sanders said he has been talking with Notre Dame since the end of last year, even though the formal scholarship offer didn’t come until earlier this week. He said Brey took him on a tour of the Indiana campus via Zoom.
In less-than-ideal times, it was as good a look at the school as Sanders could have asked for while unable to travel because of the coronavirus.
“They were just telling me back in December how you can just fit in this program and pretty much just welcomed me with open arms,” Sanders said.
Sanders is the first player from Miami-Dade County to commit to a Power 5 Conference school in the Class of 2020. He picked Notre Dame from a long list of offers from teams including the Florida State Seminoles, South Carolina Gamecocks, Georgia Bulldogs, Dayton Flyers, Yale Bulldogs, Penn Quakers and Wyoming Cowboys.
Sanders helped lead Gulliver to the championship game of a loaded Region 4-4A, where the Raiders fell to eventual state champion Stranahan. In 30 games, the 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward averaged 20.6 points and 7.2 points per game. The senior is regarded as the No. 222 overall prospect in the country by the 247Sports composite rankings.
“Coach Brey was just telling me how they pretty much let their guys play,” Sanders said. “They play the right way, they’re unselfish with the ball and they get guys open, and that’s what I like about them.”
