Emerging force

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004 | 11:30 a.m.

Patience has definitely been a virtue for San Diego State center Aerick Sanders.

A 6-foot-9, 210-pound senior from Gardena, Calif., Sanders spent his first three years with the Aztecs playing in the shadows of players like Randy Holcomb and Mike Mackell. He was pretty much the last offensive option on last year's San Diego State squad that included all-Mountain West Conference guard Tony Bland, since departed conference freshman of the year Evan Burns, Mackell and senior point guard Deandre Moore. And despite finishing third in the MWC in rebounding (7.6 avg.) and ninth in blocked shots, Sanders was the only Aztecs starter to not garner at least honorable mention all-conference mention.

That won't be a problem this year, however.

Sanders has already been named Mountain West Conference player of the week on three occasions this season. And depending on how he performs Saturday afternoon against UNLV at Cox Arena, he could pick up the hardware a fourth time thanks to his brilliant effort in the Aztecs' 65-61 upset of MWC preseason favorite BYU on Monday night.

With 10 NBA scouts in attendance, including Jerry West from the Memphis Grizzlies, to evaluate BYU's 6-foot-11, 280-pound strongman Rafael Araujo, Sanders outplayed the big Cougars center head-to-head.

Sanders finished with a game-high 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots before fouling out with 3:22 remaining. Araujo, who entered the contest as the league's leading scorer (20.8 points per game) and rebounder (10.7 per game), was held without a point in the first half and finished with just 12 points and 13 rebounds and also had five turnovers.

Not bad especially considering that Sanders was giving up about 70 pounds and 2 inches.

"We've gotten a great performance from Aerick Sanders who not only has catapulted himself into one of the best players in the conference but also the country," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said.

BYU coach Steve Cleveland agrees.

"Aerick Sanders is the perfect example of a young man who waited his turn and is making the most of the opportunity," Cleveland said. "He should be an inspiration to a lot of players. The thing I love about him is that he is relentless. He is constantly rebounding out of his area and plays with a great deal of confidence. (San Diego State) is a much better team than last year because of him."

Fisher says Sanders has worked hard for all the accolades that are finally coming his way.

"He's waited patiently and worked very deligently to get better," Fisher said. "His offensive game has caught up with his energy and his effort. If you don't guard him now, he can hit the 15-footer or he can sweep it and go by you.

"I think the best part of his game is his mindset. He's so mentally tough. He doesn't get flustered out there or anything. And he's relentless."

Sanders had never scored in double figures in back-to-back games before this season. He brings a streak of seven consecutive double-figure scoring games into Saturday's contest against the Rebels and is averaging a double-double (16.5 points, 10.4 rebounds) while connecting on 61% of his shots. He already has 26 blocked shots.

Sanders was recruited by Pitt, Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Northwestern his senior year. He was a key player on the Pump-N-Run All Stars team that lost to the Eddie Griffin-led Tim Thomas Playerz squad in the semifinals of the 1999 Big Time Tournament at Green Valley High School.

"I held my own against Griffin, which seemed to impress the coaches," Sanders said. "Then it was a matter of whoever wanted me first. That was Coach Fisher and San Diego State. And I decided that would be the best place for me."

As for his performance against Araujo on Monday night, Sanders preferred to share the success with his teammates.

"It was a five-man effort," he said. "We had really good ball pressure on their other four players which made it difficult for them to get the ball to Araujo. It really was a team effort."

Still, it was Sanders who has the bruises to show for all the hard work. He has a gash under one of his eyes and a small shiner courtesy of a Araujo elbow.

"Whatever it takes," Sanders said. "A few bruises, a cut eye, whatever. The victory made the pain go away."

Sanders said the Aztecs (10-6, 1-0) won't be resting on their laurels as they prepare for UNLV (9-4, 0-1) this week.

"That game is over with," he said. "Now it's time to focus on the Rebels. UNLV beat us last year here and they're a good team. J.K. Edwards is coming into his own. It's going to be another good challenge for us. We certainly won't take them lightly just because we beat BYU."

REBELS NOTES: It looked for a few minutes during Wednesday's practice as though Charlie Spoonhour might have to play point guard for the Rebels against the Aztecs on Saturday. Only moments after freshman backup point guard John Winston retreated to the locker room to have a hamstring injury looked at, starting point guard Jerel Blassingame hopped off the court in pain after stepping on the foot of Edwards during a 3-on-3 drill. Trainer Dave Tomchek was quickly summoned from the locker room where he was treating Winston as a concerned Spoonhour looked on. However, Blassingame eventually returned to practice and appeared to be near full speed after having his left ankle wrapped.

"It was painful," Blassingame said. "But I'll be all right in about two days. I always twist my ankles but I always come back."