Basketball
Favorite athlete: Allen Iverson
Favorite team: I don’t really have one, but if I had to choose, I would say the Philadelphia 76ers.
Favorite memory competing in sports: My sophomore year playing at Temple University, it was the best atmosphere to play in and my goal is to be able to play on that stage night in and night out.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: This probably happened too many times (lol), but forgetting my cleats or shoes when going to a faraway tournament.
Music on playlist: A lot of J Cole, Kur, and I love old R&B music
Future plans: I plan to attend college and study Mechanical Engineering while hopefully still playing basketball if that’s in God’s plan
Words to live by: “Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.” That quote is one of my childhood favorites from Kung Fu Panda, basically just reminding you to live in the Now and appreciate it while it’s here. Appreciate the good, the bad, everything really.
One goal before turning 30: I hope to be successful in my field and have travelled to at least 15 countries
One thing people don’t know about me: I can play the piano
By Ed Morrone
Spend a half hour talking with Aaron Sanders, and it’s impossible to decipher what he loves more: basketball or Bensalem.
Luckily for Owls fans, shooting hoops and the affinity Sanders holds for the community he calls home are so mutually exclusive that they might as well be permanently welded to one another. And whether Sanders is talking about his affinity for Bensalem or dicing up defenders on the court for Bensalem High School, this much is clear: once he gets going, it’s hard to stop him.
Before getting to basketball, Sanders has a thing or two to tell you about his beloved hometown.
“A lot of kids from Bensalem aren’t proud of it, and I don’t like that,” said Sanders, taking a quick break from getting shots in at the gym on a Wednesday afternoon between two game days. “I want to be the role model who changes that (perception) for kids. A lot of kids in seventh and eighth grades want to go to Wood or Ryan. Why? Bensalem has a great basketball program, great teachers, great staff - it’s a great community altogether, and I’m proud of where I’m from. I’ve been through the ups and downs here, and I’m proud to say I’ll be an Owl forever when I graduate.
“This place means a lot to me. I play for the name on the front of my jersey. Bensalem doesn’t get a lot of respect, but we’re going to put some respect on that name because we aren’t playing around anymore. Whoever reads this article and has a chance to go to Bensalem High School: go there, because you will have the best experience of your life.”
Of course, Sanders is slightly biased. He has completely given himself to Bensalem, both on the court and off it (more on that later), and the results have been profound for both Sanders and the Owls. In a game against crosstown rival Holy Ghost Prep last week, Sanders reached 1,000 points for his career. A week later, a 50-48 win over Council Rock South delivered Bensalem its second league title in three seasons.
Just how rare an accomplishment is scoring 1,000 points and winning two league crowns at Bensalem? Let’s turn to Ron Morris, who is Sanders’ head coach.
“Aaron is one of just five players in school history to score 1,000 points and been on two league title teams,” Morris said.
Given how long Bensalem has been a high school, that averages out to one player every 20 years or so, putting Sanders in rarified air for sure. And the best part for the community is that Sanders is far from finished writing his Bensalem story.
Sanders has been with the Bensalem varsity program since about midway through his freshman year. After dropping 30-plus points against the Pennsbury jayvee squad, then-head coach Mike McCabe and Morris, then an Owls assistant, shot each other a look in the bleachers that must have said What are we even doing here? Sanders made it abundantly clear he was a varsity player, and his role the rest of that campaign was to come off the bench and shut down the opponent’s top scorer whenever he was on the floor, a challenge Morris said Sanders met with aplomb.
McCabe retired after that season, allowing Morris to be promoted to head coach. Morris installed Sanders as the Owls’ starting point guard the next year, and Sanders flourished in an increased role, helping Bensalem advance to the district semifinals. And while Sanders was not the team’s top dog just yet, the experience was invaluable because it proved what everybody expected all along: this kid belonged on the big stage.
“My mom always tells me that I have an old soul,” Sanders said. “So, I think the maturity factor was a big reason why I was able to step in and have success right away. We had a lot of senior stars on that team, and I could just worry about being the point guard instead of the leading scorer, as young as I was. Plus, I had some varsity experience, so I was already confident. If you aren’t confident on the court, you shouldn’t be there. Coach Morris trusted me to be a leader on that team. He put in the work with me and got me ready for it, and the rest is history.”
Sanders had a strong junior year individually, but the Owls were not able to replicate the team success from the year before, finishing below .500 overall and leaving Sanders with an especially sour taste in his mouth. COVID was a big part of that, limiting the frequency in which the team could practice indoors, so much so that Morris said Sanders would lead team workouts over Zoom and in the high school’s parking lot.
Either way, Sanders had hoped to see himself and his team back at Temple University in March, this time playing for a district championship, especially considering that he was simultaneously chasing after his dream of playing college basketball. None of it actualized, which only motivated Sanders more.
“We have no excuses, we just struggled,” Sanders said. “I was frustrated not to be back in the winning spotlight where we had been. I wanted us to be even better and in the district final. Going into that summer, I just wanted to work. All my friends went to the beach, but not me. All I wanted was to lead my team back to that place again. I want to go back to Temple and win the first-ever district title for Bensalem.”
The Owls are certainly on track, even if the Class 6A bracket will be no walk in the park. Currently, they sit at 16-5 overall and 12-3 in league play, with Sanders averaging 16 points, five rebounds and two assists per game, and Morris has been impressed with how well-rounded his star senior’s game has become.
“We always knew he could score, but what sets Aaron apart now is his high basketball IQ,” Morris said. “He has the mindset to know when it’s time to facilitate and when it’s time to get to the rim and get a bucket. He understands that, and that’s the IQ of knowing how to play the game the right way. He doesn’t let individual stats get in his way. Aaron never is a guy who has to score just because he wants to. He knows that if you play defense and rebound, things will happen that are best for our team. It goes a long way.”
A lot has been placed on Sanders’ shoulders, which is fine with him, because he wants all of that responsibility and more. Like everybody else, Sanders knows he can score: “When the team needs a bucket, I’ll get it,” he said. But beyond that, he wants the toughest defensive assignment possible. If Sanders sees an opponent averaging 20 points per game, he makes it his personal mission to hold him below 10. Building a brand on defense, rebounding and sheer determination will help Bensalem in the long run, and also, Sanders hopes, attract the attention of more college coaches in the shorter term. He desperately wants to play at the next level, and while he mentioned Division I multiple times, it’s clear this kid just wants a chance to play somewhere, because this is what brings him joy.
What happens there remains to be seen. Morris said several Division III schools are after Sanders, and specifically believes that the PSAC would be a perfect athletic conference for Sanders’ skill set. Some Division II schools have been in touch as well, and while Sanders wants to play Division I, he isn’t getting caught up in the details, either.
“The level doesn’t matter,” he said. “Of course, any kid wants to play Division I over II or III, and I’d love to play at the highest level. But at the end of the day, I just want to bring in a winning mentality to a program that has teammates around me who want the same things that I do. I think as the season goes the offers will come. Hopefully, it’s all in God’s plan. I’ve prayed about it, and God already knows what I want, so I feel if I stay on this track, He will put me in the best situation. There’s a lot I need to work on, and I’m willing to do that as long as a coach gives me a chance. You bring me in, and you get a stud, a winner, a gym rat.”
“He will be an awesome fit wherever he lands,” Morris added. “He is definitely one of the hardest workers I have ever coached. Determined is a good adjective for Aaron.”
As for what comes next for the Owls as a team, the sky is the limit. Sanders said that before the season started, Morris asked the players to write down three goals they each had, and according to Sanders, all three were in lockstep: league title, district title, state title. Easier said than done, obviously, but with one of those goals already checked off, the other two seem more attainable.
Despite the fact that Sanders still wants a lot more, he did pause to reflect on his recent accomplishment of scoring 1,000 points and becoming a two-time league champion. Given the love for Bensalem he has in his heart, it only makes sense that he now belongs in such a small class of Owls basketball greats.
“When that three-pointer went in (to get to 1,000), I still remember it like it was happening in slow motion,” he said. “Like, ‘Dang, I finally did it,’ and now my name is going to be in the Bensalem rafters and history books forever. Not many guys have gotten there, so for my name to be on that list is amazing to me.
“Now, we’re all putting our energy into one thing, and the whole team is going to work their butts off to go get that. Once we step on to that court, we can run with anyone. I’d take my team over any team in the SOL, the district and the state. Plus, the more games we play, the more exposure I get, and I’m still searching for that offer I think that I deserve. I feel like there’s a lot of kids out there (in the district and state) who have college offers who I’m better than, so I want to play those kids on that stage and show what I can do against them when I get the opportunity.”
As for what Sanders is into away from the basketball court, the answer is a lot. For starters, he is class president, a fact that further emphasizes what Bensalem means to him: he cares about the entire package, not just what happens with basketball. He plays the piano, wants to study mechanical engineering in college and hopes to travel to 15 countries by the time he’s 30 (he has 12 to go after visiting Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic with family), with Australia topping his bucket list (“I want to go see some kangaroos,” he said with a laugh). He reads to middle schoolers on team outings, and has served as a basketball camp counselor, telling a story about how a Bensalem classroom aide approached Sanders to tell him the impact he had on her son when the two crossed paths at a hoops camp.
“She told me that he remembered me, and that when he found out I got to 1,000 points, he went to his mom and told her that his friend did it,” Sanders said, the awe and joy in his voice palpable. “This little kid remembers something so small of me just helping him with his game for a couple of minutes, and now he looks at me like I’m his role model and friend. That’s why I say I’m proud that I’m going to be an Owl forever.”
Sanders is just living in the moment, a fact buoyed by a quote from the movie Kung Fu Panda that he loves: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.”
Also borrowing from Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s tree of wisdom in that the future represents pride while the past represents ego, Sanders said it makes no sense to be concerned with something that happened five minutes ago or won’t happen for five years.
“Live in the now, because it really is a gift,” Sanders said. “Be happy now because the future hasn’t happened yet. When the opportunity comes to do something, do it, and live in that moment.”
