City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue

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The home crowd at La Salle’s John Glaser Arena had plenty to celebrate Wednesday night in a non-league game against Coppin State.

However, a group of about 40 others tucked in a section behind the away team’s bench may have had two or three of the biggest crowd pops of the night.

Coppin State junior Baasil Saunders, a local product who spent the last two seasons at Montgomery County Community College, brought his own personal cheering section to their feet multiple times.

Along with his birthday and a couple of highlight slams, Saunders’ supporters got to celebrate the culmination of his journey to Division I hoops that was a long time in the making.

“Honestly, it was just a sense of relief and a dream come true playing in your hometown and playing Division I basketball, which I dreamed of as a kid,” Saunders told CoBL on the phone Friday. “It was fun for me. A fun experience.”

Saunders was told throughout his high school career he had the makings of a Division I player — first in the Catholic League at Bonner-Prendergast and then as a senior role player at Public League, District 12 and PIAA champion Imhotep Charter.

There were some Division I schools that poked around during his senior year at Imhotep but issues getting his transcripts after a transfer to Imhotep left him without many options after high school, instead seeking an opportunity to attain his associates degree and become NCAA eligible.

Montgomery County Community College head coach Koran Prince saw highlights of Saunders on Instagram and then saw him in person. He had came to the same conclusion as the others who saw the lengthy, athletic 6-foot-5 guard.

“I was watching him and I was like, ‘Holy Crap. Who is this kid?’ And instantly when I’ve seen him, I said, ‘This is a Division I kid,’” Prince recalled.

“I told him straight forward, ‘I think you can be something special. I think you can be really, really good.”

Saunders averaged double figures as a junior at Bonner before turning into a role player during his senior campaign at Imhotep, playing behind the likes of current Philadelphia 76er Justin Edwards.

He was the lead guard during his two years at Montco, averaging 12.5 ppg, 3.2 apg and 6.7 rpg as a freshman and 12.7 ppg, 3.1 apg, and 5.4 rpg as a sophomore, earning first team all-region honors as a freshman and third team all-region honors as a sophomore.

Saunders helped lead Montco to a Region 19 championship and fifth place national finish in his first year on campus before finishing as Region 19 runner-ups as a sophomore, marking the first time the program went to consecutive title games. The Mustangs went 49-9 in his two seasons with Prince.

“On that team, I wasn’t even our leading scorer, but my focus was just leading us to wins, which I did both my years,” Saunders said.

Prince said Saunders stepped up defensively and grew as a leader during his time with the Mustangs, particularly during his sophomore campaign.

Saunders also had to work hard to make sure his academics were in order to transition his game to the next level. He took a full load of classes during the summer between his freshman and sophomore seasons, while also holding down a full-time job.

“I really don’t want to work no regular job,” Saunders said was his conclusion from that summer. “I got more mature, I took it more seriously.”

“A fulltime load in the summertime is insane, but he was able to get it done, and that’s why I always admired him because when you want something you have to work hard for it,” Prince said. “And that’s exactly what he did that summer.”

Coppin State head coach Larry Stewart is a Philly native and his staff has connections to the local hoops scene as well. Saunders is one of several players on the roster who played high school basketball in the area, including Nelson Lamizana (Bonner/West Chester Henderson) and Elijah Taylor (Imhotep).

The Eagles began showing interest in Saunders during his freshman season at Montco. Along with the length, athleticism, defensive prowess, and play making ability they viewed him as a “winner,” both Prince and Saunders said.

He’s the first player Montco has ever had go straight from the NJCAA Division III level to NCAA Division I basketball.

“It was a no brainer,” Saunders said. “Most of the coaching staff is from Philadelphia, so I felt comfortable, and it felt family-oriented. That’s the choice I went with.”

“I came from Imhotep where we win a lot, and I brought that winning from Imhotep to Montco,” he added. “That’s what they just see me as is a winner. I’m trying to win here as well.”

Saunders played six minutes in the team’s opener against Maryland on Monday night. He got more of an opportunity in his homecoming Wednesday as he scored six points in 18 minutes.

The two dunks and the roars from the crowd were an early highlight to his time at Coppin State.

“Yeah, I enjoyed that,” Saunders said. “I really enjoyed that.”

Saunders played at times with the ball in his hands on Wednesday night. He expects his role to be more like the one he had as a senior at Imhotep: “hit open shots, make plays, defend and rebound”.

He has goals of being on the All-MEAC defensive teams, citing practices against Edwards back in his Imhotep days as a reason he is confident in his ability to do so.

“Anybody else I guard at this level, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem because I’m used to guarding him,” Saunders said.

Saunders and the rest of the Philly-contingent on the Coppin State roster will get another chance to play close to home when they visit St. Joe’s on Dec. 9.

After a 6-24 campaign and 4-10 record in the MEAC last season, Saunders hopes he can help this squad achieve the success he’s been able to achieve with his teams in the past.

He expects to have three years of eligibility at the Division level and will have a chance to continue to grow and achieve his goals.

For those who have watched the grind to get this level though, Wednesday night was a night to celebrate how far he’s already come.

“Recruiting him, seeing him, knowing that he had the potential to get there, and then seeing him on TV, I can’t explain that feeling,” Prince said. “It’s a proud coach moment."