Raising Expectations: Lady Warriors’ MVP Sets The Bar High

by Janice Penix

You’d be hard-pressed to figure out who’s had the biggest impact on Kori Sanders – her dad, her big sister, or her coach.

But one thing is evident. For a young lady who has accomplished more in her high school career than many could hope to try – state MVP, 2,000-point scoring mark, and a college scholarship just to name a few – Sanders is refreshingly humble, careful to attribute her success to those who have helped her along the way as much as she does to her own abilities.

“She’s a phenomenal leader, as a peer,” Lamar Coach Brandon Schluterman said. “She knows how to be a great teammate. She’s able to lift up her teammates but also hold them accountable. And that’s not really teachable, it’s just who you are as a person. She is able to relate to and cares about everyone so much. They know she is a genuine person. She is not just needing them to do things to make her look better. She wants everyone to be their best all the time.”

Sanders began playing basketball before she was even in school, and says she can’t remember a time when she didn’t have a ball in her hands.

“I started playing as far back as I can remember,” she said, beginning with Johnson County Girls Club before she was old enough to play in the Lamar Youth Athletics league.

She was influenced at an early age by both her father, Roger, who coached her, and her older sister, Lakyn, who also played the sport.

“I had always been interested, but also my sister played and was very good, so that spiked my interest,” Sanders said. “She’s been an inspiration to me, and is one of the reasons I love the sport. Watching her play, she played with so much passion, made me love the sport.”

Sanders said Lakyn, who was five years older, took time to help her younger sister learn the ins and outs of basketball.

“She’s taught me so much about the sport,” Sanders said. “She was someone I was able to watch, but she also took time to help me improve my skill set.

“My dad has always been my trainer and my coach. Growing up, he always coached me, and always been the one to help me with my skills.”

Because she played travel basketball in addition to youth leagues, Sanders said for her family, the sport was a year-round event. In addition to her father and sister, Sanders’ family also includes her mother, Cheryl, and a younger brother, Rok.

“I played basketball year-round,” she said. “I don’t know what this summer will look like, since I’m graduating and will be moving into college ball, but normally I don’t stop touching a basketball no matter what season it is. For my family, it was never not basketball season.”

Petite at an early age and only 5-foot-4 her senior season, Sanders was often one of the smaller players on the court. But she said her dad taught her never to let her height limit the size of her ability. Her first-grade year, he even signed her up to play with a third-grade team, and Sanders said the experience helped build her confidence…The full story appears in the April 2 edition of The Graphic, found online and in businesses throughout Johnson and Franklin counties.