Shelomi Sanders, the daughter of NFL Hall of Famer and head football coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders, made her highly anticipated return to basketball this week with the Alabama A&M Bulldogs. Now competing in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Sanders is enthusiastic about proving her skills on the court.
In her first game, Sanders made an immediate impact despite playing only 10 minutes, scoring 14 points, securing one rebound, providing one assist, and achieving two steals. She recorded a shooting percentage of 41.6% from the field and connected on 40% of her three-point attempts.
Last season, Sanders struggled to find her place in the starting lineup at Colorado, accumulating just 11 minutes of playtime. Her only point came in a matchup against Air Force, where she successfully made a 3-pointer.
A few months prior, reports emerged about Sanders feeling discontent with the environment at Colorado, leading her to contemplate leaving the program. In an Instagram Live session, she explained her reasons for transferring: “I don’t want to say anything too bad. It just wasn’t good energy. It wasn’t good vibes. There wasn’t enough being poured into me as a player and young lady. If I didn’t leave when I did, I promise you I would’ve quit,” Sanders expressed.
Before her mid-season transfer to Colorado, where she joined her father and brothers, Shedeur and Shilo, Sanders spent her freshman year at Jackson State during the era of “Coach Prime.” However, she did not participate in the women’s basketball team, which postponed her collegiate debut.
Deion Sanders publicly shared his thoughts on his daughter’s choice to transfer, labeling it “stupid” in an interview with DENVR Sports. “You get a team before you enter the portal,” he advised. “That’s what I would advise a kid. I know, ‘Well, it’s illegal.’ C’mon, man. Everybody knows somebody that knows somebody that knows somebody. You kind of want them to do something, and she has been truly advised.”
“I’m a real father,” he said. “Where I come from, historically, kids follow their parents. When did parents start following the kids? That doesn’t work in my book. That doesn’t work where I am from. I am the leader of the family. So, I’ve been dictating where my kids will go. They’re not dictating where I go. I’m happy. I’m cool. I’m sound in Boulder. I love it 100%. We’re going to build a monument. You see those mountains over the stadium? I want my head on one of them.”
In contrast, Pilar Sanders, Shelomi’s mother, supported her decision to transfer. During an interview in April, she stated, “Shelomi was never given a fair chance to really get recruited, okay? Because when recruitment started out of high school going into college, and she was having colleges and universities starting to contact her, but the minute they did—”
“Everyone already thought I was going to JSU,” Shelomi interjected.
Pilar went on, “People who are in sports have a certain level of respect just because of the time that [Deion] did in the NFL and in baseball and whatever, and we were told about that. Coaches told me about that, coaches told other professional athletes that we know about that, so that completely stopped Shelomi short of having the whole experience of being recruited, which I thought was very unfair.”
Now at Alabama A&M, Sanders is embracing the opportunity to shine independently. While her father and brothers often draw much of the attention, her impressive play allows her to display her own skills on the basketball court.
Image Source: Shelomi Sanders @ Instagram
