GREENSBORO, N.C. – Four years to the day he left his home in Elkin, N.C., to
attend Guilford College, Tyler Sanborn ’10 is heading overseas as a
professional basketball player for Grupo Iruna Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.
The two-time NCAA Division III basketball All-American and recent Guilford
graduate signed with the Spanish LEB Gold (second division) team in
July. Grupo Iruna Navarra reached the LEB Silver semifinals in 2010 and earned a
promotion to the LEB Gold.
“I could have taken a couple other offers, which were at higher levels in
different countries, but this opportunity for a first-year player is really
good,†said Sanborn, who is sharing his experience in a blog. “Spain is one
of the top foreign countries to play in. If I do well, I’ll be able to
possibly move up to the top league in Spain.â€
Sanborn attracted the attention of international professional clubs after
competing for the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league team. He was the NCAA
Division III National Player of the Year as a senior at Guilford after
compiling 30 double-doubles and averaging 19.8 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.0
blocks in 33 games. Sanborn helped Guilford to a 104-19 record, four NCAA
Tournament appearances and two national semifinal berths in his four
seasons.
“I’m excited to get the season started, and found out today that our first
pre-season game will take place five days after I get there, against a
first-division team,” said Sanborn. “I’m expecting to learn a lot in the
first couple of days there, and look forward to playing in a real game so
quickly.â€
Sanborn joins former teammate Ben Strong ’08 as recent Guilford graduates in
professional basketball. Strong wrapped up his second season with Maccabi
Haifa in the top Israeli professional league in the spring. Guilford has
produced four NBA players: M.L. Carr ’73, World B. Free ’76, Greg Jackson
’74 and Bob Kauffman ’68.
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Read Sanborn’s blog at http://tylersanborn.blogspot.com
Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics