The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/873137
OCTOBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 57 BY CHRIS BALAS T here's a hidden fact about U‑M basketball strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson that more college basketball fans would recognize if they took a minute to put two and two together. He was a starter at forward on Ohio State's 1999 Final Four team, averaging 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in his two years with the program. In his new book, Basketball Strength & Conditioning: Above the Rim with Camp Sanderson, there's even a pic‑ ture of him in his scarlet and gray uniform, with picture‑perfect shoot‑ ing form getting ready to release. "That's about all I could do," he quipped of his shooting prowess. He was being modest, of course, the way he has always been in talking about his success since taking over as U‑M's strength coach in 2009. Player after player, many of them now in the NBA, have talked about the effect Sanderson had on their careers. All of their before‑and‑after pictures usually tell the story, no words nec‑ essary. Former U‑M forward Jordan Morgan (2019‑14) was one of the most glaring examples, going from doughy redshirt freshman to absolutely chis‑ eled Big Ten center in just a few years. Tim Hardaway Jr., who recently signed a $70 million contract to play with the New York Knicks, and Nik Stauskas, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, agreed they wouldn't be at basketball's highest level without his guidance. "Camp Sanderson definitely made me a more explosive player," Hard‑ away said. "And he made me confident while I was playing. I became better defensively, and it was because of him. "We did a lot of back squats, front squats and power cleans. When you are gaining weight with great muscle mass, you feel stronger and more athletic." You want to prove to the world each and every day that you got bet‑ ter, he added. For both Hardaway and Stauskas, that proof was in the results on the floor. Hardaway went from spot shooter to dunking over people by his junior year, and Staus‑ kas looked like a totally different player in year two, earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors. "Coach Sanderson was instrumen‑ tal in my transformation from col‑ lege athlete to professional basketball DEVELOPING WOLVERINES Basketball Strength Coach Jon Sanderson Has Helped Improve Many Michigan Players Sanderson has served as the head strength and conditioning coach for Michigan's men's bas- ketball and men's and women's golf teams since 2009. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS