Sanders Excels on, off Court at Columbia Central

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(December 28, 2024 8:00 AM ET) Tenacious, strong, and confident is how Columbia Central High School basketball player Derek Sanders – an avid comic book collector – describes his favorite Marvel Comic Book character Thor.

Others at CCHS may say those words apply to Sanders.

The CCHS senior just scored his 1,000th point on the basketball court, helped the Golden Eagles win a soccer league championship this past fall, and expects to graduate with a GPA over 4.0 in the spring.

Not bad for someone who blazed his own trail at CCHS.

He transferred from the Hanover-Horton district as a freshman to attend schools at Columbia – a district his family already lived in.

“Having a soccer team, solid academics, and living in the district made it easy,” Sanders said of the decision. “The learning curve of adjusting from eighth grade basketball to varsity was the tough part.”

Making a name for himself in the sport of basketball may have also been tough for the then 15-year-old. His two brothers played on successful basketball teams under HHHS Coach Chad Mortimer.

“I was always the little brother who got beat on the basketball court,” Sanders said. “I saw the success of my brothers and wanted to replicate that in my high school years.”

Sanders said playing soccer as a freshman in the fall prior to basketball season helped him ease into the school. He also found it to be a great cross-training sport for basketball.

“Soccer is the best cross training for basketball with foot work, stamina, and the ability to connect with some guys on the basketball team,” Sanders said. “We improved steadily in soccer the past four seasons.”

Sanders said the soccer team at CCHS won only two contests his freshman year, doubled that a year later, was better than .500 his junior year, and won a Cascades Conference title and advanced to a district final this past fall.

He is hoping the Golden Eagles can replicate that in basketball. CCHS is 6-1 this season following the lastest win over Concord Friday at SAU’s Shot Clock Classic.

“We have the talent, the height, and the speed,” he said of the 2024-2025 team. “We just have to concentrate on ‘gluing’ everyone together.”

The Golden Eagles are running a different offense shying away from a motion offense.

“It is easy for me as my AAU team in Grand Rapids ran a similar style,” Sanders said.

Sanders would love to play college basketball and is getting looks from NAIA, Division 2, and Division 3 teams. His brother, Carson, plays for Hope College in the MIAA.

“I do a little bit each day to get better,” Sanders said of the sport.

He would like to major in business and should not have any trouble getting into a four-year college with a 4.09 grade point average.

The senior has enjoyed lessons learned on the pitch and basketball court.

“Sports teaches you to work with others and builds character,” Sanders said. “You gain a lot of trust and respect for the guy next to you as the team is working toward a common goal.”