Sanders, Ashe Bring Unique Attitudes

Ben Sanders and Erick Ashe both bring a world of experience to the backcourt of the Fullerton men’s basketball team. While Sanders is well-schooled in court sense, Ashe brings a wisdom that can only come from three years in the Marine Corps.

Sanders, a sophomore, was a prep standout at Los Angeles Westchester High and earned a scholarship to Nevada Las Vegas, where he played as a freshman but was a redshirt the next season.

He left the desert in search of more playing time and landed at Fullerton, hoping to regain the level of talent that got him to a Division I college.

Ashe joined the Marines immediately after graduating from Palmdale High in 1992.

He was as a tank driver and also worked with hazardous materials.

Various assignments took him all over the globe. He left Japan with a large tiger tattooed across his chest.

Ashe, 23, also played plenty of basketball while in the service and scored 55 points in one game. He was stationed in Twentynine Palms and his Marine team played in several tournaments against community college teams.

Shortly before leaving the Marines, he suffered a serious knee injury while playing basketball and had major surgery in May of 1996. He was discharged from the service that August and had nine days of freedom before school started.

He had considered attending Arizona Western or Imperial Valley but picked Fullerton so he could be closer to his family in Los Angeles. “All I knew was that it was by Disneyland,” Ashe said.

Ashe had a great desire to play, so he worked hard and was ready to start in November. He averaged 11 points, caught the eye of several four-year coaches and has signed to play next at UC Santa Barbara.

Fullerton Coach Dieter Horton is amazed by how hard Ashe works--he stays after most practices to take 250 extra jump shots. Horton tells the story of last summer, when he got a call from Ashe the night before the Fourth of July.

Ashe wanted to work out in the gym and asked Horton to meet him at the college. “I was figuring about 10 or 11 a.m. but he wanted to meet at 8 a.m.,” Horton said. “I was coming by the football stadium about 7:30 a.m. and there was Erick running stadiums to strengthen his knee. You tell me another community college player who would work that hard on the Fourth of July.”

Ashe doesn’t even think about the knee this season and plays without a brace. He is averaging 17 points for Fullerton (14-4), which is at Irvine Valley at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

There is little doubt that Ashe’s best basketball is still to come as he gains more confidence; however, the same can’t be said for Sanders, who is trying to rebuild his.

Sanders played in 25 games for UNLV in 1995-96 but a coaching change left him languishing on the bench the next season and he elected to sit out.

He transferred to Long Beach but switched to Fullerton last spring because he felt more in tune with the younger Horton, who is 27.

This season has been anything but easy for Sanders, who averaged 23 points, five rebounds and three assists as a high school senior.

“It’s tough for me,” Sanders said. “Every time I watch a game on TV, I see someone I played against and I know I could be there too.”

He has shown flashes of his ability and hopes to get another chance at a Division I college.

“I’m just here to work on my shot because it’s not up to par,” Sanders said. “[Basketball] isn’t as fun as it used to be. It’s more of job now, but it’s still fun.”

Sanders, who is averaging 18 points, has enough talent to play point guard or shooting guard and, at 6 feet 5, is tall enough to play on the wing.

“So many people have been inside his head, trying to tell him what he needs to do,” Horton said. “When he got here, he was one of the most confused players I have ever seen.

“He’s best in the open court and I told him just do what you do best. But you haven’t seen him [at his best] at all yet.”