PG commits to the Saints
6-foot-3 Jakai Sanders hails from Brooklyn
Two days after ending a 28-loss season, the Siena men’s basketball program found a player who wants to be part of the program’s rebound.
Jakai Sanders, a 6-foot-3 high school point guard from Brooklyn, announced Thursday on social media his commitment to the Saints for next season.
“I picked Siena because it was like home,” Sanders said in a phone interview. “Coaches coming to watch me practice when they had games the next day. Telling me about how they’re going to develop me for my future.”
Sanders plays for Eagle Academy Brooklyn, which reached the Public Schools Athletic League AAAA championship game on Friday night against South Shore High School at St. John’s Lou Carnesecca Arena.
Sanders averaged 17.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 10.1 assists during the regular season, according to the PSAL website.
“I’m a dawg, a good leader, great point guard, great teammate,” he said.
He sounded confident he can help turn around a Siena program that went 4-28 this season, the most losses in program history, ending with Tuesday’s loss to Niagara in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament.
“We’re going to bring the winning environment back,” Sanders said. “Back where it used to be.”
And how will that be done?
“You’re going to see,” he responded.
Sanders played at Bishop Loughlin in Brooklyn before transferring to Eagle Academy this season. He played his AAU ball for the New York Lightning.
He said Siena recruited him for the past six or seven months with coach Carmen Maciariello being the lead recruiter, rather than an assistant. Sanders visited Siena in February.
“We speak every day,” Sanders said. “If I ever need anything, I know I can call him, any time of night. He tells me about his kids. We’re real close.”
Sanders’ commitment supports Maciariello’s insistence he will be back as head coach next season. He has two years left on his contract and received a vote of confidence in February from athletic director John D’argenio.
Sanders said he also had offers from and visited St. John’s, Hofstra, Rhode Island and Fordham.
“I want to go to a place where I can develop and play the most at,” Sanders said.
His mother, Taniqua Mickell, will be a fixture at games. Sanders thanked her for being “supportive” and said that while the decision to attend Siena was his, she approved.
Certainly, the opportunity for playing time is there at Siena, which struggled this year to replace point guard Javian Mccollum, who left for Oklahoma after last season. The Saints were last in the MAAC in assist-turnover margin.
Sanders is Siena’s second commitment for next season, joining 6-5 combination guard Jojo Moore of Cedar Park, Texas, who signed last November.
After a terrible season, Siena might not be done recruiting, even with no scholarship seniors and with roster turnover common in college basketball because of the transfer portal.