Larry Sanders is a leader for the Bucks — not just in the he got a $44 million contract and is a building block of the team sense — but he was already one of the league leaders in one category last season.
Well, a couple categories, but right now we are not talking just blocked shots.
We’re talking technical fouls — Sanders had 14 last season and was tossed out of multiple games.
Which you just can’t do if you are a team leader and the defensive anchor of the franchise. New coach Larry Drew has already talked about it with Sanders, reports the Journal-Sentinel.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people about keeping my head focused on winning the game,” Sanders said Monday at the news conference to announce his four-year contract extension. “What my perspective should be…..”
“When I took the job, one of the first things he and I did, we went out to dinner and sat and talked,” Drew said. “We were very candid. And he recognized that’s something he has to get better at.
“And that’s something I’m going to expect him to get better at. You talk about accountability. For me, it’s one of my pet peeves when you talk about transition defense and while you’re squabbling with the official the other team is running at you and you’re putting your team at a disadvantage.
Sanders plays with a lot of emotion, and that’s a good thing. But it has to be channeled. You can’t miss assignments arguing with the referee, you can’t give the other team a bunch of points with technical fouls, you can’t get ejected.
Larry Drew is a coach players respect, and you know he got his message through to Sanders. We’ll see how that impacts the Bucks big man on the court next season.
