Levell Sanders: Leading the charge for the men’s basketball team

Levell Sanders watched with extra interest as Saint Peter’s University made a run to the Elite Eight in the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Not only was Saint Peter’s coached by Sanders’ friend and former Seton Hall teammate Shaheen Holloway, but the Peacocks were a small Division 1 squad like the team Sanders leads at Binghamton University.

“I got goosebumps watching them win,” Sanders says of the upsets over Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue. “Saint Peter’s gave teams like us hope and a blueprint [for tournament success]. When you watched Saint Peter’s, they played hard, they played together, they played defense and they played with confidence.”

Binghamton may not be ready yet to topple Kansas, North Carolina or Gonzaga in March, but Sanders and his staff have the Bearcats going in the right direction. As interim coach in 2021–22, Sanders led Binghamton to the America East semifinals and the most conference wins (eight) for the program in the past 12 years. After the season, Sanders was one of 15 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award, which goes to the top first-year coach in the country. The progress led to the interim tag being removed, with Sanders on board to direct the program for at least the next five years.

The Bearcats open the 2022–23 season on Nov. 7 with a home game against Cazenovia College.

“We want to bring an America East playoff game or two to Binghamton,” Sanders says. “It means we have to finish in the top four in the league. That would be exciting for us — and I know the fans would be excited.”

On the court in Europe

Sanders is a familiar name to anyone who followed Big East basketball in the late 1990s. The Brooklyn native was a leader on Seton Hall teams that also featured future coaches such as Holloway (now at Seton Hall), Dan Hurley (UConn) and Adrian Griffin (NBA’s Toronto Raptors). Sanders covered other guards who would go on to become NBA greats: Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kerry Kittles. But Sanders could more than hold his own, earning second-team All-Big East honors in 1998 and averaging more than 12 points per game in 113 career games. He was also a Big East academic all-star.

After graduating in 1998, Sanders spent 17 years playing in Europe, primarily the Czech Republic. He retired in 2014 as the 11th all-time leading scorer in Czech basketball and was named Czech National League MVP in 2007.

Toward the end of his playing career, Sanders was asked to add “assistant coach” to his duties with the Czech Pardubice team.

“I never really wanted to coach,” he recalls. “I wanted to become a scout. I love to evaluate, watch people play and draw my opinion from what I see. But when I became a player/assistant, I thought: ‘This is not bad.’ So I decided to keep coaching when I retired.”

Sanders was a head coach for four years in the Czech Republic’s top basketball league and also assisted with the nation’s under-16, under-17 and under-18 teams at the 2015–17 European Championships.

By the end of the decade, though, Sanders decided it was time to return to the United States with his wife, Pamela, and daughter Olivia, and seek coaching opportunities.

“My daughter was 5 and I wanted her to come back to the States,” says Sanders, whose second daughter, Stella, recently celebrated her first birthday. “I wanted her to have that American confidence and get more diversity here.”

Among those Sanders reached out to for advice was Patrick Elliott, then-athletic director of Binghamton University. Elliott was originally on the Seton Hall basketball staff that recruited Sanders to the New Jersey school. Another Binghamton connection led him back to New York.

“Herb Courtney, who I originally met in Estonia when I was assistant coach for the Czech National Team, told me he was leaving Binghamton and that his assistant position was opening up,” Sanders says.

Sanders interviewed with then-Coach Tommy Dempsey and accepted the position in June 2019. He still remembers his first week on the job, recruiting in Philadelphia and trying to adapt to watching teenagers after working with international pros for 20 years.

“I was shocked at how different it was,” he says. “There were differences in basketball IQ and understanding the game. My eyes were used to watching professionals. It was hard to gauge talent.”

Team building

In today’s world of college basketball, Sanders and his staff have to do more than gauge talent. That assessment is just the first step in developing a team.

“If someone is good enough to play for us, we need to check the grades,” he says. “We’re a high-level academic institution. We can’t get everybody into school, and we understand that. So we need to cast a wider net. We can’t recruit four kids — we need to recruit 12. Then once you know someone can get into Binghamton, you do your homework: Character is important. We want good students and good people who will add to what we are building.

“And we have to sell ourselves. My assistants [Brian Johnson, Marlon Guild and Patrick Norris] do a much better job at selling me than I do. You have to [emphasize] how you can help these student-athletes become better at whatever they want to do.”

On the court, Sanders wants versatile players who have the ability to contribute at multiple positions.

“Besides center, every position is interchangeable,” he says. “We want players who can naturally defend, move their feet and be athletic. If you can guard individually, the team defense will be better. Then we’ll look for two-way players who can play on both sides of the ball.”

The 2022–23 team features players who fit this mold, such as all-conference guard Jacob Falko, point guard John McGriff, fifth-year senior Christian Hinckson, veteran wing Dan Petcash and Canisius transfer Armon Harried, one of five new scholarship players on the team. The players excel off the court, too, as Petcash and center Ogheneyole Akuwovo earned the “Honors Court” distinction from the National Association of Basketball Coaches for their academic work.

Sanders and his staff spent most of a summer practice emphasizing defense, physicality and team communication. Simply talking to one another on the court isn’t enough, the coaches said.

“A quiet team is a selfish team!” Johnson said.

“Be louder! We’re playing at Maryland this year!” Guild said.

“We play defense! We play defense!” Falko chanted to his teammates after a stop.

Sanders watched a halfcourt 5-on-5 game while kneeling on the Binghamton logo at center court with a basketball by his side. He was quick to give quiet, constructive advice to various players during the scrimmage.

“We’ve got to get to our core principles,” he told the team at the conclusion of practice. “Be a defensive team first.”

Fan-tastic support

For Sanders, the men’s basketball program is more than the players and staff. The fans, whether they be students, faculty and staff, alumni or community members, play a major role.

After Sanders gained his first America East home win in January 2022 against Hartford, he brought the team to the center of the court, grabbed a microphone and thanked the Events Center crowd for its enthusiasm.

“We were down 19 in the first half and came back and won,” he says. “The atmosphere was unbelievable, and I felt I should say something.

“I don’t do it every game, but if I feel like the fans helped us, I’ll do it. Everyone likes to feel appreciated — and I like to say what’s on my mind and in my heart. … When you put on a good show, fans will be loud and behind you. And when things aren’t going well, we know we’ll need the fans to stay behind us and give us support.”

Fans also don’t need to be at the Events Center to support the Bearcats. Games are televised on ESPN+ and ESPN3 and help bring visibility and recognition to the program and the University, Sanders says.

“Every game we play on ESPN gives us the opportunity to show what Binghamton has to offer,” he says. “If men’s basketball can be successful — and I believe we will be — I’m sure enrollment numbers will increase.”

Knowing Binghamton has a fanbase across the country also helps team morale, he adds.

“I get emails from lots of people and I try to write back as soon as possible,” he says. “Just the support of watching our games means a lot to us.”

Although Sanders has some fun long-term goals, such as bringing a game back to the West Gym or hosting a game with only students filling the Events Center, the short-term goal remains simple.

“We are going to win,” he says, “and help contribute to the success of Binghamton University.”