If you said Tyler Sanborn was going to win three national player of the year awards his senior year some people would not have believed you. Playing in the shadows of All-American center, Ben Strong had to be a hard thing to do. But by the time his senior year came, he had made a name for himself. He made his dream come true by going on after college basketball to playing professional basketball overseas. Coming into his freshman season Sanborn was a baby-faced 285 pound little boy that could not make a lay-up, jumpshot, or even a free throw.

He took playing behind Strong as a great learning experience. “I was playing against the best player in the country every day, and I got a lot better because of him,” said Sanborn.

With the help of Strong, he worked hard on and off the court to make his game better. “I couldn’t settle with being bad or even mediocre,” said Sanborn. He showed that he had a tremendous work ethic that proved he was Guilford’s Most Improved player as a first-year. He realized that he had the talent to become a better basketball player. He just had to continue to work hard.

Sanborn continued to improve. He started every game his sophomore season until a hamstring injury slowed his progress – but did not hinder his drive. Returning as a starter to finish out the year, he ranked sixth on the team in scoring, averaging 6.8 points a game. Even though the players he looked up to and learned from were graduating, he still continued to get better.

The success continued into his junior season when he was named First Team All-Old Dominion Athletics Conference (ODAC), D3hoops.com’s Fourth Team All-American, and D3hoops.com’s South Region Player of the Year.

“I transitioned into more a dominant role, and wasn’t really sure of how I should take on this role,” stated Sanborn.

Entering his senior year, he was getting recognition as one of the top athletes in the ODAC and in the nation. Ultimately, Sanborn won the DIII News Player of the Year award, the NABC NCAA Division III Player of the Year honors, and Basketball Times Player of the Year award. Also, he was named the division’s National Player of the Year.

His career at Guilford may have begun as an ordinary one, but it ended up being outstanding. “He is a great example of a regular guy like every other freshman, but what he did was he worked to improve himself and to get himself better in all aspects,” said Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tom Palombo. “He basically put the time, hard work, and effort into becoming the player he is today.”

After graduation from Guilford, Sanborn took the next step in his basketball career. He began by getting back to work on the court and working out with a personal trainer. He got opportunities to work out with different NBA teams to earn a spot in Summer League play. After all the workouts, he earned a spot on the Los Angeles Lakers summer league team in Las Vegas.

Even though the Lakers did not sign Sanborn to a contract, he took the trip as a learning experience on what it takes to be able to play consistently at the professional level. After the summer league in Vegas, he signed a contract to play with a team in Pamplona, Spain.

Sanborn plays for Basket Navarra Club, more commonly referred to today by its sponsorship name of Grupo Iruña Navarra.
The team is in its first year in the Catalan Basketball League, LEB Gold. They are in a transitional period as they move up from LEB silver to LEB gold, which basically means they are moving from the third to second division.

Sanborn could have easily settled for being an average player while he was at Guilford and graduated to get a white-collar job somewhere. He did not want to settle; he strove to get better each day to get to his dream. He made his dream come true with hard work, determination, and desire. “The best part about Tyler is that he understands that he can be better and he can improve on his game,” said Palombo.