Rooted in Colorado: Josiah Sanders embraces the opportunity to represent home
For Josiah Sanders, his basketball journey started in the backyard.
The 6-foot-5 guard, a Colorado native who grew up in Denver, spent much of his childhood watching his older siblings compete on the court. What began as a way to spend more time with his brother and sister eventually became more and brought him to Boulder.
“Just seeing them play, I always wanted to go out there, just hang out, play with the older kids, and then I kind of just stuck with it,” Sanders said. “I played football for one season, but I always had a basketball in my hand.”
As he worked on his game, places like Hoops Park (Aurora, Colo.) became part of his routine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanders and other teammates would make trips to the park every morning to practice. They also took advantage of their high school gyms, where they could play five-on-five and keep working on their skills.
Those experiences in his home of the Mile High helped shape Sanders as a player. Now, as a Buffalo, he has the opportunity to represent the same state where his basketball journey began.
“Knowing that Colorado has been a flyover state the past couple years, I just want to come out here and prove that we got hoopers,” he said. “And for me, it means a lot to be able to wear that name on my jersey, just because I know what it's like to come from here.”
Now entering into his sophomore season at Colorado, Sanders is continuing to build his role with the Buffaloes after making an impact as a freshman. The Denver native graduated from Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colo., while playing basketball for Colorado Prep. He was also rated unanimously as the top-ranked player in the state of Colorado for the 2025 class, before committing to Boulder.
Wearing the black-and-gold means more than representing the university. It means representing and paying respect to the players, communities and basketball culture that helped him reach the Division I level.
He understands the struggles for Colorado-born players to make it to the collegiate level. Sanders explained that players from Colorado sometimes have to travel out of state to compete on AAU teams and attend tournaments to find the level of competition and exposure they need.
“People from other states, they might not have to do the same thing,” Sanders said. “And so for us, just having to adapt and do what we can to play at the highest level, it means a lot for me to be able to come here and do that.”
CU’s coaching staff recognizes that connection to home, too.
Assistant coach and former Buff, Evan Battey, emphasized that representing Colorado carries a responsibility because of the university's connection to communities throughout the state. As the state’s flagship university, CU represents alumni and supporters that expand far beyond Boulder.
“It's a situation where the alumni are so spread out from all over the state. So really representing everybody, just putting on the jersey and having Colorado across your chest,” Battey said. “So when I was here playing it, I took that very seriously, and I know my guys from Colorado on that team took it very seriously.”
With local players, that relationship can begin well before they even step on the CU Event Center court. Battey explained that the program sometimes begins recruiting local players as early as eighth grade, allowing relationships with coaches and the team to develop over several years.
He pointed to Sanders as an example, recalling that he first met him around the 2021-22 school year, when Sanders himself was an eighth grader.
“Sometimes it's a different emotional connection because they've been recruited by us,” Battey said. “That time and that relationship and that chemistry with the coaching staff and with the players is already there.”
Sanders arriving at CU was not just a convenient opportunity close to home. The program had been a destination for him while he was growing up. He followed the Buffaloes, especially during the years of KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva, and got to see up close how they connected.
What stood out the most was the team’s sense of brotherhood.
“I knew what the coaching staff was like,” Sanders said. “Hearing how they developed kids, hearing how they cared about people and the familyhood vibe that they had up here, it was always really appealing to me.”
Sanders is one of three Colorado natives on the Buffaloes’ roster this season. Alongside him are freshman Eric Jacobsen, who is from Colorado Springs, and junior forward Nick Randal, a Fort Collins native. Together, the three players represent different parts of the state while bringing their Colorado basketball backgrounds to Boulder.
Sanders recognized Randall from local AAU tournaments at Gold Crown, where the two had crossed paths before arriving in Boulder. He said he did not initially know Jacobsen was from Colorado, but learned more about his background after he joined the team.
Sander said that seeing players he competed with reach the Division I level has been rewarding.
“These are the dudes who I was hooping with when we were in sixth, seventh, eighth grade,” Sander said. “And just to see everybody, their work paid off.”
For Sanders, representing Colorado Basketball is tied to the people and places that helped him get there. From backyard games with his siblings to early-morning practices at hoops park, his journey has been shaped by the basketball community he now has the opportunity to represent.
He knows he wants to accomplish more at CU, but every time he puts on that jersey, he hopes to show that Colorado can produce players who can compete at the highest level.
“Just to see everybody excelling at the next level, like I feel like that makes me happy, because I support them, I love them, and I know where we came from,” Sanders said. “We still have a long way to go, a lot of things we still want to accomplish, but just for us, like having the opportunity to play at this level means a lot.”
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