University of North Carolina Athletics
Pringle Sanders Takes Unique Path To Olympic Stage
August 6, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Carolina fans may not immediately recognize the name Lara Sanders when they see it on the roster for the Turkey women's basketball team. But they will certainly recognize the game when Sanders and her adopted countrywomen take the court starting Saturday in pursuit of the country's first Olympic basketball medal.
Sanders - better known as LaToya Pringle to Tar Heel fans - was the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and one of the cornerstones of a group that won four consecutive ACC titles and advanced to a pair of Final Fours and a pair of Elite Eights. She still holds UNC career records for field goal percentage and blocked shots and is closing in on 10 years in professional basketball after being drafted in the first round by the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury following her senior year.
So how did an All-ACC player who grew up in Fayetteville as the eldest daughter of a military family end up as one of the key members of the Turkey national team?
It started with her move to Kayseri Kaski S.K., a top division club in central Turkey, in 2010. Many WNBA stars play in Europe during the offseason, and as a promising young talent, she was offered the chance to obtain a Turkish passport during her third season. That move allowed her to earn more money and not count against her club's maximum allotment of foreign players.
"After my second year here, my club team offered me citizenship," Sanders said. "The rule is, you have to play in Turkey three years and be under 25. There were only a few of us that fit the bill."
That proved to be a smart business decision for Sanders, and the call from the national team came shortly thereafter. Her first major competition as a member of the Turkish team was the 2014 FIBA World Championships, and Turkey was the host. Buoyed by the home support, the Turks won their group and advanced to the semifinals, losing to Australia in the bronze medal game.
Now she'll lead her adopted country onto the sport's biggest stage with her new name. Lara is a traditional Turkish name, and it was important to her club that she adopt a local handle upon earning citizenship.
"It still hasn't hit me," Sanders said last week. "Everyone is talking about Rio, the opening ceremonies, medals, and I just haven't even processed it yet. When I sit down and think about it, I'm excited. As a kid I never thought I would be a professional basketball player, let alone compete in the Olympics for Turkey. That's the road I've taken and I couldn't be happier to take this journey with the country of Turkey."
Turkey made its Olympic debut in 2012, finishing fifth in London. Sanders and her teammates will start this year's Olympic tournament on Saturday against France in the first game of Group A play. They will need to finish in the top four of six to reach the medal round, where the United States could await. Australia is the team to beat in the group, and that game will provide a chance to make amends for the loss in 2014.
"They're a lot like the Americans," Sanders said of the Aussies. "They've got size, strength and shooters, and they have so much depth compared to other teams competing in the Olympics."
It's been a long journey to Rio for Sanders, who struggled with her health in her freshman year at Carolina but eventually became a star for Sylvia Hatchell. And now she'll be Hatchell's first former player to feature in the Olympic Games, a milestone that is not lost on the Tar Heel mentor who won gold as an assistant herself in 1988.
"Enjoy the moment," Hatchell said of her advice to Sanders. "There's nothing like it. Enjoy the moment. I loved the village, being around all the other countries and people, and just the spirit of the Olympic Games. There's no way you can express the spirit of Olympic Games. Just enjoy every moment of it."
