Ricky Sanchez

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Ricky Sanchez
Position	Power Forward
League	NBDL
Height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Team	Denver Nuggets
Nationality	Puerto Rico
Born	July 6, 1987 Guayama, Puerto Rico
Draft	2^nd round, 35^th overall, 2005 Portland Trailblazers
Pro career	2005–present

Ricky Sanchez (born July 6, 1987 in Guayama, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. Sanchez has played in the NBDL, CBA, and National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with the Humacao Grays. He was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with 35th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft becoming the 4th Puerto Rican to be drafted by the NBA, and was immediately traded to the Nuggets for their selection, Jarrett Jack.

[edit] Brief Biography

Sanchez became a well-known player in Puerto Rico's minor basketball leagues, quickly becoming a member of the exclusive Puerto Rico Pump-N-Run basketball team. The Puerto Rico Pump-N-Run is made up exclusively of that country's very best young basketball players.

The 6'11", 220 lb Sanchez, went into the IMG Academy, in Bradenton, Florida where he averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Despite his achievements, Sanchez was not well known in his country. As a high school player, Sanchez did not receive much attention by the Puerto Rican media. When Luz Nereida Velez of Noticentro 4, a television news show, announced that a Puerto Rican had been chosen by an NBA team, many Puerto Rican basketball fans reacted with surprise.

In 2005 Sanchez was widely expected to attend the University of Memphis and had signed a letter of intent when he suddenly announced he was skipping college to enter directly into the NBA Draft.

With his signing, Sanchez joins fellow Puerto Ricans Alfred Lee, Jose Ortiz, Ramon Rivas, Ramon Ramos, Daniel Santiago, Carlos Arroyo (who also played with the Nuggets) and Peter John Ramos, in chronological order, as NBA players from Puerto Rico. On October 26, 2006 fellow Puerto Rican Jose Juan Barea joined this group as well. He is expected to play for the Dallas Mavericks and their team on the D-league. Guillermo Diaz will join this group on 2007-2008 season this was a promise made to him by the Los Angeles Clippers where they promised Diaz that he will get playing time, but he had to play in Europe this year. When the Los Angeles Clippers release some players from their contracts they said he will be an important part of the team.

During the summer of 2005. Sanchez participated with the Denver Nuggets during the NBA Summer Pro League.

On November 12, 2005, Ricky Sanchez signed with the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Association or CBA. At the time of signing he was the youngest player to sign a CBA contract.

In the early summer of 2006, Sanchez was denied permission to play in the Puerto Rican professional league (Balocesto Superior Nacional).

In 2006, Sanchez participated with the Denver Nuggets during the NBA Summer Pro League for a second straight year. On 3 Oct 2006, Sanchez was assigned to the NBA Development League to play with the Idaho Stampede for the 2006-2007 season. Sanchez will also play the 2007 season with Humacao Grays of the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN).

[edit] Career Stats

Sanchez's NBDL stats in 40 games with 9 starts are 440 points with a 11.0 PPG, 64 assists with a 1.6 APG, 176 rebounds with a 4.4 RPG, 23 steals with a 0.6 SPG, 25 blocks with a 0.6 BPG, .404 field goal percentage, .760 free throw percentage, and .351 3-point percentage.
His CBA stats in 47 games are 374 points with an 8.0 PPG, 68 assists with a 1.4 APG, 170 rebounds with a 3.6 RPG, 28 steals with a 0.6 SPG, 34 blocks with a 0.7 BPG, .425 field goal percentage, .767 free-throw percentage, and .394 3-point percentage.