Deion Sanders remains the only athlete in history to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. However, during a visit to the Denver Nuggets’ training camp, the current Colorado Buffs head coach revealed that he was extremely close to playing a third professional sport.
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“I was a basketball kid. I love basketball,” Sanders said, as per an October 1 vlog posted by Well Off Media. “But they didn’t allow me to play in college. They were going to let me play for the Hawks one time just to play three sports, and they didn’t allow me to do it.”
“But I wanted to do it because I told the general manager I’m going to give you 10 just off the strength. Give me one steal. That’s two. I’m going to go to the free throw line. I’mma hit one. All right. And I got six on my own now. So I got you.”
Most people assume his famous nickname came from his flashy pick-sixes or punt returns in football, but he actually earned the name “Prime Time” on a basketball court.
During a high school game at North Fort Myers High School, Deion Sanders went completely out of his mind, scoring over 35 points and throwing down multiple ferocious, crowd-pleasing dunks. On the team bus ride back to the school, his childhood best friend, Richard Fain, turned to him and said, “Man, you’re Prime Time.” The name stuck for the rest of his life.
Sanders had every intention of playing basketball at the collegiate level. He later found out that he held several NCAA basketball scholarship offers, but his high school coaches deliberately withheld them from him. The coaches believed his absolute highest ceiling for athletic success lay in football, so they steered him away from the hardwood to protect his future gridiron career.
During the early 1990s, while simultaneously playing for the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons, Sanders aggressively tried to pitch a three-sport crossover. Because Stan Kasten was the general manager of both the Braves and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks at the time, Sanders saw a window of opportunity.
He publicly campaigned to sign a 10-day NBA contract just to play in a single game. Even though the team’s front office ultimately blocked the move, his deep love for the sport and confidence in his game never faded.
With the move, Sanders would have become one of the rarest sportspersons to suit up for three sports. There have been players who got drafted in three sports. Dave Winfield was famously drafted by teams in four different professional leagues across three sports. However, he ultimately chose baseball. Similarly, Dave Logan got drafted in three sports, but decided to pursue the NFL.
Sanders already got a step ahead by playing two sports at the same time, as Bo Jackson did. Now, Coach Prime’s daughter is living his dream of basketball while his sons carry his legacy of football. Shelomi Sanders has charted a path through women’s college basketball.
When Coach Prime accepted the head coaching job for Colorado Football, Shelomi moved with the family to Boulder. She suited up for the Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team, making a handful of appearances, including hitting her first career collegiate basket (a 3-pointer) against Air Force. Coach Prime was seen supporting her daughter from the stands in many games.
After a brief stint away from her father, Shelomi is back at Colorado State University Pueblo for her final season. “My babygirl’s going to be close to me,” Sanders said. “I’m happy she’s going to spend her last year of basketball in the state of Colorado, somewhere. I’m elated about that … She made a tremendous decision, I’m proud of her.”