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Deion Sanders says it was "stupid" for his daughter to enter transfer portal

Coach Prime kept it real about his youngest child leaving Boulder 
Josh Tolle|
Deion Sanders with Shelomi Sanders at CU
Deion Sanders with Shelomi Sanders at CU | Deion Sanders Jr./Well Off Media

Shelomi Sanders has decided to take her talents elsewhere, but it's a decision that evidently doesn't sit well with her father. Coach Prime was asked about his youngest leaving Boulder and he gave an honest answer while suggesting to slide by NCAA rules. 

"(It) was stupid," Sanders told DNVR on Wednesday. "You don't enter the portal. You get a team before you enter the portal. You kinda get a team before you enter the portal. You know, that's what I would advise a child. And I know, "Well it's illegal..." C'mon, man." 

Coach Prime feels indifferent about the entire situation. However, to all the naysayers, he's not leaving to chase something outside of Colorado anytime soon. 

"You've got to understand I'm a real father," Sanders said. "Where I come from, historically, kids follow their parents. The Parents don't follow the kids. That doesn't work in my book. That doesn't work where I am from. I am the leader of the family. So, I've been dictating where my kids go. They're not dictating where I go."

Sanders committed to Jackson State while Coach Prime was there and departed after he took the job at CU. With a mass exodus, she would've likely been part of JR Payne's regular rotation. Now, Sanders is searching for her next basketball home and trying to make the right move without her father's support.   

Sanders played 11 minutes in five games for CU this past season. She came over from Jackson State and averaged 16 points per game and was named first team All-District for District 10 6A in Texas as a senior at Rockwall-Heath high school in 2022. 

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Josh Tolle
JOSH TOLLE

Josh Tolle is a writer covering college sports for On SI. Outside of storytelling, the multi-talented broadcaster has play-by-play experience at the professional and collegiate levels. In 2018, he began calling games for the National Women’s Soccer League. He has also called games for the United Soccer League, Concacaf, and the U.S. Open Cup. He has called hockey for the Premier Hockey Federation for the past three seasons and was the play-by-play voice for the Superior RoughRiders of the Western Hockey League. He has provided play-by-play for various other sports including football, basketball, baseball and volleyball events. Since 2015, Tolle has been the voice of Colorado School of Mines Athletics having called football, men's and women's basketball and soccer. He previously wrote for SB Nation.

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