Sanni wants to take his best shot at leadership role with Gauchos

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Ajare Sanni excelled in coming off of the bench last season as he was the Sixth Man of the Year in the Big West Conference.

But this year Sanni will not only be a starter with the Gauchos but he hopes to emerge as the leader of a UCSB team that will try and make it back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament.

As a sophomore Sanni averaged 11 points per game last season and his 42 made three-pointers were tied for first on the team with graduated star JaQuori McLaughlin.

Now Sanni wants to be the leader that McLaughlin was on and off of the court for the 22-5 Gauchos.

"You definitely have to have chemistry," said Sanni. "That is something we had last year and that is why we were so successful so we look forward to doing that same thing this year and pushing on to the NCAA Tournament."

UCSB is in the second week of an 8-week window in which the team can practice this summer.