Shaw assistant men's basketball coach James "Twiggy" Sanders has  become the first head basketball coach of the American Basketball Association team the Maryland Nighthawks. 

A native of Raleigh, where he grew up just three blocks from Shaw, he played at Ligon High School where he was all-conference, all-state and All-American and was named Wake County Player of the Year in 1970.

Sanders went on to star at Johnson C. Smith University.  He was voted to the CIAA All-Tournament team in 1973 and 1974.  He received his B.S. in Physical Education in 1974.  After graduation, he became a star player with The Harlem Globe Trotters from 1974-91, playing basketball in over 101 countries spanning six continents.

Sanders has coached on all-three levels.  He was head basketball coach at Bonner Academy in Raleigh and also was head coach for two years with the Raleigh Cougars of the United State Basketball League (USBL).  He was also an assistant coach for two years at Morris Brown.

The team was originally called the Hershey (PA) Nighthawks, but because of difficulty finalizing the venue and dates in Hershey, moved to Upper Marlboro, MD.  The team will begin play in November.