He played power forward for the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams before declaring himself eligible for the 2010 NBA draft and was selected 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks.

His production and growth spurt was enough that Rodriguez alerted his friend Tony Pujol, an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), to watch out for him.

He began garnering statewide attention in his junior campaign as he helped Port St. Lucie reach the Class 5A state semifinals.

In his senior year, while averaging 18.9 points and 13 rebounds, Sanders led Port St. Lucie (20–8) to the District 13-5A Championship, and was named by the Associated Press to the First Team All-State.

At VCU, he was keen to train under its then head coach Anthony Grant, who was known to have tutored standout big men at the University of Florida while he was still an assistant there.

As a junior Sanders averaged 14.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks, with 53% field-goal accuracy, all statistical team highs, on his way to earning the second of his consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2008–09 and 2009–10.

[4] Larry Sanders announced in April 2010 after his junior year that he was departing VCU early to enter the NBA draft.

Sanders again violated the NBA's drug policy during the 2014–15 season and was subsequently suspended without pay for a minimum of ten games on January 16, 2015.

[17] On February 25, a video of Sanders was released where he explained that he entered into a program at Rogers Memorial Hospital for anxiety, depression and mood disorders.

[28] In his time away from basketball, Sanders created an artist collective, clothing line, and non-profit organization named Citizen of Matter.