Grigorij Khizhnyak (alternate spelling: Grygorii Khizhniak, uk, Григорій Хижняк; July 16, 1974 – October 5, 2018) was a Ukrainian professional
basketball player. Standing at a height of , he played at the
center position. He was the
EuroLeague's leader in
blocked shots in two consecutive seasons, in
2000–01 and
2001–02.
Professional career
Khizhnyak, who was a dominant defensive force in the paint, led the
EuroLeague in
blocks per game for two consecutive years (
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
,
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
), while playing with the
Lithuanian League club
Žalgiris Kaunas. Among his greatest career achievements, was his participation in the
ULEB Cup (
EuroCup)'s
2005 Final, while he was a member of the
Greek League club
Makedonikos
Makedonikos B.C. (Greek: Μακεδονικός K.A.E.) is a Greek professional basketball club. The club is located in Neapoli, Thessaloniki, Greece. The parent athletic club was founded in 1928, and the basketball department was founded in 19 ...
.
National team career
Khizhnyak was a regular member of the senior men's
Ukrainian national basketball team
The Ukraine men's national basketball team ( uk, збірна України з баскетболу) represents Ukraine in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Basketball Federation of Ukraine.
After Ukrainian Ind ...
. With Ukraine, he played at the
1997 EuroBasket
The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a ber ...
, and the
2003 EuroBasket
The 2003 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2003, was the 33rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as the Europe qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, giving a berth ...
.
Death
Khizhnyak died of a
heart attack on 5 October, 2018, at the age of 44.
Grigorij Khizhnyak passed away at age 44.
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EuroLeague career statistics
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2000–01
, style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Žalgiris Kaunas
, 12 , , 12 , , 29.8 , , .539 , , .000 , , .840 , , 7.2 , , .8 , , .7 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 3.2 , , 12.1 , , 18.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 2001–02
, 14 , , 14 , , 32.2 , , .508 , , .333 , , .888 , , 8.1 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 3.2 , , 14.4 , , 21.6
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 26 , , 26 , , 31.1 , , .520 , , .167 , , .865 , , 7.7 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 3.2 , , 13.3 , , 20.3
References
External links
FIBA Archive Profile
Euroleague.net Profile
Spanish League Archive Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khizhnyak, Grigorij
1974 births
2018 deaths
Sportspeople from Mykolaiv
BC Avtodor Saratov players
BC Azovmash players
BC Budivelnyk players
BC Dnipro players
BC Kyiv players
BC Žalgiris players
Centers (basketball)
BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg players
Liga ACB players
Makedonikos B.C. players
Place of death missing
Peristeri B.C. players
Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Russia
Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Spain
Ukrainian expatriate basketball people in Greece
Ukrainian men's basketball players
Valencia Basket players