Grigorij Khizhnyak (alternate spelling: Grygorii Khizhniak, uk, Григорій Хижняк; July 16, 1974 – October 5, 2018) was a Ukrainian professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player. Standing at a height of , he played at the
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
position. He was the
EuroLeague's leader in
blocked shots
In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the de ...
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.
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, and the
2003 EuroBasket.
Death
Khizhnyak died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
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