Zach Hankins (born July 27, 1996) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the

Xavier Musketeers The Xavier Musketeers are the 16 teams representing Xavier University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The Musk ...

his senior season. As a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

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 ...

, Hankins was named the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

National Player of the Year for the 2017–18 season while playing for Ferris State.

Early life and high school career

Hankins is the son of Scott and Dawn Hankins and participated in the 3-on-3 summer slam/beach bash basketball tournament in the Venetian Games growing up. In addition to basketball, he had a passion for music and played the trombone in a band. Hankins played at Charlevoix High School in

Charlevoix, Michigan Charlevoix ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County. The population was 2,348 at the 2020 census. Charlevoix is mostly surrounded by Charlevoix Township, but the two are administered autonomously ...

. As a junior, he averaged 12 points and eight

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game, while

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...

71 percent. In late 2013, Hankins was running up the floor and stopped abruptly, breaking his left foot. Three months later, a doctor gave him clearance to resume practicing, but Hankins broke the foot further. As a result, he missed all but the final two games of his senior year due to the injury. Hankins received some interest from several

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

schools as well as

Grand Valley State Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately ...

and

Lake Superior State Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

. Ferris State was the only school to offer him a scholarship, so he committed to play college basketball for the Bulldogs. Then-assistant coach Andy Bronkema spotted Hankins at a camp at Ferris State and made him the $3,000 scholarship pledge.

College career

Hankins

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

the 2014–15 season, joining the

Bulldogs the next year. As a freshman, he appeared in 34 games off the bench and averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He became a star as a redshirt sophomore, averaging 14.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He had 130 blocks on the season, which led Division II and set the school single-season school record. Hankins was one of the finalists for the

Bevo Francis Award The Bevo Francis Award is a college basketball award given annually since 2016. The award recognizes the top small college basketball player in the United States for a given season. The award is named after the late Bevo Francis, who earned nation ...

for the top small college player and was the only sophomore to be named to the 2017 Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-America Second Team. He led Ferris State to a

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Its ele ...

(GLIAC) regular-season and tournament title as well as a then-school record for wins with a 28–5 record. Ferris State reached the second round of the 2017 NCAA Division II Tournament before falling to GLIAC rival Findlay 68–63. In his junior season, Hankins became one of the top players in Division II. He averaged 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game and had a field goal percentage of 63 percent. His 128 blocks led the nation in that statistical category. Hankins repeated as GLIAC Player of the Year and was again a finalist for the Bevo Francis Award. He was named the

National Player of the Year National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

by the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University ...

. On the season, Ferris State compiled a 38–1 record and claimed the school’s first national championship in the 2018 NCAA Division II Tournament, defeating Northern State in the final by a score of 71–69. Hankins scored 19 points, including 14 in the first half, in the championship and was named the tournament's most valuable player. "Zach's the best-ever, period" at Ferris State, said coach Bronkema. After the season, Hankins graduated with a degree in environmental biology. On April 5, 2018, Hankins announced he was transferring to Xavier for his final collegiate season, choosing the Musketeers. Hankins briefly opened up his search after former Xavier coach Chris Mack left to take the job at

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, but remained with new coach Travis Steele after Steele said Hankins was still a priority. "In a way, I'm moving up, but in a way I still like I've been on this level already," he said. Hankins scored a season-high 23 points and had 10 rebounds in a win against Georgetown in January 2019. In his only year at Xavier, Hankins averaged 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He led the Musketeers to a 19–16 record and had 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists in a 78–76 overtime loss to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in the second round of the

2019 National Invitation Tournament The 2019 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I men's college basketball teams that were not selected to participate in the 2019 NCAA tournament. The tournament started on March 19, and con ...

Professional career

Hankins played for the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Summer League after going undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

. Hankins began his professional career in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

with

ČEZ Nymburk Basketball Nymburk, also known as ERA Nymburk due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in the town of Nymburk. The club plays in the top-tier level professional Czech National League (NBL). Nymburk regularly pl ...

. He was named to the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercont ...

Team of the Week on January 16, 2020, after contributing a season-high 18 points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal in a win over

Iberostar Tenerife Club Cantera Base 1939 Canarias S.A.D., also known as Lenovo Tenerife for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. Domestically, the team plays in the top level league i ...

. Hankins averaged 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. On May 19, 2020, he signed with Maccabi Rishon LeZion of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. On August 1, 2020, Hankins signed with

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

of the Turkish

Basketball Super League Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...

(BSL) and the

. However on August 21, Hankins announced he was not joining the team. On July 27, 2021, Hankins signed with the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 season. The team play the majority of their home games at Jo ...

of the National Basketball League. After sustaining a knee injury during the

2021 NBA Summer League The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league cons ...

, he was released by the Phoenix on September 1. On November 15, Hankins was acquired by the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The team plays their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 201 ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. On April 10, 2022, Hankins signed with the Mets de Guaynabo of the BSN. On July 28, 2022, Hankins signed with

of the

and the

References

External links

Zach Hankins
at proballers.com
Xavier Musketeers bioFerris State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankins, Zach 1996 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball Nymburk players Basketball players from Michigan Birmingham Squadron players Centers (basketball) Ferris State Bulldogs men's basketball players Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players People from Charlevoix, Michigan Power forwards (basketball) Xavier Musketeers men's basketball players