Darington O'Neal Hobson (born September 29, 1987) 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

Minas Tênis Clube Minas Tênis Clube (short, just ''Minas'') is a social, recreational and sports club from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. By 2013, it has more than 73,000 members. Its patrimony comprises two urban units, the Minas I and Minas II, and two country units, ...

of the

Novo Basquete Brasil Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) (English language, English: New Basketball Brazil) is the Brazilian premier professional men's basketball league. It is organized by the Liga Nacional de Basquete (LNB) (National Basketball League), in a new format of B ...

. He played college basketball for the University of New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team. Born in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, Hobson attended five high schools and a junior college before finally becoming eligible to play Division I college basketball. Hobson was drafted in the 2nd round (37th overall) of the

2010 NBA Draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. Hobson was waived on December 2, 2010, due to injury. A year later, Hobson was re-signed by the Bucks for the 2011–12 season. He was waived again on February 3, 2012.

High school and junior college

Hobson attended Western High School in Las Vegas for his freshmen year, before moving to Houston, Texas to attend Alief Hastings High School. At fifteen he attended Gulf Shores Academy, earning his nickname of "Butta" through his pick-up play in Houston. He then moved to southern California and attended his fourth high school of Calvary Baptist Christian. Eventually, he finally moved to Decatur Christian in Illinois for prep school. At Decatur Christian, Hobson was prompted by his coach, Alan Huss, to take the ACT, where he passed. Hobson, rated a 4-star recruit by Scout.com, was coming off a season where he averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. He still needed credit, and therefore attended the

College of Eastern Utah Utah State University Eastern (USU Eastern) is a public regional college within the Utah State Universitybr>system The USU Eastern campus is located in Price, Utah, United States. Founded as Carbon College in 1937, the college joined the Universi ...

, leading them to a 25–7 record where he averaged 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds.

College career

University of New Mexico

Upon coming to UNM, Hobson broke down and cried. "You always wished that you were there and playing on that level," Hobson said. "When I finally got there, I just sat in my room and just thanked God and cried for a couple of hours because I finally got to the place where I always wanted to get." Virtually unknown coming into the season, the left-handed Hobson was the question mark in how successful UNM's season would be. The Lobos had players in Roman Martinez and Dairese Gary, but the 6'7"

point forward Point forward is a nontraditional position in basketball, with a small forward—or sometimes a power forward or combo forward—adding the responsibilities of point guard to their play. Characteristics Generally, teams employ a point forward ...

JC transfer Hobson was the key to the year where the Lobos were picked fifth in the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...

. He did not disappoint, being the first Lobo to ever lead the team in points, rebounds and assists in the regular season. In 2010, Hobson was awarded the

Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Mountain West Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1999–00 season, the first year of the conference's ex ...

and Newcomer of the Year, making him the only player to ever achieve both honors in the same year. He was also named to First-Team All-Mountain West. He was also one of twenty-six finalists for the

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

, which annually awards the most outstanding player in men's college basketball. On March 29, 2010, Hobson was named an Associated Press Third Team All-American, the first since

Danny Granger Danny Granger Jr. (born April 20, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 2005 after a two-year college stint at New ...

in 2005. Hobson had 30 points and 10 rebounds against Louisiana Tech on November 21, 2009, going 3 for 4 from behind the arc. He had 22 points and 15 rebounds against the California on December 2, 2009, only to best that with a 29-point, 12-rebound performance against San Diego St. on February 2, including a 56-footer at the first half buzzer. On February 23, Hobson was two points away from being only the second Lobo in UNM history to record a triple-double, with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. In the 2010 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament, Hobson had 28 points and 15 rebounds en route to a 75–69 Lobos victory over the Air Force Academy.

Professional career

On April 13, 2010, it was reported that Hobson declared himself eligible for the NBA draft while not hiring an agent, leaving the possibility of returning to college basketball a possibility. On May 8, 2010, Hobson declared for the

2010 NBA draft The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...

, forfeiting his final year of eligibility at the University of New Mexico. On June 24, 2010, Hobson was selected with the seventh pick of the second round (37th overall) by the

. On September 3, 2010, Hobson signed with the Bucks. After not playing during the preseason or during the regular season, he was waived on December 2, 2010 due to injury. He later re-signed with the Bucks for the 2011–12 season, but in February 2012, he was waived again. On January 1, 2013, Hobson was acquired by the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior t ...

of the

NBA D-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 Dev ...

. On August 29, 2013, Hobson's rights were acquired by the

Delaware 87ers Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

in the 2013 NBA Development League Expansion Draft. In September 2014, Hobson signed with

UniCEUB/BRB The Instituto Viver Basquetebol, commonly known simply as Lobos Brasília, was a Brazilian professional basketball club, based in Brasília, Federal District. The team was founded in 2000, and renamed in 2009, been originally related to Salgado d ...

of Brazil for the 2014–15 season. He left Brazil in December 2014 after appearing in just six games for UniCEUB. On January 27, 2015, he joined the

after his rights were traded back to the team from the 87ers on January 21. On April 26, he won the D-League championship with the Warriors. On November 2, 2015, Hobson was reacquired by Santa Cruz. On May 25, 2016, Hobson signed with Guangxi Rhino of the Chinese NBL. Four days later, he made his debut in a 112–95 loss against Hebei Xianglan, recording 30 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and one steal in 34 minutes. On January 29, 2018, Hobson signed with

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

. On March 2, 2018 Hobson signed with Rethymno Cretan Kings B.C. of the

. On November 28, 2018, Hobson signed a deal with

Auxilium Torino Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino was an Italian professional basketball club that was based in Turin, Piedmont. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA for the last time in the 2018–19 season. The club won one trophy, wh ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

On December 5, 2019, Hobson signed with the

Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home game ...

of the Australian National Basketball League as an injury replacement for Aaron Brooks. He averaged 5.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. On October 11, 2020, Hobson signed with

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...

of the Argentine

Liga Nacional de Básquet The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English, "National Basketball League"), also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet" ("The Basketball League"), is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system ...

. In 2021, he signed with Khaneh Khuzestan of the Iranian league and averaged 18 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. On January 27, 2022, Hobson signed with

of the

References

External links

High school and junior college

College career

University of New Mexico

Professional career

See also

References

External links