This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Zach Hankins (right) was the Israel Basketball Premier League MVP last season after averaging 13.6 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. Hapoel Jerusalem would win the Israel Cup and make it the IBPL semi-finals.
Zach and Ashley Hankins were married in 2020. Ashley Hankins also played basketball at Xavier University in Ohio.
BIG RAPIDS — It has been a wild ride for Zach Hankins.
Ferris State University fans know him for the 2018 championship basketball season; Xavier University fans know him for his rock-solid senior season. Now Israel and Jerusalem fans know him as the league’s Most Valuable Player. But it was a long road for Hankins, from delivering packages out of his car and not knowing if he will ever play again to the top of the Israel Cup, Hankins has been through it all as a professional athlete.
At Ferris State, he led the 2018 Ferris State Bulldogs men’s basketball team, bringing home the university’s first national title after going 38-1. Hankins earned the Division II National Player of the year at Ferris. He rounded out his career at Xavier, averaging 10.6 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game in his senior year that saw Xavier make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“He was the National Player of the Year and led us to the national championship. That’s never been done in the history of NCAA Division II schools in Michigan,” Ferris men’s basketball coach Andy Bronkema said. “He was the one leading us to that alongside his teammates. All of his teammates are just as happy for him, wearing his jerseys and keeping up with him. He’s kind of in a way carrying the torch for that generation of players.”
After not getting drafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Hankins turned his attention overseas. There, he would have successful seasons in the Czech Republic, averaging 12.7 points per game to go along with 5.3 rebounds. He would leave the team as COVID-19 began to take hold of the world.
During the pandemic, he would make his debut in Israel and the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top basketball league in the country. Playing in a situation similar to the NBA 2020 COVID bubble, he would play for Maccabi Rishon Lezion and average 13 points per game, battling against the likes of former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire.
“We actually went to the finals against Maccabi Tel Aviv and played against Amar’e Stoudemire over there,” Hankins said. “I grew up watching him, so it was really cool to play against him. I’ve seen him a couple times since then and chatted with him here and there. Nice guy. He’s like the king of Israel after he converted to Judaism.”
From there, his career took a twist. He had just signed to play with Galatasaray in the Turkish Basketball Super League, one of the top teams in Europe, and he had just gotten married. Everything changed when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The contract with the Turkish Basketball Super League was canceled, and with little money, Hankins and his wife returned to her hometown of Oklahoma City.
“We ended up getting an apartment in Oklahoma City, close to her family, and I got surgery,” Hankins said. “My wife has a degree in chemical science, and she was doing an internship in sales and stuff, and she had to be an elementary school teacher because we needed a job. Once I started being able to walk again, I started delivering packages out of my car.”
Despite the injury, Hankins stayed committed to his dream. He said he wanted to make good money and help set his family up for the future. If he could get healthy again, he knew he could play at a high level.
“Constantly I was questioning whether I could play basketball again. I loved Oklahoma so much I’d be fine with just living in Oklahoma and having a life here. It’s a beautiful place. I have amazing people here,” Hankins said. “But when you’ve poured yourself so much into something and worked so hard for it and potentially have it taken away, but not be sure it’s taken away yet? It’s a tough mental battle to go in and work hard every single day trying to strengthen your body to give yourself just a shot to play the game again.”
After a year of rehab, he attempted a comeback, playing for the Phoenix Suns summer league and signing a contract to play in Australia. But midway through the summer league season his knee began hurting again.
“Summer League is just so short, intense. It was a little bit too much for my knee to handle, and it turned out it tore some cartilage in my knee, and I had to get a second surgery,” Hankins said. “So, I lost that contract again, but thankfully, this was a much, much less severe injury. I spent two months rehabbing and after a quick little cleanup surgery, I went to my agent like ‘Hey, what can you do?'”
Still, there were points where Hankins questioned if he would return to his top form again or if his career was ending.
“There were setbacks, it was a huge setback having to have a second surgery and I was just like ‘Man, can I do this? Is it going to be healthy for me to do this or risk injuring my knee beyond repair?’ I’m thinking about my wife and future kids, you know? We made it through that and now it’s just trying to strengthen and stay healthy,” Hankins said.
His agent found a deal in the G League, the NBA’s minor league, playing for the Birmingham Squadron, who is affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. Hankins spent much of the season getting his body back into game shape. Playing in 32 games, he would average 13.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He would also play in Puerto Rico for five games and average similar stats. He would attend the Pelicans Summer League and performed well, averaging 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
From there, he had a choice: attend the Pelicans camp, or move back overseas.
Hankins would choose to play overseas for the 2022-23 season, agreeing to a deal with Hapoel Jerusalem while his family was at a theme park.
“I was actually at Disney World with my wife when I hopped on a zoom call with their GM and the coach,” Hankins said. “I always feel like in my career, I want to go where I’m wanted. That’s one of the hard things about summer league is that there’s not very many jobs at the NBA, and there’s a lot of people competing for it. I really liked that Jerusalem really wanted me; they picked me out. I was top on the list.”
There were a lot of questions on paper. The team was only returning one starter and their head coach was brand new. But the team meshed quickly, fitting Hankins’ style, and Hankins had the best season of his professional career. He was one of two players in the Israeli Basketball Premier League to average a double-double, averaging 13.6 points and 10 rebounds per game. Not only that, but the team was winning.
In the FIBA Basketball Champions League, a yearly tournament that features some of the top teams in Europe, Hapoel Jerusalem won their group and advanced to the elimination bracket. They would not stop there, advancing all the way to the finals where they would fall to Germany’s Telekom Baskets Bonn.
In Israel, the team continued winning. They would win the Israel Cup, defeating 45-time Israel Cup champions Maccabi Tel Aviv in the finals 67-61. Hankins would score 10 points while grabbing four rebounds.
Ultimately, the season came to an end in the semi-finals of the IBPL championship, where Hapoel Jerusalem fell to Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hankins though would take home the league’s MVP award for his efforts in the year.
First, he pointed out that his success really was indicative of the team he was one of.
“It has been ingrained in me since Ferris State that individual awards are really indicative of the team,” Hankins said. “I’ve always pointed to teammates and my coaches. I averaged a double-double but it’s not like I was putting up 30 points a game. There’s a lot that goes into playing, especially overseas. A lot of it comes down to who’s winning and who’s doing a lot on that team.”
He also pointed out how important winning the award was for both himself and his wife.
“For me personally, it’s really an emotional thing for me and my wife knowing that a year and a half ago I was driving my own car and delivering boxes out of it, and she was a kindergarten teacher just because we had to get bills paid,” Hankins said. “To be able to play on stages like that in front of thousands of fans, make good money, trying to set up our future just playing the game that I love and be recognized for that is a huge blessing.”
With such a successful season in Hapoel Jerusalem, Hankins signed a two-year deal to return to the squad. He will be returning to Israel in August to prepare to play in front of over 10,000 fans at Pais Arena.
“It’s crazy fun over there, the fans overseas are unlike any other,” Hankins said. “It’s so much fun, they’re chanting the whole time. I’ve had stuff thrown at me. That’s more fun for me because when fans get into it, I get more into it with them.”
With the new deal, Hankins will get to explore Israel and Jerusalem even more, which is much different than the United States.
“The food is different, shopping is different. There’s no major stores like Walmart or anything. You get to go to all these little mom and pop shops, which are really cool, to go out and explore all these different shops.” Hankins said. “It’s in the desert so there’s all these different animals.”
But the coolest thing about playing in Jerusalem was being around the people.
“The coolest thing that I learned about Jerusalem was just how much the fans care and how much support you get from them, how crazy they got at the games,” Hankins said. “That environment is so fun and to learn about their Jewish culture and heritage … We went to a Passover dinner with this huge family. We did all traditions with it. It was a really cool experience.”
For Bronkema, Hankins is more than his basketball career. With a strong relationship with his family and faith, Bronkema believes that the story is far from over for Hankins.
“He’s just an impressive young man,” Bronkema said. “It goes beyond basketball, really. Basketball is his passion right now, but he’s just a passionate young man and the story is far from over. Even when basketball is done. He’s going to be doing great things in life.”