Ferris State Alum Zach Hankins Receives NBA Opportunity With Philadelphia 76ers

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University men's basketball alum and 2018 NCAA Division II National Player of the Year Zach Hankins (Charlevoix) has received an opportunity in professional basketball on the game's biggest stage as he was signed to join the Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA Summer League on Friday.

Hankins worked out for multiple NBA organizations following the conclusion of his collegiate playing career in March leading up to this past Thursday's NBA Draft, including the world champion Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, 76ers and more.

He will join the 76ers for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which runs July 5-15. The 76ers open play on Thursday, July 5, at 3:30 p.m. against Milwaukee at the Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas.

The MGM Resorts NBA Summer League 2019, which features all 30 NBA teams and the Chinese and Croatian National Teams, will tip off with 10 games on July 5 and continue through Monday, July 15, at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The first day of action will include five games on NBA TV and a tripleheader on ESPN.

The event opens with all 32 teams playing four preliminary games each. The top eight teams are then seeded in a tournament, which culminates with a Championship Game on July 15 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Teams that do not qualify for the tournament will each play a consolation game. Every team will play at least five games and as many as seven at MGM Resorts NBA Summer League.

For the third consecutive year, ESPN will present every game from Las Vegas via the ESPN App, along with 43 games on its linear television networks (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU). NBA TV, co-managed by the NBA and Turner Sports, will air a record 40 games.

Previously, Hankins had an opportunity to showcase his skills in front of NBA and professional scouts by participating in the 2019 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in April and was ranked among the country's top 100 draft eligible players by multiple sources, including Sports Illustrated, before going undrafted on Thursday. A strong showing in the summer league could help Hankins land a chance to sign with an NBA team or ink a two-way contract.

Hankins, who led FSU to the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship, played his final collegiate campaign as a graduate transfer at NCAA Division I Xavier University this past season following four years in the Bulldog program.

Hankins made a major impact in his one season at Xavier this past campaign. He averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds as a Musketeer while leading the BIG EAST Conference with a single-season school-record 68.6 percent field goal percentage mark. Hankins also led Xavier in blocked shots at 1.5 per game and his season total of 54 blocks is ranked sixth in Xavier history.

Before heading to Xaiver, Hankins led the Bulldogs to a school-record 38-1 overall mark in 2017-18 en route to claiming the D2 National Championship and matching the all-time NCAA Division II record for most wins in a season. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II National Player of the Year for the Bulldogs, Hankins spent four seasons in the Bulldog program, helping FSU to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, back-to-back Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Regular Season Championships and four consecutive GLIAC Tournament titles in his career.

In his final season at FSU, Hankins was tabbed as the National Player of the Year in Division II basketball by being selected as the country's top performer by both the NABC and Division II Bulletin. Hankins, whose dominant post play was pivotal as Ferris State advanced to its first NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 30 seasons, led Division II in total blocks for the second straight season and was ranked among the national leaders in field goal percentage.

In his junior campaign, Hankins set new school single-season records with 380 rebounds and a 71.1% field goal percentage while being a consensus All-America choice and claiming both the GLIAC and Midwest Region Player of the Year awards for the second consecutive campaign. He was one of the national finalists for the Bevo Francis National Small College Player of the Year honor and also scored his 1,000th career point during the historic season.

Hankins graduated from Ferris State as the school's all-time leader in blocked shots (319) and holds the school record for highest field goal percentage in a career (64.2%). He also ranks among the program's all-time best with 858 rebounds and finished his Bulldog career with 1,232 points. He became the first sophomore in GLIAC history to earn the league's coveted Player of the Year honor in 2016-17 when he paced the league with a conference record 130 total blocked shots. Initially, he redshirted in his first season at FSU in 2014-15 before playing as a reserve under all-region center Jared Stolicker in 2015-16 when FSU reached the D2 Sweet Sixteen.

A two-time All-American for the Bulldogs, Hankins also claimed All-GLIAC honors each of his final two Bulldog seasons and was a two-time GLIAC All-Defensive Team honoree in addition to being a two-time Bevo Francis National Player of the Year finalist.

In his final season with the Bulldogs, Hankins helped FSU win its final 26 games of the season and the team compiled a perfect 22-0 home mark en route to the national championship.