Rui Hachimura

Rui Hachimura
No. 21 – Gonzaga Bulldogs
Position Small forward / Power forward
League West Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (1998-02-08) February 8, 1998
Toyama, Japan
Nationality Beninese / Japanese
Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school Meisei (Sendai, Japan)
College Gonzaga (2016–present)

Rui "Louis" Hachimura (八村 塁, Hachimura Rui, born February 8, 1998 in Toyama Prefecture) is a Beninese-Japanese basketball player. He stands 6'8" (203 cm) tall and plays forward. Hachimura played at the Meisei High School in Japan and joined Gonzaga University in the United States beginning in the 2016–17 season.

Youth career

Hachimura played baseball before picking up basketball.[1] In his native Japan, he was quickly regarded as a prodigy and a basketball sensation.

Hachimura was invited to play in the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic International Game. Coming off the bench, he had nine points, five rebounds and a blocked shot in 18 minutes of play.[2]

In December 2015, Hachimura led Meisei High School to its third straight title in the All-Japan High School Tournament.[3]

Recruiting

"The kid from Japan is a terrific athlete. He's going to remind people of a bigger Elias Harris. I don't know if he can step in right away. I just know that he's a man child. He is, and he's going to have to learn the language a little bit better and learn the system and learn how to play Zags basketball, but unlimited potential, unlimited athletic potential, and he's going to be good."

— Fran Fraschilla, ESPN.[4]

"He's really developed in the last year. His body has really changed. He's a legit 6-foot-8 1/4 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and huge hands. He can control the ball easily and can shoot."

— Tommy Lloyd, Gonzaga Associate Head Coach.[5]

In December 2014, Hachimura expressed his desire to play college basketball in the United States.[6] In January 2015, Hachimura was highlighted by ESPN among five of the best international players in the 2015 and 2016 classes with aspirations to play college basketball. He was drawing major interest from Arizona, Gonzaga, and Vanderbilt at the time, and scouts were impressed with his length, athleticism, and shooting ability.[7]

After taking visits to Gonzaga and Arizona,[8] in November 2015 he signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Gonzaga University,[9] "the most prestigious college program a Japanese player will have ever suited up for", according to the Japan Times.[10]

Despite signing with Gonzaga in the early signing period for 2016, Rui Hachimura's eligibility to play college basketball was called into question.[11] Concerns were that he needed to acclimate better culturally and language-wise to the United States, and he would potentially need to attend a prep school before attending Gonzaga or redshirting if eligible.[5] In February 2016, Hachimura claimed to understand 80 percent of English, but was only able to speak 30 to 40 percent of it.[12] As of April 2016, Hachimura was still working toward passing the SAT to gain entrance to college.[13][14] In May 2016, Hachimura announced that he met the SAT and GPA requirements to be eligible to play at Gonzaga beginning as early as Fall 2016. He planned to play as a true freshman and not redshirt his first year.[15]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Rui Hachimura
SF/PF		 Sendai, Japan Meisei 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Nov 20, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  247Sports: #136  ESPN: NR
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

Hachimura played his first game for Gonzaga on November 5, 2016 against West Georgia, scoring nine points while tallying three rebounds in eleven minutes of play.[16] During his freshman season as a Bulldog, Hachimura saw action in 28 games, averaging 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds a game in 4.6 minutes.[17] He also became the first Japanese native ever to play in the NCAA Division I men's tournament.[18]

International career

He represents Japan internationally. At the 2013 FIBA Asia U16 Championship in Iran, Hachimura averaged 22.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks through eight contests,[19] guiding his team to a third-place finish.[20] In April 2014, he played the Albert-Schweitzer-Tournament in Germany with Japan's under 18 national team,[21][22] finishing in last place.[23]

Japan finished the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championships 14th of 16 teams, with Hachimura scoring a tournament-high 22.6 points per game, while pulling down 6.6 boards and blocking 1.7 shots a contest.[24] During the tournament, he dropped 25 points on the USA team that went on to win the title; that team included four players who were chosen in the 2017 NBA draft in Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson, Caleb Swanigan, and Ivan Rabb, plus other future college stars such as Diamond Stone and Malik Newman.[25][18]

He competed for Japan in the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, averaging team-bests 20.6 points and 11.0 rebounds a contest.[26]

Personal life

His mother is Japanese while his father comes from Benin.[27]

References

  1. ↑ Nagatsuka, Kaz (2013-12-29). "Hachimura powers Meisei High to Winter Cup title". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  2. ↑ "Jordan Brand Classic Box Score International Game" (PDF). jordanbrandclassic.com. Jordan Brand Classic. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  3. ↑ Nagatsuka, Kaz (2015-12-29). "Hachimura lifts Meisei High to Winter Cup three-peat". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  4. ↑ "Here's @franfraschilla on the #Zags incoming international trio, with some very high praise for Rui Hachimura.". March 30, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Next international wave will set up Zags for a while, says GU's Lloyd". December 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Hachimura beginning to turn heads overseas". January 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ "The next wave of international prospects". January 31, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Source: Japanese star Rui Hachimura signs with Gonzaga". November 20, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Gonzaga MBB Signs Hachimura to National Letter of Intent". November 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Gonzaga alumni sure Hachimura making right choice". December 7, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Zags sign Japanese forward Rui Hachimura". November 20, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Talking afterwards to Rui Hachimura (1998 Japan) he says he understands 80% of English, can only talk about 30-40% though. Finals in March". February 13, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Rui Hachimura talks about high school graduationand future goals in the United States, A New Journey". April 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Questions still for Rui Hachimura if he'll pass tests to get into Gonzaga. Hopefully he's hitting books hard instead of coming to #AST2016". March 28, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Hachimura cleared to enroll at Gonzaga". May 11, 2016.
  16. ↑ "West Georgia vs Gonzaga". gozags.com. Gonzaga Athletics. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  17. ↑ "Season Box Score". gozags.com. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  18. 1 2 Mandel, Stewart (March 30, 2017). "Japan will be watching the Final Four just to see this guy you probably don’t know". Fox Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Rui Hachimura profile, FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Men 2013 | FIBA.COM". FIBA.COM. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  20. ↑ "Schedule & results | 2013 FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Men | ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM". www.fiba.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  21. ↑ "Cheeseball alert at 2014 Albert Schweitzer Tournament". FIBA.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  22. ↑ "AST 2014 Japan « Deutscher Basketball Bund". www.basketball-bund.de. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  23. ↑ "game stats / standings « Deutscher Basketball Bund". www.basketball-bund.de. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  24. ↑ "Rui HACHIMURA at the Players of the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship for Men - FIBA.com". FIBA.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  25. ↑ "United States of America v Japan - 12 Aug - FIBA.com". FIBA.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  26. ↑ "Japon at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 - FIBA.basketball". FIBA.basketball (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-09.
  27. ↑ "Jordan Brand: Day One Recap". Scout.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
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