Basketball Player Highlight with Brooklyn Hankwitz

 


Brooklyn Hankwitz is a sophomore at Linn-Benton Community College playing as a forward for the Women’s Basketball team. Averaging 14.2 points and 6 rebounds per game, she is a keystone player for the Roadrunners. 

Hankwitz has played basketball from an early age, and was introduced to the sport by her father. 

From Astoria, Oregon, Hankwitz enjoys hiking and plans to continue playing basketball after her career at LB. She wants to study business to build a solid career and believes that the key to a good performance on the court is leaving everything at the gym door.


When did you start playing basketball?

Started probably like third grade, maybe a little before that.

Who got you interested?

My dad; he was my coach when I was growing up throughout high school. I started like through a school program for little kids and then ever since then I just continued to keep playing and played tournament ball as well as school ball. AAU like traveling basketball outside of school, too.

What was your best game?

I'd say probably like the beginning of the season; before we started the league we had a tournament, and I liked scoring double doubles every time. I think working as a team helped really well with our team chemistry during that tournament, and just getting the ball inside and working.

What are your plans after your playing career at Linn-Benton?

I'm planning to transfer to another school to continue playing basketball and I'm going to study business. I’ve got some other schools lined up, not sure what school yet. I've talked to Montana, I've talked to the Colorado coach and a California coach, but I haven't figured it out yet. I just plan to study to give me a job, any job, pretty much in the skills towards a good career.

How have you evolved as a player over this season?

I think I've evolved a lot with my team this year; they've helped me a lot more than in the past years and working as a team helps everyone and individual parts of your game. I’ve specifically focused on working on my shot; I shot a lot more last year than I have this year but we're working on it.

Who was your toughest opponent?

Well Lane and Clackamas; they're just both really good teams and have a lot of depth; they can shoot the ball really well so that was a struggle for us to stop the shooters.

What was the most useful criticism you’ve received?

To just slow down and look before you dribble.

What is the weakest part of your skill set?

I need to work on ball handling a lot more and shooting and work on it just getting in the gym on the move shots and just dribbling the ball whenever I can.

How do you prepare before games?

I personally like to listen to music before I go play or while I'm warming up and have headphones in so I'm in the zone and not listening to outside noises. It really helps me and thinking positively about the game and not thinking about what could happen or what is going to happen just not thinking about it pretty much.

What is your emotional role on the team?

I would say I'm a team leader but not as much in a vocal way more in an action way. Just leading with my game and scoring.

What other sports do you watch?

College football and baseball sometimes

What do you do in your off time?

I spent a lot of time with my friends and like being outdoors and doing stuff in my hometown. We have this mountain called Saddle Mountain and it's probably the hardest hike I've been on, but it was really fun and challenging.

How do you mentally prepare for games?

I would say like I've always had the mindset to leave it at the door when you come into the gym like you're not thinking about other things; that you're here to focus on basketball as your main priority, but it is definitely tough sometimes. When you have bad days coming to practice you just have to put it aside and you just have to try and not think about it.

Is there any advice that you would like to give to younger basketball players or other college athletes?

I would just say whatever you put your mind to you can accomplish and you just have to keep working out and working at it, and even if you fail you just have to keep working and it'll get easier.

How do you balance academic and athletic life?

Well for me ever since I've been at LB I've had most of my classes online so it's been a lot easier to schedule classes and stuff around basketball, but usually I'll just save my homework for night times and just like focus and rest during the day before practice and then get it all done at night because I feel like I work better at night than I do in the daytime for some reason. It's just a grind but it definitely gets easier, and when you've done it for so many years it's just a common thing.


At a Glance:

Brooklyn Hankwitz

Occupation: Student Athlete at Linn-Benton Community College
Hometown: Astoria, Oregon
Education: Linn-Benton Community College
Years at LBCC: 3
Major: Business
Other Interests: Hiking, preparing for games, building skills for a successful career in business.
Linn-Benton Women's Basketball Team Website:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Q&A with Linn-Benton Professor Chris Riseley

Image
When I started interviewing Chris Riseley, I knew that he was a writing professor and led a few clubs at LBCC. What I did not know was the impact he has had on this community. When a student interrupted our outdoor interview to thank Chris for inspiring him to complete his education when he thought he could not, I began to realize how appreciated Professor Risely really is. In his 13 years of teaching at Linn-Benton Community College, Riseley has not just been a college professor, but a part of the fabric of both Albany and the state of Oregon. Known by students all across the campus, he has taught multitudes of pupils over his career.  Quirky enough to own lizards, cats and goldfish, he brings his big personality and enthusiasm to educate not just to the classroom, but life itself. In my interview with Chris I got a glimpse of the infectious energy that he brings into his classrooms and optimism that students leave his classrooms with about their writing, their careers, and their live
Read more

A Review of "Daylight" by David Kushner

Image
In the quest for the next big music star, or even next great song, society scours the internet (and everywhere else, too) for even a hint that an artist has potential. By observing the Billboard Hot 100 , one name you'll come across is David Kushner. Never heard of him? All the better. At 23 years old, Kushner began his professional music career in 2020. His music has been streamed more than 500 million times, and his most notable single reached a peak of 47 on the Billboard Hot 100... so far. Is Kushner the big thing in music? You'll have to listen to "Daylight" to make a decision. David Kushner’s "Daylight" is a somber tune from a baritone voice that explores our inner conception of morality and our struggles with our inner self. The song is haunting, and the accompanying video matches the theme of the music. Check out the full lyrics here . The video starts with Kushner entering a church with a young boy while singing of his desire to stay away from his
Read more

Journalism for Spring 2023 in Review

I was able to meet almost all of my goals for this term and progress my abilities in news writing significantly. My greatest accomplishment for the year, and not only the term, was my sports article format. My writing also became more concise as I was able to break large paragraphs into smaller ones as a habit. This allowed me to develop a precision in directing my storytelling that allowed me to explain multiple concepts successively. My improvement of nut graph, leads, and captivating intros was certainly developed along this term, and I strongly feel that much of my writing now competes at a professional level.  Goals from the Beginning of the Term: "I think that my first goal for the term is to create a format for my research summary pieces, because I love to read peer-reviewed journals and present the information from them in a simple format that is easy for persons to understand who have a limited education in the topic at hand." It is interesting to reflect on my first
Read more