Valparaiso men’s basketball head coach Bryce Drew announced today that LSU transfer Shane Hammink has signed with the Crusader basketball program.  Hammink, a 6’7”, 215 lb. guard who played two seasons at LSU, recently made his senior international debut for the Netherlands, making him the 14^th player in Valpo history to play for his country’s senior national team.

“Shane will be a great addition to our university and basketball program,” said Drew.  “He is a left-handed perimeter player who has very good skills with the ball.  He also uses his size very well to rebound and pass.  His playing experience overseas should be very beneficial for when he arrives on campus this fall.”

Hammink, a native of Millingen aan de Rijn, Netherlands, has been busy this summer representing the Dutch.  He was a key component of the Netherlands squad at Division B of the U20 European Championship in July, averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game as the Dutch went 5-1 in group play at the tournament.  Hammink then received the call-up to the senior squad as the Oranje prepare for European Championship qualifiers, debuting last week in a friendly game against the Czech Republic and chipping in six points and six rebounds.

Hammink has worked his way up through the Netherlands’ youth teams over the years, playing for the Oranje at the U16 European Championship in 2009 (10.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and 2010 (17.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and then moving on to the U18 European Championship squad in 2011 (12.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and 2012 (11.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg).  Hammink has also made his mark playing for the Canarias Basketball Academy, as he was named Tournament MVP at the 2012 U23 Tournament in Tourcoing, France, averaging 14 points per game.  He also was tabbed Best Defensive Player at the 2012 Nike Euroleague International Junior Classification Tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Hammink appeared in 47 games over his two seasons at LSU, scoring 74 points and grabbing 64 rebounds.  His father, Geert Hammink, was a first-round draft pick (26^th overall) by the Orlando Magic in the 1993 NBA Draft.  He played for the Magic and Golden State Warriors in the NBA, as well as multiple clubs in Germany and Greece, over the course of an 11-year professional career.