Rui Hachimura
 |
|
| No. 21 – Gonzaga Bulldogs | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / Power forward |
| League | West Coast Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
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.
Hachimura played baseball before picking up basketball. 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.
In December 2015, Hachimura led Meisei High School to its third straight title in the All-Japan High School Tournament.
In December 2014, Hachimura expressed his desire to play college basketball in the United States. 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.
After taking visits to Gonzaga and Arizona, in November 2015 he signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Gonzaga University, "the most prestigious college program a Japanese player will have ever suited up for", according to the Japan Times.
Despite signing with Gonzaga in the early signing period for 2016, Rui Hachimura's eligibility to play college basketball was called into question. 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. In February 2016, Hachimura claimed to understand 80 percent of English, but was only able to speak 30 to 40 percent of it. As of April 2016, Hachimura was still working toward passing the SAT to gain entrance to college. 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.
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