Hannah Humphrey: College Basketball Player

Family. Community. Joy. Three simple, yet powerful words that describe and encompass Hannah Humphrey's earliest memories of basketball. For this Kendleton, Texas native, it was a world like no other. A space filled with teamwork, camaraderie, and culture. One where she not only found herself, but also developed some of her long-term goals in. It all started back in her sophomore year of high school. Despite being immersed in the world of track and field, Hannah remembers being introduced by her best friend to basketball and immediately falling in love with the sport. The more she played, the more she solidified her commitment to one day playing at the collegiate level. Sure enough, over the next few years, she worked day in and day out to do just that. Upon graduating from high school, Hannah embarked on her collegiate career at Blinn College. From elevating her game further to finding her voice as a leader both on and off the court, Hannah embraced every experience at the JUCO level. After two seasons at Blinn, Hannah headed to UT Arlington where she played for a season before joining East Texas A&M for her senior year. As she currently pursues her fifth year of eligibility, Hannah is looking forward to another year of growth and elevation at the collegiate level. Along with this, she is excited to continue preparing for the next chapter of her basketball career as she aims to play professionally overseas after graduation. Amazing!

Take us all the way back! How did you get started playing basketball?

I started playing basketball around my sophomore year of high school because originally I was supposed to be a track star. I started off in track and eventually I started to really fall in love with basketball. My best friend played basketball and I really wanted to do a lot of things that she did. We always would do a lot of things together and she ended up introducing me to basketball, and eventually I fell in love with basketball. I kind of got away from track and just pursued basketball more because I found myself in basketball—you know, when it comes to the team, having players, and everything. Track is kind of a solo sport. When it came to basketball, I had family. I had sisters and it was just something that I wasn't expecting. When I picked up a basketball, I wasn't expecting to fall in love with it the way I did.

That’s awesome. From there, when did you know that you were all-in on the game and wanted to one day play at the highest level?

When I originally started, I didn't know much about basketball. I just knew that I liked it and I had potential. My dad played basketball, so he's the one that kind of took me under his wing when it came to basketball and was just teaching me everything I needed to know. He was always out there teaching me how to shoot. You know, shooting was the main thing because when it came to defense—getting steals, moving laterally, jumping, and all that—those abilities were already there. When it came to IQ and experience, that's where I knew I needed to grow in order to play at the college level. So I started taking it more seriously when I got to my junior year of high school because I knew I wanted to go to college for it at that point.

After your time in high school, you embarked on your collegiate career at Blinn College. How was that transition from high school to college like for you?

Honestly, it was a very smooth transition because I had one of my teammates that I went to high school and played basketball with. She was there with me at Blinn. Then, I had another person that was in our district so we knew her and everything. Going there, seeing familiar faces and knowing people, kind of made the transition smooth when it came to the social part of it. With basketball, I feel like I was really prepared because of the training that I was already doing. I was prepared mentally and physically. I'm really glad that I went JUCO first because I feel like that's an experience that I just wish everybody could experience. It's unmatched.

If you could give someone insight into JUCO basketball, how would you describe it?

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