Darrin Hancock

Darrin Hancock (born November 3, 1971) is a retired American professional basketball player.

In high school and college he was known for his strong offense, while his quick and agile moves to the basket drew comparisons to the likes of Dominique Wilkins.

Hancock suffered tragedy at a young age in 1978 when his father died after succumbing to a heart attack and thereafter was raised by his mother.

As a child, he kept to himself and only picked up playing basketball in the eighth grade.

Hancock credited James Martin, the Griffin High School basketball coach, as his most positive influence other than his mother.

Martin was his coach and mentor in high school and frequently advised Hancock on professional and personal affairs.

The young Hancock eventually came to look at Martin as a father figure and the coach later became his legal guardian.

A Parade Magazine and McDonald's All-American standout at Griffin High School in Griffin, Georgia, Hancock was ranked among the country's best high school basketball players in the late 1980s.

He played his first two college seasons at Garden City Community College, where he was considered one of the top junior college recruits in the nation before transferring to the University of Kansas.

The young Alabama native attended Griffin High School where his considerably tall height of 6'6" and athletic talent helped land him the role of starting center on his school's varsity basketball squad during his freshman year. Hancock instantly emerged as the star of the team and was considered as one of the state's top freshman high school basketball players during the 1986–87 season. He managed to lead the 25–2 Griffin Bears in points and rebounds as well as helping his number two ranked school seize the state's Region 6-AAAA championship title, all the while before completing his freshman year.

The Griffin Bears continued to flourish with Hancock, as the now number one ranked basketball squad posted a 28–1 record and claimed their second Region 6-AAAA title during the 1987–88 season.

Darrin Hancock finished the season averaging 17 points per game while earning the distinct honor of being the first sophomore to be named as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution state Player of the Year.

He was not only considered one of the state's premier underclassmen, but was also rated as the number one sophomore basketball player in the nation by B.C. Scouting Service during his second year in high school.

Griffin High School began the 1988–89 season in a new basketball class, the 4-AAAA South region, but were unable to replicate their recent success.

The team struggled to adjust to the new class and dropped to a sixth-place ranking with a 19–5 record.

However, Hancock continued to achieve individual success, including being named to the 1988–89 Parade Magazine All-American First Team and finishing third in votes for the magazine's National Player of the Year award.

He was additionally considered as one of the nation's top five high school players by several national surveys upon entering his senior year in school.

Hancock and the Bears finally managed to break into the 4-AAAA South region after their relative lapse during their previous season.

The team obtained the number one ranking in their new class and finished with an impressive 26–4 record before losing to Southwest Macon High School in the state's Class 4-AAAA state quarterfinals.

Hancock, who recently had also begun playing in the forward position, displayed what would be considered his best single-game high school performance that season when he scored 50 points and nailed the match's game-winning three-pointer in a double-overtime victory against Vanguard High School of Ocala, Florida.

The All-American averaged 30 points and nine rebounds a game at the close of the 1989–90 season.

Darrin Hancock, considered to be one of the nation's top senior high school basketball players at the time, was a highly sought after prize by many college basketball programs.

The All-American eventually signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in the spring of 1990 but was ultimately disqualified from accepting an NCAA Division I scholarship (under Proposition 48 guidelines) because of his grade point average.

Unable to enroll at UNLV as a college freshman, Hancock instead opted to enroll at Garden City Community College in southwest Kansas, where he could officially become eligible to transfer to another university after completing his coursework.

Darrin Hancock relocated from his Georgia home to the Midwest and settled in rural Finney County, Kansas in 1990 to begin his enrollment at Garden City Community College.

He joined Garden City's basketball squad as the team's star swingman and averaged 17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.7 steals during his freshman season.

His continued athletic accomplishments earned him his third consecutive Parade Magazine All-American recognition as well as being named to the JUCO All-American Third Team.

The Georgia transplant further expanded his prowess on the court during his college sophomore season and averaged 21.8 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game.

Hancock displayed his top single-game college performance when he recorded a triple-double against Barton County Community College, scoring a then-collegiate career high of 37 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.

Many considered Hancock to be the nation's number one junior college basketball player, including the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), who named the sophomore star as the 1991–92 NJCCA Player of the Year.

Hancock also captured the attention of the nearby University of Kansas, whose powerhouse basketball program successfully persuaded him to become a Jayhawk for the upcoming 1992–93 season on an athletic scholarship.

Hancock transferred to the University of Kansas where he was tapped to start as the basketball team's starting small forward.

News of Hancock's addition to the Kansas Jayhawks' basketball squad created quite a buzz and even prompted Jayhawks' coach Roy Williams to state that, "Darrin is one of the best athletes in the nation [a]nd he will be one of the best athletes ever to put on a Kansas uniform."

Several hoops analysts forecasted Kansas as a top-ranked team and as a possible Final Four contender with the arrival of Hancock.

There he was the starting small forward on the Kansas Jayhawks' Final Four-bound squad in the 1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Hancock left college after his junior year to play professional basketball and eventually found success in United States semi-pro basketball leagues after several uneventful stints in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He is considered to be among the best all-time Georgia high school basketball players in the state's history.

Darrin Hancock was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama but relocated to the small community of Griffin, Georgia, south of Atlanta in Spalding County, when he was in sixth grade.

The Jayhawks fulfilled those predictions, capturing the 1993 Big Eight Regular Season Championship and the second seed in the Midwest division of the 1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with a 27–8 record.

The Jayhawks marched through the NCAA tournament and arrived at the Final Four Regional Championships, their second appearance in three years.