Jan. 30, 2004
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One of the newest additions to Steve Alford’s 2003-2004 Hawkeye men’s basketball squad has a need for speed.
Erek Hansen, a native of Bedford, TX., will be starting the season for the first time as a full-fledged Hawkeye, a feat two years in the making after a redshirted first season and a stint at Kirkwood (Iowa) Community College.
However, the wait has only made Hansen’s heart grow fonder for the game he’s played for the last 11 years – a game that is his outlet for excess energy.
“Growing up, my parents wanted to find some sport that I’d like,” said the 6-foot-11, 210-pound center. “They put me in soccer and baseball and all the pee-wee sports, and I picked basketball. It just clicked with me, and that was before I was taller than the rest of the kids.”
But it was, no doubt, the speed that kept Hanson in the game. As a youngster, Hansen was “always running.”
“In high school, unlike a lot of the other posts, I wouldn’t get tired,” he said. “I’d stay in the whole game, and opponents would just rotate all their big guys through the game.
“The more in-shape I get, I don’t even get tired.”
At Trinity High School in Bedford, Hansen was named District Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and a senior and was named to the Sterling Athletics Basketball Magazine’s first team all-state, as well as the ninth-best player in Texas by Hoops magazine. He averaged 15 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.8 blocked shots as a senior.
While at Kirkwood, he earned honorable mention all-region accolades in 2002-2003, while averaging 8.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game. And he helped his team post a 33-4 record and third place in the Division II junior college national tournament.
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“I like the fast pace. That was one thing I was looking for in a college, because a lot of them don’t use any press. They usually run a slower offense and set things up. Here, we run the ball down and we’re right into it as fast as we can. I like running the floor and moving with it real quickly.”
Center Erek Hansen
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For many players starting at the collegiate level, the fast pace of the game is one of the most daunting elements to work through – but not for Hansen.
“I like the fast pace,” said the sophomore sports and leisure major. “That was one thing I was looking for in a college, because a lot of them don’t use any press. They usually run a slower offense and set things up. Here, we run the ball down and we’re right into it as fast as we can. I like running the floor and moving with it real quickly.”
With Hansen’s penchant for moving quickly, it comes as no surprise that he is a “big car freak.”
Since turning 16 just five years ago, Hansen has had four cars, including his “babied” 1968 Chevelle-Malibu, which he restored to near mint condition. The shiny blue two-door coupe with duel black racing stripes down the middle has even made some hot rod websites as an example for aficionados.
“Before I turned 16, I didn’t care about cars,” said Hansen. “I got a truck and drove that around, but then I saw my friend had a ’69 red Firebird convertible. It was gorgeous. So I started saving my money from jobs, and thought about what kind of car I was going to get.”
Hansen settled on the Chevelle-Malibu after searching hot rod magazines and deciding rebuilt Cameros and Mustangs were too common.
“You see a lot of Cameros, and there are billions of Mustangs out there,” he said. “I wanted a car that would be unique, and I wanted something I could really juice up and have a lot of space under the hood because I’m a real engine freak.”
According to Hansen, a driver would have to be at least 6-foot-7 in order to reach the pedals of the vehicle. But don’t think even that would make a person eligible to drive the beast-like car.
“I don’t let anyone drive my car,” he said. “There are only about three people who have ever driven it. I baby the heck out of it.”
Now that the Malibu is set, though, Hansen has turned his focus to his 1983 Datsun 280-ZX, a five-speed sports car – a car so small it’s hard to believe that a person nearly 7-feet tall could fit in it.
“I barely fit in it,” said Hansen. “But when I’m done with it, it’ll be a nice little machine. It’s a lot more fun than my Honda Accord.”
Yes, that’s correct. Hansen has three cars at Iowa: a 1968 Malibu, a 1983 Datsun sports car and a 1992 Honda Accord. But don’t worry; he’s looking for a buyer on the Accord.
It’s just not fast enough.
Barry Pump, hawkeyesports.com