REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - Will Hanley doesn't have the biggest numbers for Iberostar Tenerife. And he's not a superstar for one of the Basketball Champions League's biggest surprises. What the 26-year-old does have though is a great background story, one that inspires a whole undervalued group of players.

Iberostar finished the Regular Season in first place of Group D with an 11-3 record thanks in part to Hanley who averaged 4.9 points, a team-high 5.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists.

The 2.01m forward is also averaging 5.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in the Spanish ACB, where Iberostar have continued their surprisingly strong season domestically as well with a 13-4 record for second place.

So, you might be thinking "man, that better be one heck of a story to be writing about a role player like Hanley."

He grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut, about an hour from New York City. He wasn't highly recruited out of high school and ended up going to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Even hard core college basketball fans don't know Bowdoin. That's because it's a D3 school, meaning the third level of NCAA schools - the Division III.

"I don't think I carry the flag (for D3 players) but I have a feeling of pride that I was able to beat a lot of these Division One guys out - guys who got full scholarships going to college. I was able to keep playing basketball while a lot of guys who went to big ACC or Big Ten schools are not playing any more." - Hanley

"You try to go to a D3 school in the first place to get a good education and then also play basketball. It just depends on what kind of opportunities you have coming out of high school," Hanley explained.

"A lot of D3 players are very good players but they lack one trait - maybe the lack of athleticism, maybe lacking a jumpshot, lack of speed, maybe they are shorter. But there are definitely guys in there who can definitely keep playing and play at the next level."

As it turns out, Hanley is one of them.

He graduated from Bowdoin and ended up signing with a Spain-based agent from Oviedo who found a spot for the player with third division LEB Silver side Oviedo Club Baloncesto for the 2012-13 season.

"Going in you see guys go to the third league from pretty big time schools in the United States. I really didn't know where I would fit in," Hanley said.

An injury to one of Oviedo's top players gave Hanley the chance to play.

"I guess my game just kind of translated. I was working hard, rebounding, running the floor. We had a really good point guard that really set us up well. Pretty much everything clicked that first year," he recalled.

Hanley ended up averaging 17.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals as Oviedo won the LEB Silver title and he claimed the MVP trophy.

Oviedo's season was done and Hanley was free to leave the team and ACB club Valencia Basket came calling due to a series of injuries. Less than a year after finishing up his senior season at a D3 school, and just weeks after playing in the third division in Spain, Hanley was playing in arguably the best domestic league outside the NBA.

"It was pretty wild. I was pretty nervous in that first game. To be in Barcelona for that first game and to be with Valencia - those are two big-time teams in Spain - it was kind of shocking how everything worked out and came together so well," Hanley explained.

After originally signing a two-week deal, he ended up averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in four games on a six-week deal, including a monster dunk against Barcelona.

"All the adrenaline was going and that was probably my best dunk in the ACB to date," he said. He finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds in 10 minutes in the game.

"The most people I played in front of before that Barcelona game was something like 700-800 people. That game was probably 8,000 so it was a pretty big jump. You just kind of go with it - go with the flow and just play your game."

That short stint with Valencia landed Hanley a deal with top flight club Gipuzkoa, where he played two seasons, averaging 8.9 points and 5.7 rebounds in his second season. 

He then moved to Tenerife and is now playing in the Basketball Champions League.

"This is my fourth year in the ACB. It's been fun. I never thought I would go this high this fast, but it's been a good ride," he said.

Hanley's impressive run is also quite an inspiration to other D3 players.

"I don't think I carry the flag (for other D3 guys) but I have a feeling of pride that I was able to beat a lot of these Division I guys out - guys who got full scholarships going to college. I was able to keep playing basketball while a lot of guys who went to big ACC or Big Ten schools are not playing any more."

DiBartolomeo helped the club earn promotion to LEB Gold in his first season. Then after playing in Spain’s second flight for one season, the guard was picked up by Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa on a two-year deal - with Haifa buying out the contract with Zaragoza.

In general, Hanley said D3 guys like himself and DiBartolomeo should not be overlooked - also because they have been just that in the past, overlooked.

"If you can find them, I think they can help a team because they have good attitudes and are willing to work hard. They have proved that by going to a D3 school."

David Hein

FIBA

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