Travis Hansen

Infobox Euroleague Player
name = Travis Hansen
nickname =


caption =
league = Russian Superleague
height_ft = 6
height_in = 6
weight_lbs = 215
position = Guard/Forward
birth_date = birth date and age|1978|4|15
birth_place = Provo, Utah
nationality = American
nationality_2 = Russian
team = Dynamo Moscow
highschool = Mountain View
college = Utah Valley State (1996-1997)
BYU (2000-2003)
draft = 2^nd round, 37^th overall
draft_team = Atlanta Hawks
draft_year = 2003
career_start = 2003
career_end
former_teams = Atlanta Hawks (2003-2004)
Tau Vitoria (2004-2006)
awards = 2000 and 2001 MWC Champion
2002 2nd Team All-MWC
2003 MWC Defensive Player of the Year
2003 1st Team All-MWC Euroleague Finalist 2005
ACB Regular Season Champion 2005
ACB Finalist -2005, 2006
Spanish ACB Supercup Winner 2005
Copa del Rey Winner 2006
Nominated 1st Team ACB Euroleague Semifinals 2006
ACB Regular Season Runner-Up 2006
Eurobasket.com All-Russian A Superleague 2nd Team 2007
Eurobasket.com Russian A Superleague All-Newcomers Team 2007

Travis Mitchell Hansen (born April 15 1978, in Provo, Utah) is an American professional basketball player, formerly of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.

Biography

After graduating from Mountain View High School, Hansen first played college basketball near his hometown of Orem, Utah at Utah Valley State College from 1996-1997. His mother Laurie Hansen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died shortly after. He later went on to serve as a Mormon missionary in Santiago, Chile for two years, he played basketball at Brigham Young University for three seasons, from 2000 to 2003. During his tenure with BYU, he was also known as "Elder 8 Mile", for his similar appearance to rapper, Eminem. With his selection by the Atlanta Hawks in 2003, he became the first BYU men's basketball player to be drafted since Shawn Bradley in 1993.

NBA

He was drafted by the Hawks in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft, 37th overall, and played 41 games for them, starting four, averaging 3.0 points per game.

Professional career

Known for his defensive ability, vertical leap and outside shooting, Hansen played one season for the Hawks before signing with Tau Vitoria in Spain, helping the team to back-to-back trips to the Euroleague Final Four and the Spanish League finals. In 2006, ULEB Cup Champions Dynamo Moscow signed him on a two-year contract. [ [http://www.euroleague.net/noticia.jsp?temporada=E05&jornada=27&id=563 Dynamo Tabs Travis Hansen] , July 17 2006, "Euroleague.net".] After helping his team reach the Euroleague's Top-16, he was placed on the injured list for the rest of the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. [ [http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/7864/180/dynamo-s-hansen-out-for-season Dynamo's Hansen out for season] , "Euroleague.net"]

Hansen recovered from his injury and in the 2007-2008 season Hansen helped Dynamo take 3rd place in the ULEB Cup and averaged 17.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg while shooting 68.7 FG and 46.3% 3PT. [ [http://www.ulebcup.com/ulebcup/home/on-court/players/showplayer?clubcode=dyn&pcode=JKM HANSEN, TRAVIS - Welcome to ULEB Cup ] ]

In February 2008 Hansen extended his contract with MBC Dynamo Moscow for three more years. In March 2008 Hansen received Russian citizenship or "Red" passport to play for the Russian national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. [ [http://www.russiatoday.ru/sports/news/22903 RussiaToday : Sports : Basketball: Dynamo Moscow star nets Russian passport ] ]

Non-profit Foundation

He and his wife LaRee started the Little Heroes Foundation to help raise money for Russian orphans in late 2006. [ [http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695272988,00.html Deseret News | Quite a Dynamo — Hansen and wife make a difference in Moscow ] ] Little Heroes Foundation is a non-profit organization and was established to improve the lives of less fortunate children throughout the world.

www.littleheroesfoundation.org

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ulebcup.com/ulebcup/home/on-court/players/showplayer?clubcode=dyn&pcode=JKM ULEB Cup Profile]
* [http://www.nba.com/draft2003/profiles/HansenTravis.html NBA.com Prospect Profile: Travis Hansen]
* [http://nn.byu.edu/story.cfm/47293 "Hansen showing skills with Hawks"] , Todd Hollingshead, 9 December 2003, BYU Daily Universe.
* [http://www.euroleague.net/plantillas/jugador.jsp?id=JKM Euroleague Profile]
* [http://www.acb.com/jugador.php?id=B69 ACB.com Profile]
*http://www.ksl.com/?nid=272&sid=36354472003 NBA Draft]