During the 2016 to 2017 basketball season, Allan Hancock College’s Erik Kinnebrew played in all 30 of the school’s games. Kinnebrew averaged 7.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game overall.
If Kinnebrew had to relive something over and over again for the rest of his life, it would be achieving a triple-double during a game against El Camino College. A triple-double is when a player hits double digits in several categories, and Kinnebrew scored 21 points, 17 rebounds, and 16 assists in that game.
“That was the best all-around game I’ve ever played,” the 6 foot 6 inch Bulldog told the Sun.
Kinnebrew’s first year at Hancock was also his last. He will play for Concordia University Irvine in the Fall.
This makes Kinnebrew the fifth Hancock men’s basketball player in the last three months to sign with a four-year university.
“When I moved to Santa Maria, I chose Hancock because I felt that was the best place for me at the time to continue my basketball career,” he said. “Coach Aye was on the same page with me since day one, especially about wanting to transfer after one year. He really had my interests at heart.”
This last season was Tyson Aye’s fourth as the head coach of Hancock’s men’s basketball team. He’s seen 18 of his former players sign with four-year institutions since then, including Kinnebrew.
“My first impression of Erik as a basketball player was that he was very skilled and versatile,” Aye told the Sun. “I thought right away he had the ability to play all guard positions.”
Besides its prestigious basketball program, Kinnebrew chose Concordia for the diverse range of degree options at the school. He plans to major in sports management. Concordia is just a short distance from Lakewood, where Kinnebrew was born and raised.
His parents were Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball coaches throughout his childhood, which he is how he was introduced to the sport, he said.
“I was always in a gym as a toddler,” Kinnebrew said. “I first picked up a basketball when I was 4 years old, and I really haven’t put it down since.”
During high school, Kinnebrew was one both the basketball and football teams. But during his junior year, he decided to limit himself to one sport, he said.
“I just felt I wasn’t giving myself the full opportunity to succeed on the basketball court while splitting my attention between two sports,” Kinnebrew said. “But I will always love football.”
This article appears in Aug 17-24, 2017.
