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Kamaka Hepa

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Kamaka Hepa
Hepa in November 2018
No. 33 – Texas Longhorns
PositionSmall forward / Power forward
LeagueBig 12 Conference
Personal information
Born (2000-01-27) January 27, 2000 (age 24)
Utqiaġvik, Alaska
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeTexas (2018–present)
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2018 Canada Team

Kamaka Qapqan Hepa (born January 27, 2000) is an American college basketball player for the Texas Longhorns of the Big 12 Conference.

Early life and high school career

Hepa was born and brought up in Utqiagvik, Alaska (formerly known as Barrow), the northernmost community in the United States.[1] He grew up playing club basketball for the Alaska Mountaineers, with whom he won tournaments in North Carolina and California.[2] As a freshman and sophomore, Hepa played for Barrow High School. In each season, he led his team to the Class 3A state title and was named Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year.[3][4]

In March 2016, Hepa moved to Portland, Oregon to gain more exposure and to play for Portland Basketball Club on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit.[5] He also enrolled at Jefferson High School, where he played under head coach Pat Strickland.[6] As a junior, Hepa averaged 16.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, leading Jefferson to its first Class 6A state title.[7] In his senior season, he led his team to a Class 6A runner-up finish. After averaging 16.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game, he was named Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year.[8] On October 31, 2017, Hepa committed to play college basketball for Texas as a four-star recruit.[9]

College career

In February 2019, as a freshman, Hepa suffered a head injury in practice and missed two games in concussion protocol.[10] On February 27, in his first career start, he scored a freshman season-high 11 points in an 84–83 loss to Baylor.[11] He finished the season averaging 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game.[12] On January 15, 2020, in his sophomore season, Hepa scored a career-high 15 points and four rebounds in a 76–64 win over Oklahoma State.[13] As a sophomore, he averaged 2.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game.[12]

National team career

Hepa represented the United States at the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario.[14] He averaged 3.3 points and five rebounds per game, winning a gold medal.[15]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Texas 27 1 10.3 .291 .310 .857 1.6 .3 .0 .3 1.9
2019–20 Texas 22 10 13.5 .361 .292 .667 2.0 .6 .2 .6 2.9
Career 49 11 11.7 .328 .300 .750 1.8 .4 .1 .4 2.3

Personal life

Hepa's father, Roland Hepa, is originally from Kapa'a, Hawaii and is of Hawaiian and Filipino descent. Hepa's mother, Taqulik (née Opie), is Iñupiaq Eskimo from Utqiagvik. [1][16] His mother played basketball for Barrow High School, while his father was a multi-sport athlete in high school.[6]

Hepa's older sister, Lynette, was a standout basketball player for Barrow High School before playing collegiately at Fort Lewis College.[2] On November 23, 2015, his half-brother, Radford Kawika Hepa, was shot and killed in Anchorage, Alaska.[1][6] Kamaka’s younger brother, Keoni, is a collegiate football player at Simon Fraser.

References

  1. ^ a b c Dauster, Rob (July 20, 2017). "From the Top of the World to the Edge of a Dream: Kamaka Hepa's journey from Alaska to Division I hoops". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Williams, Van (December 10, 2014). "Fabulous freshman: Barrow's Hepa is one of nation's rising stars". ASAA365. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  3. ^ Gardner, Hayes (January 4, 2018). "From Alaska to Austin (and Portland in between), it's been a long journey for Texas men's signee Kamaka Hepa". Hookem.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Moyle, Nick (December 13, 2018). "Texas freshman Kamaka Hepa the next 'Alaskan Assassin'". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  5. ^ Schmidt, Brad (March 22, 2018). "Jefferson HS basketball star Kamaka Hepa leaves Portland for Alaskan homecoming". OregonLive.com. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Lester, Marc (March 1, 2018). "Kamaka Hepa's shot, from behind the Arctic Circle". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Daschel, Nick (March 11, 2017). "Jefferson claims its first 6A boys basketball title, outlasting Clackamas 70-67 in final". OregonLive.com. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  8. ^ Davis, Brian (December 14, 2018). "The Alaskan Longhorn: Kamaka Hepa's long-range shooting welcome after long journey to Texas". Hookem.com. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  9. ^ Nathan, Alec (October 31, 2017). "4-Star PF Recruit Kamaka Hepa Commits to Texas over Gonzaga, Others". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  10. ^ Eberts, Wescott (February 18, 2019). "Texas F Kamaka Hepa in concussion protocol after practice injury". Burnt Orange Nation. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Men's Basketball drops OT heartbreaker at Baylor, 84-83". University of Texas Athletics. February 27, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Kamaka Hepa". University of Texas Athletics. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  13. ^ "Men's Basketball posts 76-64 win at Oklahoma State". University of Texas Athletics. January 15, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  14. ^ Ringo, Kyle (June 13, 2018). "From the Northern Tip of Alaska, Kamaka Hepa Is Showing the North Has Its Share of Hoops Talent". USA Basketball. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  15. ^ "Hepa: "I'm proudly representing my community, Alaska and the USA"". FIBA. June 15, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Barnhouse, Wendell (April 17, 2018). "The odyssey of Kamaka Hepa, from a remote town in Alaska to four-star Longhorns recruit". The Athletic. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
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