Former Red Devil star basketball player has arrived in León, Spain to begin his professional basketball career with his new team: Fundación C.B. León (Club León).

The former Dickinson student is second-team All-American Ted Hinnenkamp ’16, a native of York, PA. He arrived on Sept. 15 to begin training with his new team for their upcoming season.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet that I am here for good now,” Hinnenkamp stated in an interview a week after his arrival to León. “But, I’m excited to be playing in preseason already and looking forward to the start of the regular season.”

Club León is in the fourth division of Spanish basketball: Liga Española de Balancesto Amateur (Liga EBA). Hinnenkamp says the team generally attracts younger players with the intention of showcasing them to higher-level teams around Europe. He also noted that he is one of the oldest players on the team at the age of 23, while most of his teammates are in the age range of 18-22, and are still enrolled in the University of León.

Hinnenkamp says the decision to go to Club León immediately after graduating Dickinson was not about the money he would be making initially. He noted that he held offers from other professional teams across Europe who offered him marginally higher contracts than the one he received from Club León. However, he said that he felt Club León offered him a unique opportunity to not only experience living in a foreign country, but to also play professionally on a stage where he could potentially be scouted by one of the bigger European basketball clubs.

“If I had the opportunity to go do this I think it would be dumb not to,” Hinnenkamp said. “The opportunity to go live in a different country, learn a different culture, not really ‘work’ just have to play basketball, which I consider fun, and possibly be seen by one of the big teams over here…. I think it’s kind of a no brainer to come do it.”

In terms of whether he can eventually be good enough to reach that higher level, he claimed only time would tell if he has what it takes. Hinnenkamp’s agent Emilio Duran seems to think he may have a chance if he is able to prove a few things at Club León. Primarily, Duran thinks Hinnenkamp would have to play the small forward position at the next level since guys will certainly be taller. This is something he has shown he is capable of doing already having played both small forward and power forward for Dickinson’s basketball team. However, according to Duran, what is more important than where he plays on the court, is how he plays on the court. Duran believes Hinnenkamp will need to show he can be one of the top players at León if he is to make the jump up to the next level.

From players like Brad Oleson, who plays for FC Barcelona (a European superpower), to athletes like Hinnenkamp and former Red Devil basketball player Adam Honig ’14, who plays for 2nd division Israeli team Ramat Hasharon, Duran says he has clients at all levels of professional basketball. He claims his niche is top Division III college players, like Hinnenkamp and Honig, who tend to slide under the radar simply because they come from Division III programs. According to Duran, his most recent success story is his client John Dibartelomeo. A former player at the University of Rochester and NCAA Division III national player of the year in 2013, he says Dibartelomeo is now making six figures while playing for Maccabi Haifa, one of the top teams in Israel.

When asked about Hinnenkamp’s likelihood of earning that elusive contract with a big club that he desires, Duran replied: “I expect a huge year from Ted, but there is a long road for him…. Is Ted the next John Dibartelomeo? I hope so. He has all the potential, but stats will decide his future.”

Hinnenkamp is off to a good start as he feels he has been playing well in his first few preseason games for Club León. He has scored over 15 points in five out of his first six games, and over 20 points in three of those games. These are the type of numbers that Duran believes Hinnenkamp will have to put up on a regular basis if he wants to reach that next level.

According to Hinnenkamp, adjusting to life in Spain has been slightly challenging for him. He noted that Leon has very few people who speak English, and this has made it hard for him since he speaks very little Spanish himself. He added that a few of his teammates speak broken English, along with one of his assistant coaches, so they usually relay messages to him from his other teammates or from his head coach. Hinnenkamp did admit to feeling quite lost in conversation at times, especially off the court when he doesn’t always have his teammates or coach to translate for him. He added that it has helped having one other teammate, former Division III player Matt Wilson of Hartwick College, who is fluent in English. He says he is relishing the challenge though, and is studying Spanish every day to make up for the language barrier he is facing.