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Anthony ‘Humpty’ Hitchens, an integral part of the University of Akron men’s basketball team the past two seasons has left the program following the untimely death of his father.
There was no official announcement by the school, and there is no word on Hitchen's basketball future. “He had two good years here, Zips Head Coach Keith Dambrot said. "Young people have to make decisions, and with the death of his father, he had to make one in the best interests of his family. We have to support that.”
Hitchens scored 1,753 career points as a prep player and came to UA after leading Chillicothe to the Ohio Division II Basketball Championship in 2008 with a 25-2 record.
During his freshman season (2008-09) at UA, he played in all 35 games, starting 30. He averaged 8.8 points per game, with a career best 23 against North Carolina A&T, as the Zips won the 2009 MAC Tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986.
Last season, he played in 33 games with 22 starts, averaging 8.4 points per game as Akron finished the season 24-11. The Zips reached the MAC Tournament championship game for the fourth consecutive season but lost to Ohio in overtime before playing in the College Basketball Invitational tournament.
Hitchens led the Zips in assists both seasons averaging 2.2 and 2.7 per season, respectively. His departure marks the third guard (and fourth player) to leave the program since the end of the 2009-2010 season.
Alex Abreu, a 5-9, 175-pound guard from Puerto Rico, is part of the incoming freshman class and Akron is also gaining two forwards via transfer. Quincy Diggs (6-6,195,F) is coming from the University of New Orleans and will be eligible to play this year. Chauncey Gilliam (6-5,235,F) previously played at Maryland-Baltimore County and will be eligible to play for the Zips in 2011-12. |
