SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -Caden Hinker was a standout basketball player at Mitchell High School, finishing second on the all time scoring list, behind 5th overall NBA draft pick Mike Miller.
The 6′7 forward is now a redshirt junior at Augustana.
Joseph Lemelin tells us how he has come back from serious injuries better than ever.
STORY
Cody Schilling, Augustana men’s basketball coach said, “Having Hink back, you know he was out all last year with two back surgeries. You know for a big guy coming off of back surgeries you never know what to expect but thought he had a really good summer, a really good pre-season, and obviously had the ankle injury last weekend.”
Caden Hinker has dealt with small injuries like a sprained ankle recently. But never one that sidelined him for an entire season.
Caden Hinker, redshirt junior and Mitchell native said, “I’ve never been out that long so it’s been weird it’s been good to get back to it though.”
He is having his best college season yet, averaging double digits for the first time.
Hinker said, “You kind of have to catch on quick once you get out there so yeah I’ve been feeling good.”
Hinker comes from a town that is big on basketball. Playing in front of passionate Vikes fans fuels him even more
Hinker said, “The passion for basketball, the energy there has always been at an all time high so I’ve kind of grown up around basketball and come here and it’s no different.”
The Mitchell native keeps leveling up. Just 13 games into the season he has hit 23 three pointers on 42% shooting. He has already made more than he attempted in his first two seasons.
Hinker said, “Since I’ve had my back surgery I’ve improved on my outside perimeter shooting over the course of my college career and I started off really being big time in the post and then kind of moved to the outside. By the end of my career I’d like to kind of put it on the floor some more and kind of attack the rim so try to just develop to play like a complete player.”
The Redshirt junior is exactly the type of player head coach Cody Schilling likes to put on the floor.
Cody Schilling, Augustana men’s basketball coach said, “Man to have a 6′8” guy who can shoot it from three, who can knock down pull-up jumpers, who can score with his back to the basket, he’s got a great post-fade game but he rebounds the ball really well too so it just seems like as we’ve played really well this season, he’s had great games whether that’s 20 and 10 games or whether that’s games where he’s guarded the other team’s best interior player and just done a great job defensively and on the glass for us."
Hinker has posted a double double in almost half of the games Augustana has played this season, with Augustana on pace to finish with a much better record than last year. For Dakota News Now Sports, I’m Joseph Lemelin.
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