Bakari Akil Hendrix is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He was a standout player at Gonzaga University

Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball

The Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...

 and played professionally in eleven countries.

Hendrix, a 6'8" power forward

Power forward (basketball)

Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...

 from St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School

St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School

St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Vallejo, California. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento.-Background:...

 in Vallejo, California

Vallejo, California

Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...

, played collegiate basketball at Solano Community College

Solano Community College

Solano Community College is a two-year institution of higher learning located in Fairfield, Solano County, California . It is part of California's public community college system, which comprises 109 campuses in 72 districts across the state.-History:The college was established in 1945 as Vallejo...

 (1994–95) and Gonzaga (1995–98). At Gonzaga, Hendrix faced a tough start as he fractured his ankle in his sophomore year - limiting his season to just nine games. However, the next two years Hendrix was named first team All-West Coast Conference

West Coast Conference

The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....

 as a junior and senior and was the 1998 WCC Player of the Year

West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

The West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the West Coast Conference. The award was first given following the 1952–53 season, when the conference was known as the California Basketball Association...

 after averaging 19.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Following the close of his college career, Hendrix was not drafted by the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA). Hendrix instead went to Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 to play for Türk Telekom B.K.

Türk Telekom B.K.

Türk Telekom Basketbol Kulübü is a professional basketball club of based in Ankara, Turkey. It is branch of the Türk Telekom GSK. Their home arena is the Ankara Arena with a capacity of 10,400 seats which was opened in April 2010...

. This began a basketball odyssey for Hendrix that led him to play for 14 teams in eleven counties from 1998 to 2009. Hendix played professionally in Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, the Philippines, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

. Hendrix also had stints in the United States with the Quad City Thunder

Quad City Thunder

The Quad City Thunder are a defunct professional basketball team that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the Continental Basketball Association from the 1987-1988 season until the league folded in 2001. The teams was CBA champions in the 1993-1994 and 1997-1998...

 of the Continental Basketball Association

Continental Basketball Association

The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...

 (where he was named the league's rookie of the year in 1999) and with the Huntsville Flight

Huntsville Flight

The Huntsville Flight was a National Basketball Development League team based in Huntsville, Alabama. Playing their home games at the Von Braun Center, the Flight was a charter franchise for the 2001-02 season but folded after the 2004-05 season...

 and Colorado 14ers

Colorado 14ers

The Colorado 14ers were a team in the NBA Development League which began play in 2006-07. They were affiliated with the Denver Nuggets, New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors of the NBA. The 14ers played their home games at the Broomfield Event Center in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colorado. ...

 of the NBA Development League

NBA Development League

The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...

(NBDL).