HE is the basketball sensation in America!
Hansel Emmanuel Donato Domínguez (17) plays dizzy opponents in high school, dreams of the NBA – and that with just one arm!
The 1.95-meter slag says confidently: “I was born to triumph! I told my grandma that I was going to be a really big one. As big as the house I’m going to buy her! “
The one-armed basketball prodigy!
At the age of six, his left arm had to be amputated after a wall fell on him and he lay under it for two hours before his father Hansel Salvador Donato (a former basketball player) freed him.
His papa remembers: “The accident caused my life to collapse. I was there when his arm was amputated. At that moment I had the feeling that it was all over. But then God took care of us and has shaped our path ever since! “
The family grew up in Los Mina, one of the poorest districts of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Despite his handicap, everything in the boy’s life revolved around the orange ball – and his life became a basketball fairy tale!
In 2020 he came to the USA with his family and from then on played in the Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee / Florida, a Christian high school. So impressive that Tennessee State College has already offered him a basketball scholarship. An important, big step towards the NBA dream!
Many experts in the USA are convinced that he can make it into the best league in the world. His versatility in building up the game (he can play point guard and shooting guard) is rated just as positively as his determination and dedication! The analysts of 247sports in the USA praise him for his ability to dunk as well as to have threesomes and jump throws in his repertoire: “He is something very special! Of course he can still learn a lot. But there are no upper limits for him! “
The great Shaquille O’Neal (49) raves: “He beats the best high school players with one arm! I want everyone to understand how special Hansel is! “
With Zach Hodskins (who calls himself “The One-Arm Bandit”) there was a talent with only one arm in high school in the USA in 2015. He was not offered a scholarship – but played in Germany with the Cottbus White Devils. He is said to be playing golf in South Carolina by now.
Hansel Emmanuel has big goals. His motto in life: “Why should the sky be the limit when there are footprints on the moon?”
One thing is very important to him: “People shouldn’t see me as a special boy with a disability. I want them to see me as a great player. One who is like the others. People who say I am not achieving anything will be amazed. I will never stop fighting! “
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The USA insider! Nils Suling lives in the USA, analyzes the topics America is talking about. Everything about football, basketball, ice hockey, baseball, soccer, martial arts. Follow the USA Insider on Twitter: @NilsSuling
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