We sat down with former NBA player Geert Hammink. Born in the Netherlands, Geert was heavily involved in tennis and swimming as a youngster. After a growth spurt at the age of 14, he switched to basketball and made a name for himself with the national team. Geert received a lot of interest from many NCAA schools and several European clubs after being the leading scorer in the 1988 European championship — but he ultimately decided to commit to LSU. Following his college career, Geert had a brief NBA stint with the Orlando Magic and Golden State Warriors. Hammink eventually returned to Europe, where he had a lot of success in Germany and Greece. Today, Geert is the head coach of ZZ Leiden in the 1st Dutch Basketball League.

01:04​ Basketball journey, getting recruited to LSU from Netherlands

08:57​ The LSU experience

15:56​ Shaquille O’Neal at LSU

20:52​ Extinction of NBA big men

25:58​ NBA career

30:40​ Relationship with Shaq / Blue Chips movie

34:48​ European basketball compared to the NBA

37:29​ European career, Alba Berlin, AEK Athens, Aris & crazy fans

42:35​ Three sons, Netherlands national team

48:40​ Dutch Basketball League, ZZ Leiden

53:13​ Quick fire questions

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