Hansel Emmanuel Donato Domínguez, One-Armed Basketball Player, Receives First Division I Offer From HBCU
Hansel Emmanuel Donato Domínguez has continuously broken the Internet with his offensive skills at AAU tournaments, but he had not received any NCAA Division I college basketball offers.
That changed Thursday when the rising star announced his first offer from Tennessee State University, an HBCU.
"Blessed to receive my first D1 offer from Tennessee State university," the 17-year-old announced to his 606,000-plus Instagram followers. "Thank you for believing in my talents."
At age six, Donato Domínguez had his left arm amputated after a wall collapsed on it, trapping him under the rubble for close to two hours. His father, a former professional basketball player, was the one who rescued him. At the time, they were living in Donato Domínguez's home country, the Dominican Republic.
"My life fell apart when Hansel's accident happened," the father told the Orlando Sentinel. "I was the one with him and when they had to amputate his arm, I felt like it was all over. But God grabbed us and led us down this path. You remember everything [from the accident] because a blow like this is not forgotten, so quickly regardless of all that he is achieving, thanks to God."
Donato Domínguez picked up basketball, following in his footsteps, and recently he moved to the United States on a scholarship to play prep basketball at Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee, FL.
He told the Orlando Sentinel in Spanish that he hopes those who follow him do “not see me as a special kid who has a disability. [I wish] that they only see me as a great player who will go as far as many. That I am a good player."
From SI All-American:
