Hassan Whiteside: Wanted in Miami Heat Fans’ Pickup Game
A year ago not many people knew who Hassan Whiteside was. Now, Miami Heat fans are dying to have him participate in their pickup games. A group of guys looking to have Whiteside join their already established “Heat Twitter Classic” are using some good old fashion social media hounding, in order to make their dreams come true.
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The Miami New Times caught up with Dan Gnarle, a part of said group, to uncover what brought about their desire to have Whiteside on board, their strategy to make that happen, and what they hope to see in this year’s “Heat Twitter Classic.”
According to Gnarle, the pursuit started with this single tweet:
That, then turned into this…
I’m practicing that arc for when you guard me at #HTC5. You don’t want any of this @youngwhiteside. #GetHassanToHTC5 https://t.co/wvTKygHUy9
— DAИNY (@DanGnajerle) August 20, 2015
(And has only taken off from there.)
One week from today’. Are you in @youngwhiteside? #HTC5 #GetHassanToHTC5 pic.twitter.com/OlkLYWEbEB
— DAИNY (@DanGnajerle) August 22, 2015
The question now remains, will Whiteside accept his invitation to the HTC? And who will he bring as his wingmen?
Whiteside’s transformation has been epic, to say the least. At 26, the 7-footer has done a complete 180. And the great news is, he still has a ways to go.
A North Carolina native, Whiteside decided to attend Marshall University after playing ball during high school. Although he had a solid collegiate career (being featured in the ESPN Magazine College Basketball column and breaking school records), it took a while for him to transition over to professional basketball. He entered the NBA via the 2010 draft as the No. 3 pick in the second round, by the Sacramento Kings.
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However, that November he was assigned to their D-League affiliate, and tore a tendon in his knee upon his return to the Kings in March. He was sidelined for the rest of the season, and then re-assigned to the Reno Bighorns in January.
Unfortunately, the back-and-forth did not end there. Whiteside played for two other D-League teams before going overseas: first to Lebanon and then China. He returned to the States and was signed to the Memphis Grizzles but yet again was waived and found himself in the D-League. It was not until 2014 that his NBA career really took off.
The Heat signed him in November, and since then, he has finally been able to prove himself worthy; last season he averaged 11.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks on 23.8 minutes of play.