Colonel William A. Phillips

Kenny Goins (born September 11, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans.

High school career

Goins played basketball for Warren Mott High School in Warren, Michigan. As a senior, he averaged 21.1 points, 14.8 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game.[1] Goins led his team to the Class A state quarterfinals and earned First Team All-State honors from the Associated Press.[2] He played football for Mott as a tight end and had originally intended to play football in college, rather than basketball.[3]

College career

Goins turned down multiple NCAA Division I basketball scholarship offers to play for Michigan State as a walk-on, despite the financial burden, in his freshman season.[4] His family took out a loan of $17,000.[5] Goins redshirted his first year with the team and earned a scholarship in his following season.[6] He was sidelined for six weeks as a freshman after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.[7] Goins posted 3.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore and made 14 starts.[8] As a junior, Goins averaged 2.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, shooting 45.8 percent from the field.[9] A reserve for his first three years, Goins became a regular member of the starting lineup in his senior season.[10] In his senior season debut, Goins scored a then-career-high 17 points and led the Spartans with 11 rebounds against top-ranked Kansas.[11] On November 27, 2018, he grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in an 82–78 overtime loss to Louisville.[12] On March 5, 2019, Goins scored a career-high 24 points in a 91–76 win over Nebraska.[13] On March 31, he made a go-ahead three-pointer with 34.5 seconds left in an Elite Eight victory over first-seeded Duke at the NCAA tournament.[14] As a senior, Goins averaged 7.9 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game.[15] He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection.[16]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Goins joined the Denver Nuggets for 2019 NBA Summer League.[17]

On July 18, 2019, he signed his first professional contract with Pallacanestro Trapani of the Serie A2 Basket.[15] In 24 games, Goins averaged 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

On August 22, 2020, he signed with Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basket League.[18] On March 22, 2021, Goins parted ways with the Greek club, after averaging 9.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 16 games.

On July 1, 2021, Goins officially signed with his second Greek club, Lavrio of the Basketball Champions League.[19] He averaged 4.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. On December 4, Goins signed with Atomerőmű SE of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A.[20]

On November 8, 2023, he signed with Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A.[21]

References

  1. ^ Sprague, Hanna (December 19, 2014). "Kenny Goins: Strength In Family". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Austin, Kyle (April 14, 2014). "Report: Warren Mott's Kenny Goins to join Michigan State as preferred walk-on". MLive. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  3. ^ Wheeler, Grace (December 30, 2016). "Kenny Goins: Living A Dream". Michigan State University Athletics. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Quinn, Brendan (April 1, 2019). "Forever in debt: The improbable, impossible story of Kenny Goins". The Athletic. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  5. ^ Diamond, Jared (April 5, 2019). "The Final Four Star Who Is Also Paying Off His Student Loans". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Rollins, Khadrice (April 2, 2019). "Elite Eight Hero Kenny Goins Still Paying Back Loan for Freshman Year at Michigan State". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  7. ^ "Michigan State's Kenny Goins has sports hernia surgery". ESPN. Associated Press. September 30, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Solari, Chris (June 30, 2017). "MSU's Kenny Goins adds range in quest for more playing time". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Austin, Kyle (January 30, 2019). "Kenny Goins could be in for bigger role as Michigan State frontcourt clears out". MLive. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Austin, Kyle (December 7, 2018). "Kenny Goins walked on, fought through injuries and became an unlikely starter for MSU". MLive. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "MSU basketball's Kenny Goins scores career high to stay close vs. Kansas". Detroit Free Press. November 7, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  12. ^ Hall, Erik (November 27, 2018). "Michigan State vs. Louisville basketball: Kenny Goins with 17 rebounds, 0 points, 1 eye". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "Kenny Goins scores career-high 24 as Michigan State tops Nebraska 91-76". Fox Sports. Associated Press. March 6, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  14. ^ Hall, Erik (March 31, 2019). "Duke vs. MSU basketball: See Kenny Goins' 3-point shot to send MSU to the Final Four". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Brooks, Stephen (July 18, 2019). "MSU basketball: Kenny Goins signs with Italian pro team". 247Sports.com. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  16. ^ Solari, Chris (June 22, 2019). "Michigan State basketball's Kenny Goins joining Denver Nuggets for Summer League". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Brewster, Andrew (July 14, 2019). "Kenny Goins finally gets minutes with Denver Summer League team, plays well". Spartans Wire. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Skerletic, Dario (August 22, 2020). "Kolossos Rhodes ink Kenny Goins". Sportando. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  19. ^ "Lavrio sign a second USA player". Eurobasket. July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  20. ^ Gabor, Winter (December 4, 2021). "Kenny Goins (ex Lavrio) joins Atomeromu". Eurobasket. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  21. ^ "Le Limoges CSP A Son Nouveau Poste 4". limogescsp.com (in French). November 8, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2024.

External links