Sometimes there's more to an athlete than meets the eye. Adrian Banks, Barak Netanya's hottest property, wowed fans last season during the emotional State Cup semifinal at Yad Eliyahu, Israel's basketball Mecca. Netanya hadn't reached a cup final in 23 years, and the team was down by 14 points in the third quarter when, to the fans' delight, Banks stepped up.
A young European-league basketball player, in his first season in a foreign country, Banks conjured an incredible 27-point second half - including, with 35 seconds left, a three-pointer that tied the game, and a winner from the free-throw line with only 1.1 seconds remaining on the clock.
Banks' first season at Netanya made him a firm favorite with the club's fans, and he was the only foreign player to be signed again at the end of the season.
Off the court, the dazzling star presents a different face. Banks describes himself on his online Youtube channel as "just a young European basketball player from Memphis, having fun in his free time, and enjoying every part of his life as he travels the world."
What Banks neglects to mention is his commitment to community work with youth in Netanya. When he's not on the court, Banks volunteers with the club's "Hoops for Kids" project, which runs educational basketball clinics for Netanya youth which use basketball to teach life skills such as communication, teamwork and decision-making. Every week, Banks finds time to work with the kids, offering them a positive role model and getting them to open up about issues such as having a strong work ethic, goal-setting and healthy living.
"The majority of kids I work with are from the Ethiopian community," Banks said. "I'm well aware of their situation," he adds, diplomatically declining to discuss complaints that many of the children are sent to Ethiopian-only elementary schools.
Netanya's "Hoops for Kids" also organizes holiday tournaments for youth, giving youngsters the opportunity to compete 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 in a supportive environment that emphasizes teamwork and sportsmanship. On these occasions, Banks says he is more than happy to take on the role of the spectator, cheering on the local youth from the stands.
Banks attributes his community work and leadership skills, both on and off the court, to his parents - Arthur, a construction worker, and Greta, a postal service worker. "I grew up in a really tough neighborhood in Memphis, [Tennessee]," Banks told Haaretz. "Many of my friends and neighbors were getting into deep trouble, jail and whatnot, and our home was a center for helping people. My parents were always active in the community. That's were it all started for me, just following their example."
Earlier this month, Banks' family flew to Israel for his 25th birthday, and Banks' blog - usually thoughtful and frank - took on a sentimental tone. "I am very excited to see my family and show them the way I live abroad. "You know, showing them how much I have matured from living on my own and using what they taught me growing up," he wrote.
Banks says he learned early on that he could use his exceptional talent to help his friends and loved ones. "As I got older, I realized basketball wasn't only my own ticket for success, but could also help people around me who needed to experience a different setting. I started bringing them over to watch my games," he says.
By that time, Banks was already breaking record after record as an All-State selection, three-time Memphis Best of Preps, and three-time All-District performer as a senior at Memphis Trezevant, before going on to more success with Northwest Mississippi Community College and Arkansas State.
And then it almost all went wrong. In December 2007, ESPN reported that "Arkansas State leading scorer Adrian Banks has been suspended indefinitely from the Indians basketball team following his arrest ... for firing a gun within Jonesboro city limits."
The sinister-sounding event was later revealed to be a mere failure of judgment, which Banks says he immediately recognized. He told the police he found the gun at a nightclub where a fight was breaking out. "I was really trying to protect my teammates from anything happening, so I shot the gun in the air until it was empty," he said. "It wasn't like I was shooting at someone or was involved in anything."
Jonesboro police believed Banks' version of events, and after admitting that what happened "was a stupid incident, a mistake," Banks continued to improve his shooting on court, rather than off.
