Hank Sawyer

Hank Sawyer
(Virginia Opossum, G)
ID# 734
	Drawn by Pac
No. 9 – Hawaii Kahunas
Position	Guard
Species	Virginia Opossum ( Didelphidae )
Gender	Male
Nickname(s)
	Pick N' Grin
Personal information
Born	Stapleton, AL
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	187 lb (85 kg)
Shoots	Right
Career information
School	Pensacola Predatorial & Mechanical
FBA draft	2014 / Round: 2 / Pick: 44th overall
	Selected by the Tennessee Moonshiners
Pro playing career	2014–present
Career history
2014-2020	Tennessee Moonshiners
2020-2021	Edmonton Excavators
2021-present	Hawaii Kahunas
Career highlights and awards
	FBA All-Star x2 (2017-2018);
Contract information
Contract year	2022
2023 Salary	$2 million
2024 Salary	$3 million
Player Contacts
(IC) Agent	Hubert Bristol
(OOC) Creator	Tazel
(OOC) Actor	Herr Wozzeck
(OOC) Usage	Ask me before any use

Biography

Think of a backward Alabama town near the panhandle and the backwoods Tensaw river. And what's the first image you get in your head? Some overall wearing opossum with a banjo strapped to his back and a piece of wheat sticking out of his dirty muzzle.

Well, Hank Sawyer's muzzle is clean. So there. Everything else is damn close.

Born in the ex-railroad community of Stapleton, Hank came from a large family of possums, with about seven brothers and sisters. Being a middle/late child, he found he had to do something to make himself stand out. So his father, who was working in construction in nearby Bay Minette, had taught Hank how to play the banjo. The only child who had taken up on his father's prized possession.

And he broke the strings in the first swipe.

He didn't want to pick up the instrument again until his father almost forced him to, after he restrung with stronger strings. And they stayed. And he played. And he played well. His dad told him, "Anything can be made stronger, but ya gotta stick with it through the end to make it pay off."

That advice stayed with him as he would play the banjo just for fun, to entertain the family, and also to enter bluegrass festivals at the elementary and middle schools growing up. When music wasn't sufficient to warrant high school recognition, he went from pickin' and grinnin' (his nickname was thus based), to picking and rolling, as he took up basketball.

Hank took to the sport like a mud-skipper to the riverbanks. An affinity for the longball put Hank behind the line a lot of times when playing scrimmages, and his laid back drawl made him someone easy to get along with. School coaches worked with him to recognize plays and open spots, which made him a damn fine point guard for the game when you added in his long-shot ability. Considering his relatively diminutive size, it was the most reasonable spot as well. High school saw his ability flower into solid pointmaking, and one of the more popular kids on the team - especially when he'd break into a tubthumping hoedown in the locker room after a win, with some other players having improvised instruments to join in. A decent student, his game prowess attracted Pensacola P&M, which brought the possum into their folds, and gave him some serious play time. He didn't let them down, being a solid starter a majority of the time, and getting about 10-12 points a game reliably. His assists were also very high - he had a good sense of where folks were, able to thread needles of defense to get a pass inside to a forward for a quick layup or dunk.

The team loved his laid back and easy going attitude. Nothing would faze him. Though... they weren't as fond of bluegrass as Hank was. So no hoedowns at PP&M for the basketball team. But in his sophomore year, he figured the FBA might like a little down home Southern hospitality in the ranks, with a pluckin' point guard to beef up a team's scoring and assists.

Personality: Hank Sawyer is friendly in a 'Southern Small Town' way. If he calls you a friend, he'll bend over backwards for you, as long as you'd do the same for him someday. There's a keenness behind his eyes, a strong perception. He speaks a bit slowly, but he is NOT slow by any means. He just takes his time, sizes things up, and then acts with precision and a mud-eatin' grin on his face. Ask him to play the banjo, "Bethilda" you better be prepared for a concert.