Morgan Hikaru Aiken 加藤ひかる (born July 15, 1994) is a former Japanese-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

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player from

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

in the

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that ...

. Aiken is the first player from

to play in the professional Japan Basketball League. Born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, he attended high school in

, and played

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college basketball for Eastern University.Eastern University Official Roster 2013
/ref> Transferred to the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

the following year for an opportunity to walk on. However, was ineligible due to lack of credits. Aiken is a part of the

Guam national basketball team The Guam national basketball team represents Guam in international competitions. It is administrated by the Guam Basketball Confederation. Guam is the only nation other than Australia and New Zealand to win a silver medal at the FIBA Oceania ...

winning the gold medal at the

2014 Micronesian Games The 8th Micronesian Games were held from July 20 to July 30, 2014, in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The Games began with an opening ceremony on the track and field grounds. They included "traditional war dances", and the unfurli ...

. Also was sponsored by BoingVert and

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Japan after gaining popularity on

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Official Instagram Page
/ref> and

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from posting dunking videos at 5'7.

High school

Aiken was the only sophomore in 2010 to make the All-Island team (second team) in the

IIAAG High School League. In 2011 as a Junior, Aiken won the State Championship, was honored First Team All-Island, and also came in 2nd in the

Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

held at the Far East Tournament in Japan. Although projected to be the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the league after his outstanding junior year, Aiken fractured his left foot 2 weeks prior to the start of his senior season. Playing only half the season, he still managed to be named to the Second Team All-Island. In 2012, Aiken graduated from Saint Paul Christian School.IIAAG Senior Season
/ref> Following his graduation, he committed to Eastern University in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Professional career

In 2015, Aiken signed a contract with the

Akita Northern Happinets The Akita Northern Happinets are a Japanese professional basketball team based in Akita that competes in the Eastern Conference of the First Division of the B.League. The team was formed as an expansion team of the bj league in 2010 and found succ ...

thru an early entry process and had begun practicing with the team. However, with complications with the process, he signed with the

Tokyo Cinq Rêves The Shinagawa City Basketball Club is a professional basketball team that competes in the Japanese B.League. Roster Notable players * Morgan Hikaru Aiken *Yuji Funayama (basketball) * Zane Knowles * Andre Murray l League's ...

for the remainder of the season. The following season, Aiken signed with the

Kagawa Five Arrows The Kagawa Five Arrows (香川ファイブアローズ） are a Japanese basketball team, playing in the Western Conference of the B.League. They are based in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. In July 2015 it was announced that the team will compete ...

. Now, Aiken is currently taking time off to focus more on his younger brother, Reo Aiken, back in Guam. Morgan hopes that Reo can be the next face of basketball on Guam.

Notes

* First Guam high school graduate to sign pro contract (October 2015). * Youngest Guam high school graduate to sign pro contract (Age: 21). * Known as "thehumanplane" from his social media. * Running vertical jump of +40 inches. * Has a younger-older brother who is both taller and more explosive than him.

High school

Professional career

Notes

References

External links