Zachary Leon Andrews (born March 9, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the

Northern Arizona Suns The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play as the Long ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He grew up in

Rancho Cordova, California Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Incorporated in 2003, it is part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area. The population was 79,332 at the 2020 census. In 2010 and 2019, Rancho Cordova received the All-Ame ...

and played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for Yuba College and

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,200 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in fiv ...

Early life and high school

Andrews lived in poverty with his mother and three siblings in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

as a young child. He later grew up in foster homes for nearly a decade before reuniting with his biological mother to public housing in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

as a teenager. Andrews graduated from Cordova High School of

in 2003. At Cordova, Andrews lettered in both basketball and football.

College career

Yuba (2003–2005)

Andrews enrolled at Yuba College, a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

Marysville, California Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counte ...

. He helped its basketball program make the Elite Eight of the

California Community College Athletic Association The California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A; formerly CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in ...

state tournament in 2004 with a program-best record of 24–7 and averaged 10 points and 9 rebounds as a freshman in the 2003–04 season. As a sophomore (2004–05), Andrews earned Bay Valley East All-Conference honors after leading the league with 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game, finished second in the league in field goal percentage (.584), and was ninth in scoring (13.5 points). He earned the number-one spot on the "Top 10 Plays" of an edition of ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

'' in 2005 after leaping over a player of the opposing team to slam an alley-oop.

Bradley (2005–2007)

In 2005, Andrews transferred to

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

and played two seasons on the

Bradley Braves men's basketball The Bradley Braves men's basketball team represents Bradley University, located in Peoria, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They compete as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Braves are currently coached by Bri ...

team. Twice the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

selected Andrews as Player of the Week (December 19, 2005 and November 20, 2006). Andrews played in two 22-win seasons. As a starter, Andrews averaged 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds during his junior year (2005–06) and averaged 3.9 points and 4.2 rebounds as a reserve. On December 14, 2005, against

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

, Andrews had his second double-double of the season and tied a school record 11 offensive boards, 19 points, and 15 rebounds. Bradley advanced to the "Sweet 16" regional semifinal of the 2006 NCAA tournament. On 64% field goal shooting, Andrews averaged 11.1 points and 7.0 rebounds as a senior in 2006–07. For the spring 2007 semester, Andrews made the honor roll of the Bradley athletic director. Bradley made the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the

2007 National Invitation Tournament The 2007 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams which did not participate in the 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The West Vir ...

Professional career

Andrews worked out with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

in the summer of 2007 after going undrafted in the

2007 NBA draft The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was broadcast on television in 115 countries. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amate ...

. After an attempt to join Farho Gijón of Spanish third-tier

LEB Plata The Segunda FEB, formerly known as LEB 2 and LEB Plata, is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promote ...

fell through, Andrews signed with Costa Urbana Playas de Santa Pola of LEB Plata instead. After an injury, Santa Pola waived Andrews. In January 2008, Andrews signed with Genc Banvitliler of

Turkish Basketball Second League The Turkish Basketball Second League, also called TB2L, is Turkish basketball league system, the third-tier level league of professional club basketball in Turkey. The league was previously called the Turkish Basketball Third League (TB3L). For ...

and played the last 14 games of the season, averaging 11.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Andrews was an honorable mention all-league pick. He was the only American on the team. For the 2008–09 season, Andrews played for Rayet Guadalajara of Spanish fourth-tier LEB Bronce and averaged 12.1 points and 10.2 rebounds. Again, Andrews was an honorable mention all-league selection. He played for

CB Peñas Huesca Club Baloncesto Peñas Huesca is a Spanish professional basketball team based in Huesca, Aragón. The team currently plays in league LEB Plata. History The team played in Liga ACB, where they stayed from 1983 to 1996. After winning the relega ...

of third-tier

the next season and averaged 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds and was a 2010 second team all-LEB Plata selection and All-Import selection. In the 2010–11 season, Andrews played for Niigata Albirex of the Japanese

Bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official ...

and averaged 11.1 points and 10.8 rebounds. Andrews signed with the

Los Angeles D-Fenders The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the NBA G League. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

after a tryout before the 2011–12 season. Andrews signed with the D-Fenders' NBA parent team

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

on December 9, 2011. Four days after the Lakers waived Andrews, the D-Fenders re-acquired Andrews on December 26. Andrews started 42 of 44 games for the D-Fenders and averaged 9.3 points on 64.7% shooting and 7.3 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game. Andrews began the 2012–13 season playing two games for Sutor Montegranaro of Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

. On January 15, 2013, Andrews was reacquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Later that year, he signed with Osaka Evessa of Japan for the 2013–14 season. After a one-game stint for

Fuerza Regia The Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (''Monterrey Royal Force'' in English) is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). They currently play their home g ...

in November 2014, Andrews was reacquired once again by the Los Angeles D-Fenders on December 20, 2014. On October 31, 2015, he was reacquired by the D-Fenders for the 2015–16 season. On January 29, 2016, he was traded to the

Iowa Energy Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, along with two 2016 fifth-round picks, in exchange for Michael Holyfield and a 2016 fourth-round pick. The next day, he made his debut with the Energy in an 87–83 loss to the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since 2024, the team plays its home games at Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland, thoug ...

, recording two points and two rebounds in eight minutes. On February 19, he was waived by Iowa. Andrews competed for Team 23 in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

. He was a center on the 2015 team who made it to the $1 million championship game, falling 67–65 to

Overseas Elite Overseas Elite was an American basketball team that participated in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team won the tournament four consecutive times: 2015 (prize money $1 million), 201 ...

. On October 24, 2017, Andrews was called up by the

for training camp. He made their official roster at the start of the season. However, after playing in only three regular season games, Andrews was waived on November 12, 2017, in order to acquire forward Malik Dime on their roster. He was reacquired by Northern Arizona on February 2, 2018.

References

External links

NBA D-League Profile

Bradley Braves bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Zach 1985 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Oakland, California Bradley Braves men's basketball players CB Peñas Huesca players Earthfriends Tokyo Z players Fuerza Regia de Monterrey players Iowa Energy players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Los Angeles D-Fenders players Niigata Albirex BB players Northern Arizona Suns players Osaka Evessa players Power forwards Sportspeople from Marysville, California People from Rancho Cordova, California Basketball players from Sacramento County, California Sagesse SC (basketball) players