This Basketball Player Does More with One Arm Than Most Players Do with Two

Basketball player Zach Hodskins has one arm, but loads of talent.
Basketball player Zach Hodskins has one arm, but loads of talent.

Basketball player Zach Hodskins will make you rethink how you picture an athlete.

The 17-year-old from Georgia was born without the lower half of his left arm. Not only did his disability not stop him from playing sports, Zach so excelled at basketball that he's been verbally committed to the University of Florida.

The 6'4, 200-lb. guard has been shooting hoops his whole life. He was a star player on his high school team and was a standout on the AAU circuit this past summer.

Zach was spotted by an assistant coach for the Florida Gators, and was offered a commitment as a preferred walk-on. Zach even had his choice - both the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Birmingham Southern considered recruiting him.

"It's always been my dream growing up," Zach tells ESPN. "I never expected it to be like this, but the hard work has paid off. I'm ecstatic I'm going to be a Florida Gator."

Being a preferred walk-on means he'll be on the roster, but won't get a full scholarship. Zach is just happy to be a part of the team. "If I work hard, Coach [Billy] Donovan told me I'll have a chance to play," he says.

You'd think Zach's biggest challenge was learning to play with only one hand, but dealing with people's perceptions of him and his abilities was a greater struggle.

"The hardest thing I had to overcome was people - how they look at me," he says. "I try to push through that, and they're only looking at me because they're curious. That was the hardest thing to overcome. Not the shooting and passing."

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