Grindavík Welcomes Back Basketball Stars Kane and Shabazz
Ingibergur Þór Jónasson, chairman of Grindavík’s basketball department, broke the news on social media: Deandre Kane and Khalil Shabazz are coming back to Grindavík. For fans of the men’s team, it’s exactly what they wanted to hear.
The return hasn’t happened by accident. Jónasson and a group of volunteers have been quietly working to furnish the players’ new homes — collecting sofas, televisions, chairs, and kitchen tables. Beds, though, are still in short supply, and the drive continues.
Kane has been outspoken about wanting the Grindavíkur team to play all their home games back in their own gym. For the past two years, following the earthquakes that shook the Reykjanes peninsula, the team has been based out of Smár.
On the court, things are going well. The Grindavíkur team sits with a perfect record in the men’s Bonus league — seven games played, seven wins. Shabazz is averaging 22.3 points and 5.4 assists per game. Kane is putting up 13.5 points alongside 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Both have been central to what’s shaping up as a strong season.
At HS Orku Hall in Grindavík, the team has gone four for four, regularly cracking the hundred-point mark. Thursday evening brings a tougher test — a match against Tindastóll — and the question is whether that winning run can continue.
For a town that’s been through a lot, having its players back home and the team unbeaten makes for a good few weeks of basketball.
