Asbjørn Midtgaard | |
Number: | 33 |
Position: | Center |
Height Ft: | 7 |
Height In: | 0 |
Weight Lbs: | 270 |
Birth Date: | 1997 9, df=yes |
Birth Place: | Helsingør, Denmark |
Nationality: | Danish |
High School: | Espergærde Gymnasium (Espergærde, Denmark) |
College: |
|
Draft Year: | 2021 |
Career Start: | 2014 |
Years1: | 2014–2017 |
Team1: | Hørsholm 79ers |
Years2: | 2021–2022 |
Team2: | ZZ Leiden |
Years3: | 2022–2023 |
Team3: | Crailsheim Merlins |
Years4: | 2023 |
Team4: | Antwerp Giants |
Highlights: |
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Asbjørn Engelhardt Midtgaard (born 20 September 1997) is a Danish professional basketball player. He last played for the Antwerp Giants of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers and the Grand Canyon Antelopes.
Midtgaard grew up playing handball and football, as well as weightlifting and judo. He started playing basketball at age 14, and joined the Hørsholm 79ers of the Basketligaen, the top professional league in Denmark, three years later.[1] In the 2016–17 season, he averaged 8.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and was named Basketligaen Young Player of the Year.[2]
Midtgaard received limited playing time during his three seasons at Wichita State. He averaged 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in his time with the program.[3] For his senior season, he transferred to Grand Canyon.[4] On 28 November 2020, Midtgaard scored a career-high 20 points in a 94–63 win against Benedictine Mesa.[5] As a senior, Midtgaard averaged 14.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and shot an NCAA Division I-best 70.7 percent from the field.[6] He received First Team All-Western Athletic Conference, Newcomer of the Year and All-Defensive Team honors.[7]
After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Midtgaard signed with the Orlando Magic for the 2021 NBA Summer League. He became the first Grand Canyon player since the program entered the NCAA Division I to be invited to the Summer League.[6]
On 16 August 2021, Midtgaard signed his first professional contract with ZZ Leiden of the BNXT League.[8] He was nominated for the BNXT League Most Valuable Player award and ended third in voting. Midtgaard earned a spot in the All-BNXT League Dream Team.[9]
On June 24, 2022, he put pen to paper on a deal with the Crailsheim Merlins of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[10] He wrapped up the 2022-23 campaign, averaging 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in Bundesliga play.[11] On July 16 2023, Midtgaard was signed by the Antwerp Giants of the BNXT League.[12] He attended only one BNXT contest for Antwerp and parted ways with the team on October 4, 2023 after having suffered a knee injury.[13]
Midtgaard represented Denmark at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B in Austria, and averaged 7.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.[14]
Led NCAA Division I |
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18| style="text-align:left;"| Wichita State| 8 || 0 || 6.1 || .500 || – || .500 || 2.1 || .0 || .1 || .3 || 1.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| style="text-align:left;"| Wichita State| 34 || 3 || 11.3 || .632 || – || .595 || 3.1 || .2 || .1 || .8 || 3.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| Wichita State| 24 || 1 || 8.0 || .484 || – || .333 || 2.0 || .3 || .1 || .5 || 1.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| Grand Canyon| 24 || 24 || 28.7 || style="background:#cfecec;"| .707* || .000 || .718 || 9.7 || .7 || .4 || 1.3 || 14.2|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 90 || 28 || 14.6 || .658 || .000 || .644 || 4.5 || .3 || .2 || .8 || 5.8