Hank Baskett was born and raised in Clovis, New Mexico. The son of Henry, Jr., and Judy Baskett, Hank comes from a military family. His father spent 30 years in the Air Force and his older brother Randy is in the Army, serving in Korea. In high school Hank played football, basketball, ran track, and still managed to maintain a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Baskett set the state record for high jumping with a 7-0 jump, winning the state title in each of his final two years in high school. He averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game for the basketball team, earning second team all-state honors as a junior. He was named the school’s athlete of the year as a junior. Hank played quarterback, receiver, and punter at one time or another for the football team, earning second team all-state honors at both receiver and punter as a senior. Hank Baskett accepted a scholarship to play for New Mexico where he redshirted in 2001. He missed the first two months of his redshirt freshman season due to a spinal concussion. When he returned, Hank played primarily on special teams, only catching two passes on offense, both of which went for touchdowns. As a sophomore Baskett saw more action at receiver, catching 16 passes for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns Baskett emerged as New Mexico’s top receiver as a junior, leading the team with 54 receptions for 908 yards while scoring three touchdowns on his way to an all-mountain west conference honorable mention selection. His senior year would prove to be Baskett’s best year in college. He matched his career highs in catches (67), yards (1079), and touchdowns (9) and established himself as one of the top receiver prospects available for the 2006 NFL draft.

Hank Baskett has an excellent combination of size and strength for a receiver. That along with his leaping ability allows him to go up and get the ball against any defensive back. He is a very physical receiver who will fight for the ball and is an excellent blocker. He has soft hands, rarely drops a pass and can make some amazing catches at times. Baskett will make tough catches in traffic and he is very skilled at getting yards after the catch. Once he catches the ball he is good at making defenders miss and his size and strength allows him to break tackles. Hank lacks great speed and needs to work on running more precise routes to be a more complete receiver at the professional level. Durability issues may also be a cause for concern by some NFL scouts. He had a spinal concussion which caused him to miss the first two months of his freshman season and has had minor knee and groin injuries since then. Hank Baskett isn’t a player that will scare opposing defenses with his speed, but his size and strength make him an excellent possession receiver and red zone target. He has a good chance to be drafted on the first day of the 2006 NFL draft.