Former prep star Evan Bruinsma still playing pro basketball after 10 years
Evan Bruinsma shoots a jump shot during the Highland Premier Elite Run pickup game on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Hudsonville, Mich. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
HUDSONVILLE, Mich. - Evan Bruinsma was getting a little winded during a pickup basketball game earlier this week.
The 6-foot-8 West Michigan native, at 32 years old, easily was the oldest player on the court during a weekly Highland Premier Elite Run at Hudsonville High School.
“That’s the first time I’ve played 5-on-5 all summer,” Bruinsma said.
But it didn’t take him long to get back into the flow of the game.
“It took me a little bit to get warmed up,” Bruinsma said. “It’s good to see some of the talented players in West Michigan. There’s good basketball here.”
Bruinsma was a prep star when some of the local stars were still in elementary school.
He won three MHSAA Class D state championships while at Muskegon Western Michigan Christian High School.
“I graduated in 2010. So it was a long time ago now. My sophomore, junior and senior years, we won the state championship. It was really cool. The first one, I got to play with my brother (Nate). My senior year, we had a really good season.”
Bruinsma was named the Class D Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 21.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He surpassed 1,000 career points at WMC.
He also won a state championship as a soccer player.
Evan Bruinsma, left, is guarded by 6-foot-10 Owen Hardy during the Highland Premier Elite Run pickup game on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Hudsonville, Mich. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Bruinsma would then play four seasons at the University of Detroit Mercy before beginning a 10-year professional career in Europe.
And he’s still playing.
“I don’t have a team for the upcoming season yet,” he said. “The past four years I was playing in Turkey. Before that, all over Europe.”
He’s played in The Netherlands, Hungary, Germany and now Turkey.
Last season, while playing with Buyukcekmece of the Turkish Super League, he averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds per game.
“I like Turkey,” Bruinsma said. “The competition level is very high. It’s a good league.”
He also likes Turkey for another reason.
“I met my now-wife there,” he said of Deniz Bruinsma. “She’s Turkish. We met while I was over there. We got married last summer.”
Does Bruinsma speak Turkish?
“I’ve been trying to learn a little bit,” he said. “Ever since we got engaged - and then married - I’ve been working on it.”
Bruinsma said he returns every summer to Michigan.
“Pretty much every summer I come back to West Michigan,” he said. “I grew up in a really small town called New Era. It’s north of Muskegon. There’s maybe 500 people there.”
Bruinsma was drenched with sweat after playing competitive pickup ball on Tuesday in Hudsonville. He battled with former Michigan State University star Marcus Bingham, a 7-footer, and against 6-foot-10 Owen Hardy of Ferris State. But he held his own and showed off and array of jump shots and smooth moves in the paint.
How much longer does he plan on playing as a career?
“It’s winding down,” Bruinsma said. “As long as I stay healthy, maybe one more year. Maybe another two or three. We’ll see. I take it year by year.”
Evan Bruinsma takes a break between games during the Highland Premier Elite Run on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Hudsonville, Mich. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
