Elliot Hooper '21 Recruiting Profile

I have loved playing organized team sports my whole life. When I was little and just learned to walk, I started playing soccer. Soon after, I began playing baseball which is when I first realized how important it is to be a team player. I happily played whatever position my coach asked me to and I played them all. By fourth grade, I started playing organized basketball. My local NJB team didn’t have a coach for my age group, so my dad stepped in and started coaching my team. Basketball soon became the only sport I wanted to play.

By High School, I was starting on my High School Freshmen basketball team. I thought I wanted to play two sports in High School and tried out for JV baseball. I made it through the first cuts, but quickly realized that baseball wasn’t the sport I loved the most. It was basketball. I told my coaches that I wanted to focus on basketball and withdrew my name.

To me, one of the most important attributes is attitude. My mom always told me to be respectful and be a good listener – no matter the situation. These are not only important on the court but in life as well. I take pride in taking direction from my coaches, I am always open for feedback and how to keep improving. I am not afraid to work hard. One of my favorite players, Kevin Durant said something really intriguing similar to this, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.”

I hope to be able to continue to play basketball in college.