Hoopcoming 2019
David Andrews
David Andrews
This year’s Hoopcoming game was a huge success in many ways and, ironically, none of them had anything to do with the actual game itself. After what was a disappointing loss for our boys against, region rivals, North Cobb High School, the night was saved by this year’s Hoopcoming ceremony and the unveiling our new Hoopcoming king.
Leading up to the event many students, teachers, and even some of our very own administration took part in displaying their school spirit by dressing up for our annual “Hoopcoming Spirit Week”. Each day had a different theme in which many students competed to see who’s outfit was the best. Tuesday was “Swinter,” a combination of summer and winter. Wednesday was jersey day, where everybody wore their favorite sports jersey. Thursday was dream team, where groups of friends dressed like a famous group of people like the Jacksons or Mystery Inc. from Scooby-Doo. Lastly, Friday was white out, meaning everybody wore white. Not only was Friday the last day of the week and the day of the game, but it was also the day of our first pep rally of the new year. During the pep rally, we saw the teachers tale on the students in a full court five-on-five basketball game, the Hoopcoming nominees from each grade, and we saw each team take the court and get cheered on by their fellow students. In fact, the whole point of having spirit week and the pep rally is to pump up the students before the game, and it certainly did just that.
During the game both the boys and the girls played with an energy that just was not there at the beginning of the season, and the crowd just added to that. Not only was the game important because it was the homecoming day game, but it was a region game that could determine both teams’ seat in the playoffs. As a result, our Hawks could have used any advantage they could have gotten and our home court crowd was definitely one of them.
After both games were over, it was finally time for us to get what we all were waiting for, the unveiling of this year’s Hoopcoming king. The nominees were Tahj Anderson, Orry Clements-Owens, Austin Heard, TJ Polk, and Cade Stewart. As each of them were introduced, the crowd just erupted and showed an insurmountable amount of pride and love for their fellow students, but suddenly everything got so silent you could hear a pin drop in a bed of flowers. They were finally declaring a new king. Then slowly as the name TJ Polk crept through the speakers, everybody screamed and cheered for their new leader.
After the whole event was over, TJ described the moment as “surreal.” “To be completely honest I thought somebody like Cade or Tahj was gonna win simply because of the amount of people they had backing them up,” said Mr. Polk, but in the end it was everyone who came out victorious. Tahj Anderson even said, “of course you wanted to win but to see TJ win felt just as good.” This shows just how united and together our student body is. At Hillgrove we all ride together, and if one of us wins we all win.
Not only were the seniors excited about being on the court, but the other class representatives were elated as well. Sophomore Chibuzor Azuh said that he felt honored to know that his classmates thought of him when selecting their nominees for Hoopcoming court, describing the entire experience as “a moment I’ll always remember.” Junior Reuben Lowry said, “I had never felt so nervous in my life… it was great.” Our Hawks got the chance to be royalty for a few minutes, and they were treated as such. Even after the loss, players like Chris Richardson and Lance Wise come out to support their teammates. Whether they win or lose, as Hillgrove Hawks were are always here to support one another, and that is why Hoopcoming was such a big success because it was a testament to how great this school actually is.
Leading up to the event many students, teachers, and even some of our very own administration took part in displaying their school spirit by dressing up for our annual “Hoopcoming Spirit Week”. Each day had a different theme in which many students competed to see who’s outfit was the best. Tuesday was “Swinter,” a combination of summer and winter. Wednesday was jersey day, where everybody wore their favorite sports jersey. Thursday was dream team, where groups of friends dressed like a famous group of people like the Jacksons or Mystery Inc. from Scooby-Doo. Lastly, Friday was white out, meaning everybody wore white. Not only was Friday the last day of the week and the day of the game, but it was also the day of our first pep rally of the new year. During the pep rally, we saw the teachers tale on the students in a full court five-on-five basketball game, the Hoopcoming nominees from each grade, and we saw each team take the court and get cheered on by their fellow students. In fact, the whole point of having spirit week and the pep rally is to pump up the students before the game, and it certainly did just that.
During the game both the boys and the girls played with an energy that just was not there at the beginning of the season, and the crowd just added to that. Not only was the game important because it was the homecoming day game, but it was a region game that could determine both teams’ seat in the playoffs. As a result, our Hawks could have used any advantage they could have gotten and our home court crowd was definitely one of them.
After both games were over, it was finally time for us to get what we all were waiting for, the unveiling of this year’s Hoopcoming king. The nominees were Tahj Anderson, Orry Clements-Owens, Austin Heard, TJ Polk, and Cade Stewart. As each of them were introduced, the crowd just erupted and showed an insurmountable amount of pride and love for their fellow students, but suddenly everything got so silent you could hear a pin drop in a bed of flowers. They were finally declaring a new king. Then slowly as the name TJ Polk crept through the speakers, everybody screamed and cheered for their new leader.
After the whole event was over, TJ described the moment as “surreal.” “To be completely honest I thought somebody like Cade or Tahj was gonna win simply because of the amount of people they had backing them up,” said Mr. Polk, but in the end it was everyone who came out victorious. Tahj Anderson even said, “of course you wanted to win but to see TJ win felt just as good.” This shows just how united and together our student body is. At Hillgrove we all ride together, and if one of us wins we all win.
Not only were the seniors excited about being on the court, but the other class representatives were elated as well. Sophomore Chibuzor Azuh said that he felt honored to know that his classmates thought of him when selecting their nominees for Hoopcoming court, describing the entire experience as “a moment I’ll always remember.” Junior Reuben Lowry said, “I had never felt so nervous in my life… it was great.” Our Hawks got the chance to be royalty for a few minutes, and they were treated as such. Even after the loss, players like Chris Richardson and Lance Wise come out to support their teammates. Whether they win or lose, as Hillgrove Hawks were are always here to support one another, and that is why Hoopcoming was such a big success because it was a testament to how great this school actually is.
