Former Palmer High hoops standout now a Tar Heel

Ever since C.J. Hooker could hold a basketball he knew he wanted to play the game. Hooker not only wanted to play the game, he wanted to play in a certain place and for a certain team -- at the University of North Carolina for the Tar Heels.

Now Hooker is living his basketball dreams. The former Region III player of the year and 2001 graduate of Palmer High School is now a member of the varsity men's basketball team at North Carolina.

"Ever since I was about four it has been my dream to play basketball at North Carolina," Hooker said. "Ever since I can remember."

Hooker was born just two hours east of Chapel Hill, N.C., home of the university, and spent his entire athletic and academic career striving to return to the area to play collegiate basketball.

After playing two years in the Tar Heels' junior varsity program, Hooker beat out nearly 50 other players for a spot on a roster that has included legends such as Michael Jordan and James Worthy, in the past.

Prior to the start of pre-season practice, the basketball program held its annual tryout. Normally just the junior varsity players have the opportunity to compete for a spot on the team, but this year there was more competition.

"Usually it is a closed tryout, but since there is a new coach, anybody could come and show up," Hooker said.

After 50 aspiring athletes battled through the four-day tryout, everyone had been cut, except Hooker.

And it was another legend, new head coach of the Tar Heels Roy Williams, who informed Hooker that he had made it to the next level.

"He is a real fun guy, real down to Earth," Hooker said of Williams.

Hooker's next challenge was a week-long tryout with the Tar Heel varsity team.

"The atmosphere was pretty calm," Hooker said of his first practices with the varsity squad. "I played ball with those guys and were good friends with some of them. They are real easy going until you step on the court."

Hooker also said that it is hard to avoid thinking of and admiring the mystique of the school's rich basketball tradition.

"All the uniforms (of the former legends) are up hanging in the rafters. You look up and think about the tradition," Hooker said.

A first-team All-State selection and Region III player his senior year, Hooker received interest from schools across the country. Although he received looks from Division I programs such as Gonzaga and Lafeyette, it was for the most part Division II schools that were willing to give him playing time immediately.

Hooker passed on the offers and accepted a partial academic scholarship from North Carolina to follow his basketball dreams.

"The odds were not good, but there is always a chance," Hooker said. "My parents told me if I stick to my goals, with the help of God anything is possible."

"C.J. knew what he wanted to do and followed his dreams 100 percent," said Brandon Blake, who coached Hooker at Palmer. "He definitely had other smaller schools interested, but since he was very young he always wanted to go to the University of North Carolina."

To enroll at UNC, Hooker used his academics, rather than his skills from hardwood.

"Academically he was at the top of his class (at Palmer High)," Blake said. "He scored 780 out of 800 on the math section of his SATs and that kind of helped him along."

Once Hooker became a student at North Carolina, he tried out for the Tar Heel junior varsity program. One of 70 players to try out, Hooker became one of 14 players to make the J.V. team. Hooker took that opportunity to mature as a basketball player and improve his skills.

"He is the most athletic player ever in my program," Blake said. "I knew he had the athletic ability to play, but the skill level wasn't where it needed to be. He was a 6-foot, 1-inch inside-outside player for us, and his perimeter game had to improve. He definitely worked hard. His absolute focus was to develop his perimeter game."

Hooker, who was predominately in the post for the Moose, is now a small forward for the Tar Heels.

"I am definitely smarter," Hooker said. "In high school I was a post, at this level I have been able to improve my outside game."

The two years in the J.V. program helped Hooker secure a spot on the Tar Heel roster.

Though he might not see playing time as the Tar Heels battle through their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, Hooker is living out his basketball dreams as a member of the North Carolina basketball

team.