Palmer High grad living UNC dream

April 1, 2005

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman sports editor

Palmer High School faithful may be paying a bit closer attention to the NCAA Division I men's basketball Final Four this season with one of their own at center stage.

C.J. Hooker, a 2001 PHS graduate, is a senior on a University of North Carolina squad that will take on Michigan State in the semifinal round of the Final Four Saturday. The game will be nationally televised on CBS at 4:47 AST.

Hooker made history last season as he was the first player hailing from the state of Alaska to be named to the UNC varsity squad. After playing two seasons in the Tar Heels junior varsity program, Hooker participated in an open try out and was the lone UNC J.V. player named to the varsity squad.

Hooker, the 2001 Region III player of the year, bypassed numerous offers from other colleges, just for the opportunity to attend North Carolina.

"Ever since I was about four it has been my dream to play basketball at North Carolina," Hooker told the Frontiersman in November of 2003. "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. Not just gifted on the basketball court, Hooker excelled in the classroom. He graduated ninth in his PHS class with a 3.9 grade point average and scored a 730 out of a possible 800 on the math section of his SAT tests.

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 for the 2003-04 campaign, 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.

Hooker saw action in nine games during his junior season and scored the first two points of his career in a win over George Mason. As a senior, Hooker appeared in 22 games and earned his first start in the season finale, a 75-73 over Atlantic Coast Conference-rival Duke.

North Carolina reached its first Final Four since the 2000 season with an 88-82 win over Wisconsin in the Elite Eight.

With a win over the Spartans, UNC will advance to the national championship game and face either Louisville or Illinois on Monday. If the Heels are able to cut down the nets Monday night, Hooker will become the second Valley athlete in as many seasons to be part of an NCAA Division I basketball championship squad. Former Colony High School standout Jessica Moore won her third straight women's national championship last season as part of the University of Connecticut Huskies.