Recruitment has been an interesting ride for 6’ point guard Tyler Hooker. In high school he made it to the South Carolina 4A state finals both his junior and senior season. In AAU he played on the South Carolina Raptors team that finished, as the highest ranking non-shoe sponsored team, in the top 10 AAU teams across the country.
After this storied career, in which he was a leader on both ends of the floor, Hooker committed to East Tennessee State. In fact, East Tennessee State first saw Hooker at the 2014 Phenom Summer Havoc, they recruited him hard and ended up signing him. Everything was good, until the staff at East Tennessee State was fired.
After the new staff was hired at East Tennessee State the two both figured it best to part ways. It was late in the game and his offers from Radford, Presbyterian, Citadel, Mercer, and Gardner Webb had been filled. Hooker decided to attend Moravian Prep, in Hickory, North Carolina.
Hooker is a lengthy, quick twitch player. He is a dog on defense, picking up his man for 94 feet. Offensively, Hooker puts pressure on the defense. He is able to get to the rim, and make clutch shots in the half court and full court setting. Hooker is a leader, he is vocal, and he is someone that will bring energy to practice and games.
Hooker has been to several Phenom Hoops events over the years, let’s see what was said:
2014 Phenom Summer Havoc
6′ Tyler Hooker 2015
Hillcrest/SC Raptors
Hooker left Havoc on the Hardwood as the best player on the best team, for the event. Hooker has been tasked to share the backcourt with the nation’s top point guard, Juwan Evans, so the biggest question mark coming in was can he play point. This event showed that he could, but it also showed that it does not really matter because Hooker is a ball player. Hooker lived in the paint, scoring, dishing, and getting to the line. He also defended the open court, making life hell for opposing ball handlers. Hooker came into the event with offers from Presbyterian, Mercer, Citadel, and Radford. He picked up offers from Gardner Webb and East Tennessee St during the event, and expect his regional love to pick up immediately. Yes, he was that good…
2015 CP3 Live
Tyler Hooker
Formerly committed to East Tennessee State, the Hillcrest High School graduate has resurfaced at Moravian Prep in Hickory, North Carolina. Hooker is still a dog of a lead guard, who defends in your face for 94’ and gets into the paint at will. He was a surprise show up to the event, but had a lot of coaches excited to come across him.
His recruitment will be very interesting with his year at Moravian Prep.
2015 Phenom Open Gym Tour
The Dogs
If anything, Moravian has a stable of dogs at the point guard position. 6’ Tyler Hooker, 5’9” Julius Barnes, and 5’8” Juwan Smith. Hooker comes from Hillcrest High School where he led his team to two consecutive South Carolina 4A State Championship game, winning as a junior. Barnes comes from Garner High School where he won the North Carolina 4A state championship game as a senior. Smith comes from St Mary’s Ryken in Maryland where he picked up and offer from NJIT. These three are dogs, they get into on defense, and carry a toughness on offense.