Max Hooper emerging in 2010

One thing that every college basketball program in the country can use is more shooters. Many high school basketball prospects spend more time practicing dunks than working on their shooting and it's had a negative impact on the college game.

With that in mind, any time a high school basketball player comes around that is one of the best shooters in his state – if not the country - he's going to get college attention. When that player happens to be 6-foot-5, he's most likely going to end up playing at a high level.

The ability to shoot is what makes San Jose Valley Christian star Max Hooper such an intriguing prospect. While he has plenty of other things going for him on the court, Hooper is quickly emerging as one of the top shooters in the 2010 class.

Hooper plays in one of the best leagues in the country (WCAL) and set a record in the 14 league games he played this season, hitting 46 three-pointers, topping the previous five year old record of 36.

The first game of Hooper's sophomore season at the Nor Cal Tip Off Classic, he hit nine three-pointers. It was just 1 short of the 10 he hit in one game last year, which happened to be a California state record for a freshman playing varsity. Most impressive is the fact that those 10 threes came in just 19 minutes.

"Shooting is definitely something I pride myself in," Hooper said. "A shooter on the floor helps everyone else."

He shot 46% from beyond the arc this season, but calling Hooper just a shooter would be selling him short. This season, he averaged 15 points per game against competition that's included 6 D-I signees (and 10 more probable D-I players) in the WCAL, a list headlined by future UCLA Bruin Drew Gordon.

"The strengths of my game are my ability to shoot the ball and make the right play at all times," Hooper said. "I'm a smart player on the court and I have the ability to score. Right now I am definitely trying to improve on my ability to create shots off the dribble and also to defend and rebound the ball better."

While Hooper is good now, with his work ethic and drive to be the best player possible, you can bet that he's only going to improve from here.

Hooper obviously prides himself in his shooting, but he is also proud of the way he works beyond normal team practices. He has a personal trainer he works with on strength, speed, and conditioning and also spends a significant amount of time in the gym working on his game.

"I don't think anybody works as hard as me," Hooper said. "I love working hard and improving my game. That's what I like to do."

"The way I go about that during the season is going to practice everyday and staying an hour or so afterwards working on my ball handling, creating shots and catching and shooting.

"On the weekends I go up to the gym for an hour and a half each day and work out. I do my strength and speed workouts 3-5 days a week. In the off-season I'm in the gym almost every day"

Hooper obviously has the game and work ethic, but what hasn't even been mentioned here is what could be what's most impressive about him. Out of the 309 students in the sophomore class at Valley Christian, Hooper's 4.71 GPA puts him first in his class.

So not only is he working hard to prove himself as the top shooter in the state of California, but he's also proving himself as one of the top student-athletes not only in the state, but perhaps in the country.

"Academics are very important to me," Hooper said. "I take pride in it and want to do my best at everything I do. I work hard at my schoolwork."

The combination of academics and talent that Hooper possesses will likely give him a good group of schools to choose from when he gets serious about recruiting.

He has a list of schools he grew up rooting for and it's not far-fetched to see those programs getting serious about him sooner rather than later.

"As a basketball fan since I've been young, I've always liked Duke, Stanford, Arizona, UCLA and Virginia," said Hooper, who added that he's open to playing basketball anywhere in the country.

It's no surprise that Hooper has been a fan of Duke, considering that he's close with the Blue Devils' leading scorer and speaks with him every couple of days.

"DeMarcus Nelson at Duke is pretty much part of my family," said Hooper. "We met when I was in 6th grade and I played on a team coached by his father that his younger brother Darius played on as well.

"DeMarcus tells me when things don't go my way, or when I have a rough game, to keep my head on straight and don't blame other people. He also just tells me to go for it."

Playing on the EBO AAU team as an 8th grader, Hooper often found himself on the court with Jamelle Horne and Jerryd Bayless (Arizona freshmen), Jeff Withey (Arizona signee) and Matt Simpkins (Memphis commit).

He's been able to follow Horne and Bayless at Arizona this season and he's developed a good friendship with them.

"I played with Jamelle for the one summer and we became close friends," Hooper said. "He's very supportive and is similar to DeMarcus in the advice and support he gives me. I also look up to Jerryd for the level he plays at and the leadership qualities he displays."

This spring and summer, Hooper will play for EBO again and while some recruits don't take AAU ball seriously, Hooper has a special pride in the club he represents.

"I just feel that EBO has a great history of sending kids to big time colleges and the NBA," he said. "To be a part of that is an honor. I want to help represent that history."

During the upcoming AAU season, he'll have the opportunity to not only continue the high level of play that EBO is known for, but he'll also get the chance to continue to make a name for himself, as the team will rely on him for his shooting and scoring ability.

"Last AAU season my role was to be a shooter and to help other people, but I was still very young," Hooper said. "I will expand that this season. I'll be number one, a shooter, but also a scorer on the wing. I will also create scoring opportunities for myself and my teammates and work hard to defend and rebound."

After the sophomore year that Hooper has had on the court and in the classroom, you can be sure that when he hits the AAU circuit this spring and summer with EBO, coaches will be in attendance to watch.

When the top player in a high school class is also one of the nation's best shooters, a hard worker, a great kid and a good all around basketball player, you have yourself a prospect that any college basketball program would be lucky to have.

There's no doubt that Max Hooper is one of the state of California's players to watch in the coming months.